A Dublin Pub Crawl

In lieu of exams and final assignments finally being turned in, my break has officially begun and I can have a life once again!

I’ve decided to highlight some of the pubs and clubs I’ve been to in Dublin since arriving in September. Mom, Dad, I swear I didn’t go to all these places in one night. I was tempted to join in the 12 pubs of Christmas Irish tradition but I saved my money for England instead. I’ve only selected places that are within walking distance of each other, so anyone who wants to take this list and create their own pub crawl feel free!

THE PUBS

Against the Grain

 This had to be my number one recommendation as it has become my second home- or so all my friends tell me.  The staff are friendly, and there are all kinda of craft beers on tap- there are also some craft ciders that are great here as well! Some of my favorites here are McIvor’s Medium Cider, Of Foam and Fury double IPA, and Buried at Sea stout. Upstairs there is a pool table and a kitchen that has some of the best chunky chips I’ve had.

Don’t come here for a Guinness though, you’ll just be disappointed.

The Bleeding Horse

 

I’ve been here a few times and I absolutely love the atmosphere, there are even big projection screens that come out when there is a football match on. The upstairs can get a little toasty, but there is plenty of space if you want to get together with a few friends. You can also get some tasty pub grub here- the sweet potato fries are excellent!

Camden Exchange

This can be a little pricey depending on what you order, but this pub offers a wide variety of craft beer and cider. It is also one of the only places I know that has a vehicle mounted on the inside wall. There are all kinds of knick knacks incorporated into the décor giving it a quirky character. 

If you or your friends smoke, there is a pretty big indoor smoking lounge that you can enjoy. The Pilgrim’s Red Ale is delicious, and overall this is a good place to have some chats with friends.

P.Mac’s

This little pub is deceptively large and is always seemingly full of a mixture of people. If you get there early enough you might be able to snag one of the booths. Now this isn’t a typical ‘booth’- at least not what I am used too- these are like separate cubicles that you can be almost completely isolated from the rest of the pub. It can get noisy towards the end of the night but by then you'll be having a grand old time.

Cassidy’s

Although this one is a little further away than the other’s listed above- this is right off D’Olier Street- Cassidy's is a great place to start a pub crawl. There is room to sit both upstairs and downstairs and there is even a couple board games and jenga games you can play. The mixture of chairs, tables, and sofas give the place a living room like feeling- and I don’t mind it at all. Be wary though, some of the chairs have a way of eating you alive.

Some bars that I didn’t mention but are worth a visit are: The Gin Palace, The Hairy Lemon, The Mercantile, and Anseo.

A great thing about Dublin is that you can literally turn any corner and there will be a new pub to explore. I’ve been to quite a few in Dublin City Centre- go to The Autobahn if you’re near Glasnevin in the North!- however there are still so many to visit, and there seems to be new ones that pop up every month. 

Can’t wait to explore more this session.

So sláinte and drink on!

Xx kim

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• If you’re wondering about prices, there is quite a range. I would say that the standard pint is around 5 euros, but you can get beer for as low as 4 and cider as high as 7. 
• One thing to consider is that a pint here is 500ml, in America it’s around 470 but the glasses are often under-poured and there is no law where it has to be this amount. Back in the states, bars can serve you in whatever glasses they have, but here the pints are often over-flowing.
• Remember that the beer in Ireland is often stronger than back home- especially if you’re drinking craft as it can get over 8%. A few of these and you'll be well on your way to merry.
• If you are not a beer expert, don’t be afraid to ask the bartenders for a recommendation although make sure the place isn’t too busy. Have an idea of what kind of brew you might like and they'll point you in a direction to find your right beer.
• Pubs in Dublin- or seemingly the entirety of Ireland- are more like community living rooms so don’t be afraid to talk to strangers and make some new friends.

Old Friend, New Adventures

Yes there was no entry last week, however I’m not going to apologize.

The sole purpose for this blog is for me to share my adventures with friends, family, and whoever may want to read it.

But, above all, it’s for me to write down and remember my experiences.

