Dublin

 

So my sister lives in Northern Ireland and last week I went to visit her and we took a day trip to Dublin from Belfast, these are some of the places we visited!

The National Leprechaun Museum
It's as it sounds! This is the first place I wanted to go as I love museums and wanted to do something fun, take some pictures and find out more about Ireland and its myths and legends! As I had a student card it was 10 euros, a reasonable price. Unlike many museums, you have a tour guide who takes you through the museum and acts as a storyteller.

 

 

The tour begins by going through a very dark tunnel, which gets smaller as you near the end so it's like you've turned into a leprechaun. Not for anyone that's afraid of the dark! Next, we had some pictures with some giant chairs, then we went through a rainbow, found a pot of gold and heard some stories not only about leprechauns, but also about trickster fairies.

First time trying some Guinness! Can't say it's going to be my regular order from now on though. We visited a small, traditional Irish pub called O'Neils, round the corner from the museum. Very friendly.

 

 

Dublin Castle - inside the courtyard

 

 

It was easy to find this part of Dublin castle, this is the part that Google maps directs you. I have no idea where the actual bit that looks like a castle is- disappointed! If you want to go inside the castle, you have to pay.

 

The sand sculptures were very impressive. They are designed and sculptured by a group of artists called Duthain Dealbh. With the typical Irish weather, you're probably thinking what if it rains.. the rain actually helped the sculptors as it dampened down the sand so it could mold together. The particular sand they use isn't like the sand you get on your typical beach but feel free to prove me wrong. This sand is often from river beds. The sculptures being made of sand means they won't last forever and will be removed end of August, but different sand sculptures will be here next summer.

 

 

Dublin City Hall

Beautiful! Very quiet when we went in but I think it's worth a view if you're in the area. Below the ground is a café and a gallery for a small fee. The fashionista in me will tell you my fur coat is from H&M, dress from Topshop and sandals from lamoda.com.

 

 

Glasnevin Cemetery and Botanic Gardens

 

 

The cemetery and gardens were on the Dublin tour bus map. A cemetery being very unexpected as a tourist attraction, but if you have visited you will know why. The cemetery is stunning; spread across acres of land made up of thousands of pounds worth of monuments, important to Irish Catholic history. Many of Ireland's national and political figures are buried here, such as Daniel O'Connell (political leader). The cemetery is surrounded by high walls and a watch tower at the entrance, originally built to catch 'bodysnatchers' in the 18th and 19th century.

The National Botanic Gardens is also made up of acres of land, and giant greenhouses that store over 100,000 exotic plants. It's peaceful and scenic to walk around. Another attraction to visit if you want to go somewhere for free.





All photographs are my own.