Dublin

I arrived in London around 1 from Brussels. I was only staying one night, in a really neat hostel named Palmers Swiss Cottage. Neat because it was a renovated (sort of) lodge from the nineteenth century. My "room" was a massive attic with 21, maybe more, other girls. The tall, narrow, bunk beds were set up in rows of three with areas to walk in between them here and there. Every bed had heavy white curtains to block out the light, and it really was like staying in a giant tent city you would have loved to have built when you were a kid. For all of that, the hostel was very well organized, clean, and comfortable. I booked a trip to Ireland for the next day via a company called Irish Ferries. The plan was stay three nights and I arranged to stay in a hostel located in central Dublin called Ashford House.
The trip there began with a speed train to a city called Holyhead on the west coast of England, then a ferry to Dublin. I left London around 9 in the morning and arrived in Dublin about 6. I had decided I wanted to spend one day walking around Dublin and one day out west at the cliffs of Moher.
My first evening in Dublin was nice, I mostly just walked around after dinner.
The next morning, I went to Dublin castle, St. Audoen's Church, Dublina, and the Guinness storehouse. The Guinness Storehouse was very informative, it shows you all about the brewing process in a very entertaining way, especially if you know nothing about it. I spent the rest of the day with a new friend, Chris from Tennessee. We bumped into each other at the Guinness Gravity Bar (the bar at the top of the Guinness Storehouse that has a 360 view of the city as you enjoy your free pint at the end of the tour). He had lost his friends and still wanted to see Trinity college and the National Gallery of Ireland, as did I. We had a great time and ended the day with dinner (Italian, again). That night, through the hostel, I booked a trip the next morning to the cliffs of Moher.
























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Ashford House
























The Molly Malone Statue






Bank of Ireland






Dublin Castle






Christ's Church Cathedral













Viking Jasmine is terrifying! This was at the Dublina, an interactive exhibition that relates the Viking history of Dublin, up to the Middle Ages.






"Jasmine" in runes






St. Audoen's Church

























The Brazen Head is Ireland's oldest pub












The Guinness Storehouse










































Mr. Taylor from Tennessee. We got quite a bit of sightseeing done that day, including getting trapped in Trinity College.













Trinity College












Best calzones ever :)








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Brussels

One day in Brussels should include chocolate, waffles, beer, and ...fries? Yes, it's true... fries with mayo. I have been jumping from city to city these last few days because I wanted to see if I could actually make it to Ireland for about 4 days. It's looking good. I had originally wanted to go to Brussels to see some of the work of Horta, an Art Nouveau architect, as well as visit a museum in his honor here.
Unfortunately, most of the museums in Brussels are closed on Mondays, but there were plenty of beautiful buildings from that era along a walk I took that afternoon through the eastern part of the city.
The Hello Hostel has free maps with tips from locals about the city, where to go depending on what you like, and suggested walks. The organization that produces it is called Use It, and they are just beginning to be available in other cities. They also have a location in the city where you can go to talk to them personally, or just hang out and meet other travelers, with free wifi.
I went on a suggested walk that took about three hours. I did have fries (the Use It guide told me exactly where to go and even where to sit down and enjoy them), chocolate (again, Use It suggests: just buy it at the supermarket for 3 euro rather than going to their shop in the tourist center and paying 13 for the same thing...same with beer). I took a train to see the historical grand plaza/market place, before calling it a night (although it's not what I originally planned to do). Next, back to London.

Centraaaaaaaal!






The walk begins by the Madou metro station. This is the European Commission's Directorate-General For Education and Culture.



This used to be a little town called Sint-Joosten-Node, just outside of Brussels, which was eventually enveloped by the growing city. It also used to be a get away for the well to do of the city but is now one of the poorest sections of the city. People from 150 different countries live here!



Square Marie Louise Plein






Some of Brussels most beautiful Art Nouveau buildings are on Avenue Palmerston / Palmeronlaan.



Square Ambiorix Plein



European Commission



Parc Du Cinquantenaire Jubelpark









Arc De Triomphe









Place Jourdan Plein



Fries from a well known frikot, or "French fry shack", Antione. I wasn't brave enough for the heavy mayo... and no I couldn't even begin to eat them all.



Parc Leopold, which used to be the Brussels Zoo, and closed down in 1876 after all the animals died. Now it is a park ringed with a few museums.






Coming up on the European Parliament. Brussels is the headquarters of NATO and the capital of the European Union.



A back entrance, pretty underwhelming?


















Place De Luxembourg






De Meuse Square



Chocolate everywhere; I had already picked some up at a supermarket.



I then took the metro to the Beurs / Bourse Stock Exchange. The stairs serve as a speaker's corner for every protest march through Brussels. There are also plenty of cafes and bars around it, and great cheap Chinese food.






Grand Plac Grote Markt



The tourist with the map, so much for blending in with the locals!









I thought I'd check out a nice cafe or pub for dinner that night, and maybe try out one of the 500 varieties of beer Belgium is so well known for. I went back to the hostel to change and.... I woke up the next morning :) I guess it was a good walking tour!

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