Joy to the city, the heat wave and all. (Travel Stories Part II)

On a hot thursday afternoon we once again jumped on a plane and left the adorable Netherlands behind us (read about the Netherlands adventures here). It was just as hot in Ireland than it had been in the Netherlands, a rare heat wave the locals said they hadn't experienced in years.

The Spire, or Spire of Dublin, or Monument of Light is not a very fancy monument.

River Liffey. i'm from a city that's devided in two by a river, and i tend to love other cities divided by rivers.

purple hostel is adorable and easy to spot.

In Dublin we stayed in Abbey Court hostel and i have to say it was the best hostel experience i've ever had. The location was amazing, right by the River Liffey, near O'Connell Bridge. The sftaff was friendly, beds comfy and it was really cheap. and it included breakfast! which was great because we were traveling on a budget and also we are really bad at eating while traveling. usually we would just wander around and suddenly realise we were starving. so at least we always had breakfast.

St. Stephen's Green was very... green.

James Joyce everywhere!

One of the many books i bought. absolutely loved this cover. next up book/travel shopping haul!

you can have cookies for dinner, right?

or some cheap grocery store sushi?

i collect editions of The Great Gatsby but i did not buy this slightly terrifying edition. also note the book next to it; Jane Eyre Laid Bare. enough said.

we spent most of our days wandering around the city or having picnics in the beautiful parks, St. Stpehen's Green being my favorite. the weather was so amazing we skipped all the traditional touristy things, like going to Trinity College and all the museums. we didn't even have beer at Temple Bar! it was way too nice so all we wanted to do was just stay outside all day long. we figured that we had a rare opporturnity to see Dublin like this. next time the weather will probably be grayer and rainier, perfect for museums and spending evenings sipping beer at the bars, so this trip was just about enjoying the summer atmosphere of Ireland.

about to see Josh Ritter at Iveagh Gardens!

the support act to Josh Ritter was a local band called Delorentos.

Josh Ritter was such an adorable smiley face!

the idea for our trip came from me wanting to go see Josh Ritter on his european tour. i bought tickets to the Dublin gig monts in advance and asked if Silja wanted to join me and have a little vacation in Ireland. she's always up for adventures. then when Watsky announced more europen dates for his tour Silja suggested me if we could make a little detour to see Watsky in Netherlands. and so we did. but i still have to say that as much as i loved seeing Watsky and were impressed by him, the highlight of my trip was seeing Josh Ritter. he is my favorite musician, hands down. i can't really even put it in words how much i love him and his music. sometimes i just sit in my room and listen to his voice and amazing words and sometimes when i do so i cry, not even sure why. that's how much i love him. and the show was everything i wanted it to be. even Silja who wasn't nearly as excited about the show before hand, wishpered to me when the smiling, adorable Josh walked to the stage: I think I'm in love. because who could resist that sweet, sweet man. the weather was sunny and when Josh Ritter sang Joy to the city, the heat wave and all. the crowd cheered loudly and once again i felt the tears coming.

We found Oscar Wilde just chillin'.

as a book lover what i really loved about Dublin was its literary history. it feels like you are constantly surrounded by the legacy of these great writers, such as James Joyce and Oscar Wilde. me and Silja both bought copies of James Joyce's Dubliners cause we loved the idea that our copies would actually be bought from Dublin!

Silja didn't really appreaciate the decor of the train.

but i was alright with it. also i'm wearing the same shirt in every picture. i swear i wore other clothes too.

on Sunday we decided to go have adventures little outside of Dublin. there is so much to see in Ireland so next time i will definitely want to see more of the beautiful island but this time we only had time and money for a small day trip. we diced to take the train to Malahide, a small town close to Dublin, and to Howth Head, a penisula in Dublin.

the adorableness that was Malahide.

Malahide was adorable little town in which most people go to see the Malahide Castle. we also went to see the castle tho we were too exhausted for the tour. so we just relaxed at the beautiful park that surrounded the castle and afterwards walked back to the town and had delicious bagels in a little corner cafe.

Malahide Castle, definitely worth visiting.

Silja was tired.

at this point my shoes were nearly broken and i had a very bad relationship with them. now we're friends again.

Howth was beautiful, i could have sat there forever looking at the ocean.

"It's windy there and the view so nice."

we like taking pictures of each other...

while taking pictures of each other.

The last day of our trip was spent shopping and then early tuesday morning we packed our packbags again and hopped on a plane for the last time in a while. it was a wonderful trip and i already miss it. Silja and I don't get to see each other that often, so it was great to have all that time together. it's good to be home now, but in my mind i'm already making plans for the next adventures. when ever that will be.