Day 9

Day 9: CULTURE OF IRELAND

March 21st 

   Done with breakfast at Egan's, we leave for the Temple Bar-CULTURE. This location is in the streets of the city where traditional music, food, dance, and drinks. The walk outside of this bar have stuck with the typical medieval style of cobblestone paths and dim street lights, just like in the olden days. The Temple Bar not only consists of the pub itself, but outside there are places like the Irish Photography Center, Irish Film Institue, Temple Bar Gallery and Studio, Gaiety School of Acting, and much more.

   All of these centers are within the town square of the Temple Bar streets. In fact, the location itself reminds us of Diagon Alley from Harry Potter, because of the olden "town-look" the streets have still maintained.In this area there's also something called the Meetinghouse Square where outdoor film screenings take place during the summer. Since the weather is around 40-50 degrees Fahrenheit, unfortunately, we are unable to watch a film screening.
 
   For lunch we'll get it from the Shack Restaurant (award winning restaurant with traditional Irish food). The price of this is $25.69. A food that's unique to Ireland would be the Oak Smoked Irish Salmon served with hand made brown bread. We then roam around the other shops surrounding the streets of Temple Bar Cultural District. Dinner will be at the pub of the Temple Bar, which is known for its nightlife with drinks and Irish sandwiches, tea, coffee, and their famous oysters. The price of this is $29.83. Lastly, we get back to the hotel in preparation for our next morning's destination. 

The bar ought to have some of Dublin's famous drinks!

Remind you of Diagon Alley in Harry Potter??

City-like streets leading up to The Temple Bar.

Day 8

Day 8: NATURE OF IRELAND

March 20th

St Stephen's Green Park.

Georgian style houses in St Stephen's Green...how is this even real?!!!

We leave from the hotel with breakfast and then reach the St. Stephen's Green Park-NATURE. This is a public park for some beautiful sight seeing. The admission fee is free. In this park, you get to see lakes, bridges, gardens, and fountains. There is also a gardener's cottage that's known for its plants and greenery that surrounds the small house. The history that supports this garden is that many Georgian style house use to trace the perimeter of St. Stephen's which later have developed into now modern buildings; yet many of the houses still do preserve that same Georgian style. As per the layout of the park, it's rectangular with 3.5 km of pathway length. There are various exotic plants, trees, and animals throughout St. Stephen's Green. At around 12:30 we'll gather to get lunch at La Cave Wine restaurant located near the park (elegant French food/wine; the rating is 4.2). The cost of the lunch is $32.96. After lunch, we'll reach back to our hotel to get rest for tomorrow's sight seeing destination. Dinner would be at the Dawson Lounge-$25.00

St Stephen's is filled with many beautiful bridges and ponds.

Day 7

Day 7: HISTORY OF IRELAND 

March 19th 

Some extremely old gold coins from history.

Found some gold jewelry from the prehistoric ages!

First, we get breakfast at Egans Hotel and then drive down to the National Museum of Ireland-Archaeology-HISTORY. This museum holds up to 2 million artifacts which include ancient animals, pottery, weapons, etc. The appealing aspect here is the interior! The architecture of this building itself was designed by Cork architects-Thomas Newenham Deane and his son. This museum holds artifacts from the Iron Age up to the 12th century A.D. There is treasury, gold, prehistoric items, human bodies of sacrifice, etc. $13.55 would be the total cost for a guided tour of five people. At around 1:00 pm (depending when the tour ends) we'll have lunch at River Cafe which is near to the National Museum. The cuisine of this restaurant is Irish. The total cost for the lunch is $19.58 (sandwiches and panini). Next, we'll see a church in Dublin which is meant for Quakers. Quakers are a religious society of friends who share each other's beliefs and who pray together daily.-CULTURE. http://www.quakers-in-ireland.ie/ is a link to learn more about a Quaker's lifestyle in Ireland. At 7:00 pm we get dinner at the Arch Bistro once again. $37.94 is the total cost. We'll then drive back to hotel at 9:00.

Inside of the national museum.

The architecture here is very much a European style.

Day 6

Day 6: SCIENCE/TECHNOLOGY OF IRELAND

March 18th

A researcher helped us understand the functions of the science she worked with.

Arch Bistro has one of the prettiest interiors!!

Once we leave Egan's hotel, our next destination is the Science Gallery International, which is actually in the Trinity College itself.-SCIENCE. This museum was just recently established in the year 2012 within the university.This gallery is aiming for incorporating eight linked universities of science networks by 2020. It consists of research centers, global partnerships, and science-related tours, which we will take time in attending. Some educational research projects are being developed by The Seventh Framework Programme (FP7) for innovating the technology/science exhibited in this museum. After getting a good tour around the area, we'll get lunch at the gallery's cafe. The total price of our lunch would be $39.53. In the afternoon we'll visit the research centers that are in the college, where different projects are being developed here for the gallery.These education programs and research centers help with college courses, future career options in science and art, and business/innovation. Once we get a good learning experience through this science gallery, we'll stop to get dinner at Arch Bistro, an extremely famous French/Irish restaurant. The total bill is $37.94. We finally drive back to the hotel at around 9:00 pm. 

