When planning my trips abroad, Ireland was always a top priority for me. I had heard such amazing stories about the tiny island, and so I booked my flights!
My friend Alexis and I arrived in Dublin late on a Thursday night and got a solid 5 hours of sleep before groggily hopping on a bus across the country to the west coast to Clare.
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Our first stop was the Cliffs of Moher, which took my breath away. The pictures just don’t do it justice. Watching the waves hit the rocks down below and the long grass flowing in the wind up above felt like I was in a National Geographic photo shoot.
Once leaving the cliffs, we journeyed to the city of Galway where we enjoyed the smaller town atmosphere. We walked through the colorful streets, enjoying the Christmas lights and street performers before ducking into The King’s Head for our first Irish coffee of the trip. The best way to drink it is cuddled by the fireplace, of course.
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Once back in Dublin, we met up with the rest of our group and went to the oldest pub in Dublin, The Brazen Head. We got our first taste of Irish beer, a Hop House 13 Lager, and listened to some amazing live music!
We continued our night at O’Shea’s Merchant, where we snagged a booth right by the band and were prompted to do some dancing with some very cute older Irish couples.
The next day, we walked through Trinity College, which we are now determined to transfer to! The campus was absolutely gorgeous.
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We also made a quick stop at Christ Church to see Ireland’s largest crypt before making our way to the Guinness Storehouse.
The best way I can describe the Guinness Storehouse is Disneyland for beer enthusiasts, and boy oh boy was I alllllllllllll about it.
The building itself is shaped like a Guinness pint, and on every floor, you learn about the history of the classic Irish beer.
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Finally, on the top floor is the Gravity Bar, where you can enjoy your pint of Guinness with 360-degree views of the city.
After the tour of the storehouse, we started our long awaited pub crawl. Although it didn’t go quite according to plan, I will list the rules and pubs below. My favorites were definitely Cassidy’s and O’Niell’s
The Pubs
- Murrays Pub
- You must drink exclusively with your left hand
- The Living Room
- You can’t use any names or nicknames
- The Grand Central
- You can’t make any left turns
- Cassidy’s Pub
- No pointing allowed
- Chaplin’s Pub
- You can’t ask any questions
- Doyles Pub
- You must drink your pint in the toilet
- O’Neill’s Pub
- My arms don’t work! Have a buddy help you drink
- Mercantile Pub
- Pick up a foreign accent
- The Globe
- Bust out your signature dance move
- Whelan’s Pub
- The Bleeding Horse
- Copper Face Jacks
The next day, we took a stroll through Stephen’s Green and did some people watching before walking down Grafton street. Every single pub looks so beautiful that it’s nearly impossible to pick one to go into!
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We ended our trip with the last beer at Murrays Pub, where we enjoyed the music and the Irish river dancers.
I fell in love with the friendly pub scene, the rolling emerald hills, and the kind Irish people. There’s no doubt in my mind that I will be back in Ireland sometime very soon!
Alexandra Mier y Terán 
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