In the past week and a half I’ve done more than my part of socializing; both hanging out with friends and strangers, and finally doing touristy stuff all around Dublin.

My friend Allie- who is from Canada but we met in Australia- stayed with me from Sunday to early Thursday. I hadn’t seen her in almost 18 months and it was a much-needed reunion.

She has been living my dream of backpacking across Europe but I am so glad that she decided to jump the water across to Ireland. She made me realize how much I miss Australia, but also how little sightseeing I’ve actually done since arriving in Dublin nearly three months ago.

I can navigate around Dublin.

Honestly, it’s not that difficult.

Allie and I below some of the lights on Henry St.

I hadn't gone to visit one of the many free museums, and had yet to take a night to explore the amazing lights that Dublin has to offer during this festive season. Allie also kept reminding me to take pictures- which I’m sure my family will be happy to see.

We went to three museums on Tuesday alone and we even got to take a tour of The Irish Sun news office- but that’s another story.

Over the past few days my life has been manic. As part of one of my courses, we had to join a group and start a social media campaign. I was assigned a campaign about craft beer, one of the luckiest chances in uni so far. Through this group I traveled to Galway, made many a new friends, and have come to a better understanding about what craft beer and cider actually stands is. If you want to check out what I’ve been into in that respect here is our Facebook page, it was such a neat assignment: OurLocalBrew

What has taken the most time in regards to the campaign is the video editing. I’ve done a fair share of filmmaking when I was younger so I jumped at the chance to film some interviews with people in the industry. One thing I forgot to remember is how time consuming editing a video can take. Having to put up two videos in the last two days, I spent probably seven or eight hours staring at my computer screen and doing not much else.

I’m glad the way everything turned out and you can check out my videos here: 

Other than that school is winding down- although I should really say up with all the assignments looming in the future.

Ireland is finally starting to feel like home in the sense that I have a solid core group of friends that I can rely on. Although it’s only been three months, it feels like so much longer and I love it.
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Also, it has been extremely stormy here. The wind has been incredible and it even hailed a bit last Sunday. Shout out to Teresa Mannion of RTE for breaking the internet when she reported on storm Desmond in Galway.

Craft Beer Festival

Today has been an eventful day to say the least.

It was the first time- since I’ve started to attended uni- that I was late to a lecture. This might not seem like a big deal, but I promised myself I would put 100% into my school work and the worst part is I just spaced out. I genuinely believed that my lecture was at 4 instead of 3. I guess it has to happen to everyone once- or at least that is what I am telling myself.

After class I had choir and then sound check because- surprise!- we were doing back up for a gig at uni. For learning the song today and then performing it, the 7 who actually sang did a half decent job. The worst part was that it was a black tie event and I didn't know, nor did I have time to go home and change. While everyone was wearing beautiful black dresses, I wore jeans... at least I had a black shirt on.

Dún Laoghaire in all its glory.

Now time to backtrack to the weekend.

On Sunday I went to a craft beer festival in Dún Laoghaire with two of my friends. The train ride there was beautiful and it was nice to get out of the city. The festival turned out to be a giant pub crawl and at the end of the 6 pubs we received a giant glass stein and a t-shirt. I was able to listen to trad music for the first time since coming to Ireland, and I loved it. The music was a little loud, but everyone in the pub enjoyed it and would sometimes even sing along. It was a quiet night and I’m glad I was able to bond and try some Irish craft beer.

Our very first stop: a porter, IPA, and a beer from acorns. @Forty Foot Pub.

A lovely description of a red are we tried @Whiskey Fair

@Gilbert and Wright's with my winnings and my local friend who joined us

Me and my birthday twin parading our t-shirts from the festival

Uni work is finally starting to creep up on me so I’m going to cut off this post here.

Things are back to normal now, so you don’t have to worry about any posts like the previous. I’m saying ‘yes’ to more and more things and I’m definitely starting to feel busy all the time. It’s not a bad thing though, I’d rather be busy than just sitting around!

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Also, this cat greeted me on my very first day here and we’ve bonded over time.