A presentation done within the Science Gallery.

Day 5

Day 5: HISTORY OF IRELAND

March 17

     We leave with breakfast at 10:00 am from the hotel and then drive down to the Dublin Castle, a historic site that was established in the year 1204 A.D.!!-HISTORY .The castle consists of 2 museums that we attended, the Garda Museum and Revenue Museum. There is a special place within the castle named Chapel Royal which is a site of the former King, along with this there are different households and officials who attend the castle. The Dublin Castle was a place for Ireland's parliament to be set; Catholic priests used to work the society's issues (ex. religious wars, crimes, elections, etc.) in the olden days throughout this palace.We have planned to get the most of the experience with a specialized tour that goes through art, architectural, and revolutionary areas within the castle. The cost of this would be: $30.22 for our whole group. For lunch at noon we will be back at the Punjabi Nature Restaurant, which is $24.83 total.

    After our meal, we'll visit Dublin's Trinity College. This college is one of the 7 ancient universities of the entire Britain! Trinity College's history goes back to when it was used to be seen as the Protestant Ascendancy where great landowners assembled for political and economic issues. In the college there is also the Dublin University Central Athletic Club (DUCAC) which handles approximately 50 sports clubs held throughout Trinity. Hockey, cricket, rugby, football, boat, rifle clubs are some examples of the clubs there.-SPORTS. 

Dublin Castle's "front yard".

Interior of the castle. This was a part of our tour within the palace.

Dublin Castle.

Trinity College's library...this place just goes on and on!

 The largest library in Ireland is the Library of Trinity College! After our time spent at the college, we'll go for dinner near the college, Cafe En Seine. It's a cafe and a club where the decor of the place is rated #1! The price of this is $31.22; we'll then enjoy our nightlife by dancing in the club! Lastly, we'll go back to the hotel at midnight.

Day 4

Phoenix Park Obelisk.

National Botanic Gardens.

Day 4: NATURE OF IRELAND

March 16th

     We leave from the hotel at 10:00 pm to drive down to the National Botanic Gardens in Dublin. This is one of the most gorgeous gardens where there are many ponds, flowers, statues, plants, trees, and glasshouses!!- NATURE. Entry fee is free but they don't allow dogs, picnics, games, jogging/running, music, etc.This garden is only and only meant for walking through the garden, and enjoying the nature in itself! Our previously booked guided tour's cost is $13.42 for all five of us as one group. Once finished with our walk in the garden, we'll go to get lunch at Keshk Cafe Restaurant-$29.52. 

    Another beautiful park to see is the Phoenix Park which is also a sight of gardens and nature sites. Uniquely though, there is a historic obelisk of a cross dedicated to Pope John Paul II. This pope was one of the most influential leaders who helped end the Communist rule. He was also known for improving the Catholic Church's relations with other religions. -HISTORY. 

ICBV logo. A place for food and music!

    We can then go back to the St. Patrick's Day Festival to see the Irish Craft Beer Village where there's a mix of Irish crafts, live music, and food. This store is basically there to revive the differences between crafts from the olden days to what's there today.- CULTURE . Once we leave from The Village, at around 7:00 pm we'll get dinner at The Vintage Kitchen- $34.36 Some unique Irish foods at this restaurant is the Lamb Shank, Salmon, and Hake, which are a part of the common Irish cuisine.  Finally, we will drive back to the hotel by 9:00 pm.

Day 3

    Day 3: SPORTS LOCATION         IN IRELAND 

                                                                                       March 15th, 2014

Croke Park Hotel!!!

Starting off with breakfast at 9:00 am in the morning, and then getting set for our next destination. The next place to visit is the Croke Park Stadium which is also in Dublin. -SPORTS . GAA football match is the sport that people support here; but football season starts on August 14th, 2014 unfortunately. (We are in the month of March).One of the most famous hotels in Dublin is the Croke Park Hotel, which consists of elegant interiors, bistro/bars, rooms, etc. To get some souvenirs we'll stop by the GAA Store Shop where plenty of items to take back home are present. We decided to each get an Introsport Tipperary Wristband to show support for one of their football teams; the price of this for all five of us is $13.43. A lot of the suites are very attractive because of their grand ambiance that's all around them. In such places, hospitality is one of the main rewarding factors of the people who work there. These suites are also situated around the Croke Park Stadium. For lunch we'll drive back down to The Dawson Lounge with a meal of sandwiches and drinks; the bill being $25 total. By the time we finish lunch, the parade of St. Patrick's Day is still in continuity; so we'll attend the music and street performances (Irish step dancers) that celebrate on the streets of the festival.-CULTURE. By evening we can get dinner at the Punjabi by Nature Restaurant which is a total of $24.83 for the 4 course meal. Finally, we reach back to our hotel at around 9:30 pm. 

One of suites that are a part of  the Croke Park!

The....one..and...only...Croke Stadium!