002 - Cork and Walls

Yeah, so I destroyed my computer the other day. Hence, the wait on this. So, we arrived in Cork after along train ride and walked up the hill to our hostel. It was called Sheila's and when we got there we were informed that there was a local craft beer festival going on at a place called something Well. It was a brewery in Cork and apparently every Easter they have a beer festival. So, even though Lauren and I were pretty messed up from the night before we decided to go to the festival. I really like festivals because of the snacks. Lauren feels the same so we were hoping there would be some good ones there. We walked and it took about twenty minutes to get there. The festival itself was mainly in a beer garden with various taps being set up in a variety of the outside. There also was a small wood fire chimney set up outside with a young Irish couple making pizzas and sausage sandwiches. We got one of each, the pizza was topped with roasted peppers and chorizo sausage. According to Lauren it was the best pizza she ever had. We also had a Saison on cask and Lauren had a Gypsy bock which was basically just a dubbelbock.



Lauren's best pizza ever!



Saison at the brewery festival.

We walked around Cork for a little after the festival, but we were pretty exhausted so we just went back to the hostel and relaxed. Cork was pretty boring in my opinion as it seemed more like a shopping area. We were headed to Dingle the next day so we went to sleep early.

Before we took the long train to Dingle, Lauren wanted to go to Blarney castle. We had to chase the bus down because we were too late to the station. When we arrived at Blarney it looked like a large park. They had numerous gardens, a lake walk and other things like that. We walked up to the castle and saw there was a cave and a dungeon in front of us. They both had a very low ceiling and Lauren was afraid of going into the dungeon. I wasn't, but I guess I should've been because while leaving I slammed my head into the "roof". It hurt a lot...



Blarney castle picturesque view.



About to be crushed by a cave.

When we went to the actual castle it was very run down. They basically had signs detailing various aspects of the castle. It was somewhat boring. The best part of the castle was the stairs up to the stone. They were insanely narrow and pretty impossible to navigate. It was great, some people were scared of the stairs which was pretty hilarious. We made it to the top and we kissed the stone. They make you do it really quickly because they take and sell pictures so they don't want you to take your own. Being the awesome photographer I am I was able to get a picture though. So, we went to the poison garden which was basically 40 plants with explanations of how they are poisonous and how they could be used. It was really cool. We also went to a fern garden and a HORSE GRAVEYARD. The graveyard was just like three rocks with names like Tiny and Horsey on them. We got some tomato soup for a snack and then got on the bus to go to the train to Dingle.



Insane stairs!



Lauren kissing the Blarney stone.



Horse graveyard. So lame, but cool.

Going to Dingle took two trains and one bus. While waiting in Tralee for the bus we went and got some carlsbergs which Lauren had apparently never had. While there the wait staff talked with us and when we mentioned Dingle they told us to go to Dick Mack's and Foxy John's. The bus ride was absolutely beautiful as Dingle is a seaside town nestled in a valley. So, while driving we got to go through both mountains and by the sea. We arrived in Dingle without a room so we walked down the street and found a bed and breakfast. It was really nice and it was also nice to have a bathroom to ourselves for a bit.



Bus view



View of Dingle

So, we eventually went to Foxy John's which was awesome. It was basically a hardware store that they had put a bar in. Pretty funny stuff. A couple actually came in ordered a drank and than began asking about various products. We had Tom Crean's lager there which was locally made. I'll talk about that later. After having a couple of those we decided to head up to Dick Mack's. When we got there we couldn't get the door to open for some reason. We finally got it open a tiny bit and realized that it was because the place was so packed people were standing in front of the main door. We worked our way in and saw a man playing accordion and three girls on woodwinds. It was really nice. A man came up to me and started talking about how the according player was the best musician in Dingle because he played from his heart and not his head. He also thought the girls were rubbish. We met an elderly couple that lived in San Francisco there also, as well as a marine biologist named David. Duh he was how he pronounced it as that was the Gaelic translation, but he was really nice and welcoming. We eventually stumbled home as we planned to go on a bike ride the next day.



Streets of Dingledelphia



Hardware sales with booze.

