wish my name were irish

i’ve recently discovered a number of people i know are planning trips to ireland or are already there, so i thought i would make a list of tips/things i wish someone had told me.  enjoy and feel free to add your own with the comments section.

1. you must try club orange soda.  it’s amazing.  it’s like sunkist plus REAL orange juice. there are real bits of orange in it.  SO GOOD.
2. go to cafe en seine on dawson street.  it’s a little slice of paris in dublin.  during the day, it’s good for soup and sandwiches and isn’t very $$$.  at night, it’s a swanky night club (warning, sometimes they card for 21+)
3. visit the douglas hyde gallery. all of the art museums in dublin are free, but this one is by far the best.  the cafe downstairs is really nice, a little $$ though.  the national gallery (kind of boring) and the irish museum of contemporary art (really far away from everything) are okay, but douglas hyde is where it’s at.  has contemporary art and older stuff.  very cool.
4. the porterhouse. there are four of these scattered throughout dublin.  the main ones you should know– there’s one in temple bar on parliament street and one by trinity. ORDER THE CHEESEPLATE.  it’s 10 euro and worth so much more.  there’s also this great strawberry beer (fruli i think it’s called), which is nice like once or twice, and after that, it’s too sweet i think.  also, probably the only pub in dublin where you can’t order a guinness– it’s a microbrewery so they don’t serve it.
5. go on the jameson tour.  and raise your hand to be a volunteer at the very beginning!  you get to become a certified whiskey taster if you do.  and who doens’t want that?
6. you have to put your arm out if you want a bus to stop. nobody told me this and i watched my bus pass me by twice before i finally caught the third one.
7. left luggage secret: if you have a friend coming to visit you from somewhere else in europe and they only have a small back pack (think like a normal book bag, not a backpacking pack), you can store it at the douglas hyde for FREE.  there’s a set of lockers in the basement and you just need a euro, which you get back when you return the key.  very sneaky.  downside?  it’s only big enough for like a backpack and a coat, it’s at the very top of oconnell street, and it closes at 5.  still good to know though.
8. don’t worry about the rain.  only tourists wear wellies (rainboots).  i don’t think i ever saw an irish person with a rain jacket either.  umbrellas are nice, but be prepared to buy a new one at least once.
9. when someone mentions the “keys,” they’re really talking about the quays (but they pronouce it “key”).  the quays are the areas/intersections along the river liffey.  they all have specific names…and some of them are labeled.
10. if someone tries to teach you a bit of irish in the bars, do not repeat the phrase “pog ma thon.”
11. when you order a guinness, you have to wait for it to settle.  so the bartender will fill it about 75% and then let it sit there while he does something else. he’s not ignoring you.  he’ll come back and fill the rest.  but even then, you should wait like 1-2 minutes before you take a sip.
12. you can’t hail cabs in belfast.  if you stick your hand out, they will not stop.  if you ask anyone or look around, you be able to get a cab company’s number and call for pick up, but they simply will not stop for you on the street.
13. don’t wear 4 inch heels for a night out in temple bar.  it’s all cobblestones. you will fall and it will hurt.
14. always say thank you to your bus driver when exiting the bus.  everyone does it.  not suck ups or goody two shoes.  you just always do it.
15. if you’re a coffee lover, learn to like tea.  if you order coffee anywhere except a designated coffee place/cafe (like starbucks, butlers, insomnia, etc), it will probably be instant and it will taste terrible.  even some nicer restaurants will serve you instant coffee.
16. go bike riding in phoenix park. it’s the largest enclosed urban park in europe (surprising, right?).  yeah, it’s kind of far away from oconnell street, but the 90 or the 92 to heuston station will get you there.  and it’s totally worth it.  right at the main gates, there’s a bike rental place where  you can rent bikes for a reasonable price.  the park is huge and gorgeous and the american ambassador’s residence is there.
17. don’t even think about using your american hairdryer there.  even if you use the right adpater and converter, i’m telling you, it will go up in smoke.  three people in my group broke their hairdryers in the first week.  it won’t work. buy one there for 15 euro at a boots pharmacy.
18. go to butler’s coffee.  you get to pick a free truffle with any coffee drink you order. butler’s chocolates make very nice gifts to bring home as well– but don’t buy them in dublin, there are 2423423 places to pick them up at the dublin airport.
19. see the bog bodies at the national museum.  the museum is on kildare street, so it’s really easy to get to (free, again).  they found these perfectly preserved bodies in the bog.  the bodies are from a super super super long time ago (if i put down a year, i’d be making it up).  you can see the finger nails still intact on some of the bodies.  pretty creepy.  one looks like gollum.  it’s gross.  but still so cool.
20. pick up cool phrases like “give me a ring!”  “thanks a million!”  but no, they do not ever say “top of the morning.”

hope this helps those of you who are currently studying abroad in ireland!