Ireland Part Two

The Irish are known for enjoying beer, perhaps just a stereotype, it most definitely wasn't one among my friends.  Guinness is THE Irish beer and is definitely an acquired taste.  Although I personally am not a huge fan of it I was still very keen on visiting the brewery in downtown Dublin.  The experience was a lot of fun, the storehouse is beautiful and full of history and finishes at the top of the building in a circular glass room overlooking all of Dublin.  By the end of it I knew the different components that make up this famous beer as well as how to pour a perfect pint, I might even go as far as to say I started to enjoy the taste!

Me and Ian

View of Dublin from the top of the storehouse

For the rest of my time in Dublin, I spent time at Trinity College visiting Ciara and Niall while they did various things for Fresher week as well as wandering through the city and enjoying the night life. The day before I left Ciara, Niall, Ian, Ricardo, and I went for a beautiful hike at Glendalough.  Not far outside Dublin this beautiful site is the natural Ireland you would imagine. 

Glendalough

Left to Right: Ricardo, Ian, me, Niall

Glendalough

Overall this trip was amazing and wouldn't have been the same without the hospitality of Ciara, Niall, and especially Ian. I will definitely be back!

Ireland Part One

Last summer my job was made a lot more fun when a few of the staff members were Irish people who had come to Toronto for the season to work. After a fantastic summer we said our goodbyes and hoped we'd see each other again.

Dublin

After visiting my sister I headed over to Dublin to see Ian, Ciara, and Niall! As soon as I got in we went out and I got to experience the night life.  It was really fun and made great promise for what to expect for the rest of the trip. Ciara and Niall were quite busy with back to uni stuff, so on Monday Ian took me to Killkenny. Just an hour and a bit outside of Dublin, we saw the Dunmore Caves and the Killkenny Castle, followed by dinner with Ian's sister. We then headed to his farm where I met his parents, brother and fiancee, and one of his childhood friends.  Everyone was so friendly and kind, I truly felt at home!  My favourite part was when everyone went to bed, Ian took me on a night stroll of the property.  Although it was cloudy and we couldn't see the stars, it luckily wasn't raining (quite impressive for Ireland!).

Dunmore Caves

Dunmore Caves

Ian and his lovely mother

The next day we walked through a beautiful forest and explored more of his land, even though it was raining it added to the charm of this beautiful country!

Ian at his farm

\

After we said our goodbyes we headed back to Dublin... more on that on the next post!

Ich bin in Berlin

Lucile, my sister, moved to Berlin about 6 months ago for work and I had not seen her since (far too long!). Even though I've been here twice before it was nice this time to stay a little longer and live the local life more. The first weekend here we went to the Berlin Festival, which took place in Tempelhof Airport-an airport turned into a park.  It was a really cool venue and the best act was by far Bjork who at 47 put on the most amazing live show.  The other days we did a combination of tourist things such as visiting Check point Charlie, Brandenburg Gate, Reichstag, the Berlin wall, while also taking in the local Berlin culture by going to parks, wandering the streets, eating delicious food, and going to bars.

At the Berlin Festival

Berlin Festival at Tempelhof Airport

Berlin Cathedral and Tv Tower

Reichstag- Parliament Building 

Lucile and I inside the Reichstag Dome

Me and Lucile at the Brandenburg Gate

Berlin Wall

I missed my sister dearly but I am so glad to see how well she's doing here in Berlin.  Hopefully it won't be another 6 months before we see each other again!