Our bed and breakfast served a huge breakfast and after making out plates we were asked if what we wanted. I got a meat plate with sausage and beans and Lauren got eggs and gravlax. Very good. Our bike ride was great we went around the Dingle peninsula which was beautiful. On our way back we found some wrecked boats which were nice, but in a lagoon of sorts. The ground was super soft and muddy. Coming back to town early because of a dinner reservation we went to an ice cream shop next to the bike rental shop. We got a sea salt scoop and a caramel scoop and they were fantastic. The sea salt was apparently made there by boiling the Dingle water and extracting the salt. Our reservation was at 6 so we just went back to the room to wait for dinner. The place we were going was called Out of the Blue and the basic premise of it was that they caught what they served that day. The menu changed everyday. We had a lobster bisque and a fish called pairse which was topped with capers, almonds, and a butter sauce. It was all really good. We also had a rhubarb tart which was good too. We went back to our room and got ready for our trip to Belfast the next day.



Breakfast.



Lauren following two boys to a pier of sorts



Downhill biking in Ireland.



Wrecked ship and Lauren.



More near Dingle.

So our trip to Belfast didn't really go as planned. When we woke up we went to where Tom Crean's is brewed. It was so tiny, the vats were so small it was ridiculous. We took the bus back to Tralee, but our connection was very late and when we got to Dublin there were no more trains to Belfast. So, we stayed in a hostel in Dublin near Temple Bar. It was nice, and right near Porterhouse Brewery so we went there. At night the place was completely different and it had this weird stage that was basically a small piece of wood in the middle of the three floor building. There was a nice band playing with a really cute singer. We met some boys from France there. Well, one was French Canadian. They told us about some places to avoid and a town called Lille in Belgium. They were nice. We went back to the hostel with two beers. I was planning on watching the Pittsburgh Penguins game, but this was when the beer broke in my bag and ruined my computer. That sucked. A lot. The next day we went to Belfast. It was a two hour or so train ride. When we got there we met a really nice boy named Ty. He worked at the hostel and we talked to him for awhile. When we went to our room we also met an Indian guy named Vihu who we ended up
talking to for awhile. We ended up going on a can tour of various terrorism locations in Belfast with him. Seeing the wall in the middle of the town was pretty ridiculous. There was numerous pieces
graffiti there in both areas. If you don't know Belfast is separated by catholic and Protestant areas. Our driver was catholic and he gave us a great look into how it was to grow up during the days of IRA terrorism. He also talked to us about this smell be had encountered in Universal Studios in LA. It turned out it was Cinnabon which he referred to as Cinnabon bun. It was really funny. When we were done with the tour we went back to the hostel to see where we should eat. Ty told us he'd take us out that evening for drinks and also we had previously talked to him about a restaurant in town he worked at. We decided to go there. It was very nice almost like California cuisine in Ireland. They had the best onion rings ever. We went back to the hostel to do laundry and things. Eventually we met up with Ty who we bought drinks next door with. H suggested we get a bottle of polish vodka that was absolutely delicious. When we came back to the hostel pretty much everyone staying there came downstairs to hang out. We met a welsh girl, a boy named Andrew from Portland, two french boys, and numerous friends of Ty's. Richard and a guy named D were hilarious. After playing numerous drinking games we went to a local bar that Ty and his friends had suggested with the entire group. It was basically two bars. One more traditional and one more like an American club. Great time and we all got pretty drunk. The best part was that at 2 they basically forcefully kicked everyone out. Richard told the guys making everyone leave that he'd driven a long way and needed to piss and proceeded to pee in the alley. He lived at the hostel, so this was hilarious to me. We all went back to the hostel and drank more. Than we slept!




The cute girl at Porterhouse singing.



Belfast graffiti celebrating British soldiers. Sucks.



You can see the fence in the background. The cage is too keep out explosives and rocks from the house.



Hamhock at Ty's restaurant.



Lauren, Sophie ( the welch girl ) and Ty.



Vagabonds hostel. Super super nice.

So, we had to get back to Dublin for our flight today but we missed our train. Andrew had offered us a ride the night before so we decided to take him up on it. He is a firefighter in Portland and was a super nice guy. We talked. He got progressively more annoyed with driving and eventually we left him in Dublin. Than we took a flight and now I'm in Barcelona. Relaxing in a chair. Sorry for the wait. 3 - 1 pens. Let's see if they can actually hold a lead..

001 - Dublinish

Hungover on a train to Cork. Lauren and I got into Dublin on Friday. Disaster struck when she got her phone stolen almost immediately when arriving in London. The problem has since been solved thanks to the WONDERFUL, Erin Hopper. After getting over this slight issue we took the plane to Dublin and arrived at Isaacs Hostel which was surprisingly well kept. After nearly fifteen hours of travel we were in search of a alcohol beverage. Mainly, Lauren was trying to drown her sorrows in a pint. We took a short walk to an Irish pub and Lauren said "I'll have a Guinness". She's was met with the reply "No, you won't". To our horror we found out that IRELAND does not serve any alcohol on Good Friday. We enjoyed a chicken baguette and than we went to sleep. Our room was full of Asian students on break, they weren't the friendliest!

The next day we awoke late. Our hostel served a complimentary breakfast, but we were too late for that. We were also too late for warm water in the shower, which kind of sucked. Good thing a shower after fifteen hours of plane travel is enjoyable regardless. We went to the desk where we met a very nice man who informed us we should go on a pub crawl. I'll talk about that later. We decided to walk around and we found a place to eat called THE BULL AND CASTLE. It was supposedly Ireland's number one source of craft beer. We had a delicious salad and butternut squash soup there. We both had a local porter called Dark Arts which was poured on Nitro. It was fantastic.

Lauren's butter obsession!

Jared with a Dark Arts porter.

Being relatively close to the Guinness brewery we decided to take a trip there. I'd been there on my last trip to Ireland, so I was relatively unamused but Lauren enjoyed it very much. The whole time she was excited to go to the Gravity Bar. Which is a roof top bar that at the end of the tour you are given a free pint in. It has a brilliant view of the city and was insanely packed. Leaving the factory we decided to go buy an adapter for our laptop. On our way we stopped at the Bull and Castle again to pee and had Hop Head an IPA from a brewery named Porterhouse. I'd heard about Porterhouse and Lauren was hoping to try their Oyster Stout. I didn't know where the brewery was so as we walked to find a store to buy the adapter we were surprised to see it right in front of us! We stopped in and had a few tasters there and Lauren got to try the Oyster Stout. All of the beers were fantastic and much better than Guinness. We left Porterhouse and bought a few items including some noodles for dinner to cook at our hostel.

Lauren at the Guinness factory.

Lauren's Oyster Stout

The noodles would lead us to meet two New Zealand boys who were playing drinking games with Corona Light (how hilarious) at the hostel. Their names were Jakob and Chris and they were in Dublin for a short holiday. They too had been very upset about Good Friday's no alcohol rule and were going on the PUB CRAWL that I'd talked about earlier. We chatted for a half an hour and then Lauren and I left to go to the pub crawl. The pub crawl was ridiculous. There was like 140 people being leaded by two boys to five different bars. We started it with a free Guinness and from there it was pretty much down hill. Jakob and Chris, met two German girls named Peggy and Francisque. They were very funny and we basically hung out and drank with these four the entire time. We went to many different pubs all with very different environments. The first two had live Irish music and we danced at both of those places. Highlights included Mumford & Sons being played right after Mumford & Sons was just on the radio. I don't know if that is necessarily a good highlight, but it was funny to Lauren and I. We also got a boy to play Flogging Molly's "If I Ever Leave This World". There was lots of singing along and general drunkness. I think my favorite part was when we took Bailey's and butterscotch schnapps shots. Those were pretty good and probably what has led to my hangover. It was a good time, until I got jealous of a strapping black man who I thought was flirting with Lauren. We got into a fight over this and I generally acted like a dick. I went to the Hostel to sleep and Lauren eventually came home twenty minutes or so after I did. We slept for basically four hours.

Worst photo ever of Jakob, Peggy and Lauren

Second worst photo ever

We did wake up this time for breakfast. I apologized to Lauren and we made up. We saw Chris and Jakob who were on their way to the Guinness factory so we bid them farewell. Peggy came downstairs and had some breakfast. We talked to her for a bit and made some sort of plan to meet her in Germany. Who knows if this will happen. STAY TUNED TO FIND OUT. We left Isaacs and our now on our way to Cork on a train. The train is traveling through Ireland which looks like a prettier Pennsylvania. Its nice, they have a snack cart which we are about to purchase something from. I'm really excited about the snack cart.

Train snack. It sucked.

Lauren on a TRAIN!

Space doors in the train.

So, that was our first couple of days. One fight, a couple of things lost, but generally it was a very good time. We are going to Cork and Killarney and we shall see what we find in those places. Probably some castles. We are excited for our trip to continue and we appreciate who ever if anyone is reading this. Sorry for the bad grammar and general craziness. I suck at grammar and I think my mind is going to explode from the massive drinking we did on the pub crawl. Oh well, feels better than having a headache from work!