Ireland Bound

*AgentOrange sharpens a shiv*

1. What the hell movie is shooting in Belfast?
2. Dublin's ok but if you want to see the real, incredible side of Ireland hit the western half. Limerick, Tipperary, Galway, etc.

I recently read Tony Hawks' "Round Ireland With a Fridge" and recommend it for a quick read on the plane over.

I've only stayed in some universities in Ireland, so I can't help with specifics (unless you attempt to stay in some of those shitty dorms they rent out for the summers), but you should absolutely, absolutely try to get to Galway. Its pretty much one road from Dublin, and on light traffic days you can probably get there in two and a half hours. When all is said and done with my life, I want to be there for my dying days. Sublimely beautiful, that almost-eternal Spring weather.

Indy 4?

Seconded on Galway. Supposedly it has the highest pub-to-resident ratio in Europe. Something like 1 pub for every 7 people who live there.

Isn't it Madrid? I think it has like 234 pubs for every person that lives there.

Is it possibly Hellboy 2?

Budapest is the set for Hellboy 2, where he'll also meet a shitload of Universal bigwigs BTW. Dublin... Hmmmm.

Just as long as you don't ask about Limerick. It's a shit-hole.

Pretty clueless about Dublin myself, will ask some of the lads that live up there for advice.

Dev, you should check out the UK. Just a little bit of water and Wales and then bam, you're there.

Happy for you, man. I hope you enjoy it - it's absolutely my favorite foreign country I've visited, though I've only been to three. I went to visit our old family farm in County Clare, which is gorgeous.

No real advice about Dublin, though. I went for a day and don't remember any specific locations.

Eh, your best bet from Belfast to Dublin is by train. Depending on time of day it'll take anywhere from two and a half to 3 hours. Bus trip probably isn't that much longer. As for accommodations it really depends on how much you can spend there are scads of hostels and self catering apartments.

Things to do, see Temple Bar though it is pretty touristy and September is still high season. Oliver St. John Gogarty's is one I enjoyed while there and is nameed for the real life counterpart of Buck Mulligan from Ulyssess. Speaking of Ulyssess, a short train ride from Dublin is Sandycove where you can see the bastion and bathing pool where the first chapter is set. The Hugh Lane Gallery of Modern Art is worth a see. One of the most interesting things to see is the studio of modern artist Francis Bacon which was meticuously moved from London to Dublin by archeology students and reassembeled in the state it was in upon Bacon's death (read: a mess).

Modern irish chicks are across the board pretty easy and as I recall they like American dudes, I didn't have much trouble. Like most chicks get them talking about themselves and you're golden. Also keep an eye out for English chicks on a hen weekend. Bullseye!

Oh go see the statue of Phil Lynott.

Say hi to Bill Murray for meh.

Wear pants.

If you do take any excursions, at all, take a train up to Derry. The political roots are incredible their, the place pulses with history, even if a lot of it is truly terrible.

Derry is also perhaps one of the prettiest and friendliest cities you'll ever see (well aside from the big fuck off fences and half dozen army camps dotted around the place)

Oh not very far at all. Hell you should be able to see the skybar from most anywhere in the city. There's nothing wrong with that. The Sky Bar is one of the places where the Guinness tastes best and has a killer 360 degree view of Dublin. Just head westerly from Temple Bar. It's a short walk. I was across the Liffey near the bus station and I walked it no time. You'll be much closer. Also across the Liffey from the Sky Bar you should be able to see the Jameson distillery.

In Merrion Square park aka Arch Bishop Ryan Park on the south side Just off Dawson (a shopping drag) is this statue of Oscar Wilde which I thought was quite stunning.

http://www.ego4u.com/images/literature/wilde-statue.jpg

All the suggestions of elsewhere in Ireland are decent and most aren't much more than a 4 hour bus ride when traffic is good and you don't run into cows blocking the road, except stay the fuck out of that toilet Limerick. I don't suspect you'll have much time to go to any other town, but if you do I recommend Sligo. W.B. Yeats was from that area. Oh and there is a pub just to the east of Temple Bar outside of the district proper where the pub scenes from My Left Foot were filmed.

Let me know when you are headed to Budapest I've got tips for that place, too. I fucking loved it there.

If you're in Temple Bar then you're about 15-20 minutes' walk from the Guinness Brewery. I'm pretty sure you can't tour it anymore, but there's a bunch of touristy shit to do there.

You're also right beside Dublin Castle, Trinity College (Book of Kells, etc), St. Stephen's Green, O'Connell Street, Grafton Street, etc. Temple Bar itself is pretty cool. I was there a few days ago, at the IFI, saw The Seventh Seal in the wrong AR.

Try, for your sake, to hit one of the thermal baths, especially if you're hungover. I like the one in their big public park that's decorated art neuveau style. I honestly don't know how the Hungarians get anything done with those fuckers around.

Even if ya can't leave the city due to time limits, just for the topic's sake I'd say I much preferred Limerick to Dublin. With a few standouts, otherwise Dublin was way too 'standard modern city' with tourists filling the place, whereas Limerick was genuinely badass, like the worst parts of Southie or Hell's Kitchen gone back in time on steroids. As an old school New York I bet you'd appreciate it's urban decay awesomeness to Dublin's much more sanitized and tourist-friendly atmosphere.

Not hard at all.

Too bad about your short stay in Budapest, there are things to see, if you want some recommendations concerning anything, I can help you out, it's where I live.

Mundt has a point, even if you're there for a short period of time, you should not miss one of the thermal baths (I recommend Széchenyi or Gellért), it's a must for tourists. My dad goes routinely 4-5 times every week, but I can't be bothered, personally.

Here are a few things I haven't spied in the suggestions put forth so far:

Trinity College: You really shouldn't leave Dublin without checking out this campus and--particularly--its exhibition of The Book of the Kells. That is, by far, the best example of an illuminated manuscript I've ever come across. Plus, the library you have to go through to exit it looks like something out of an Indiana Jones movie.

The General Post Office: I was fortunate enough to be in Dublin for Easter in 2006 and this is where they staged the first celebration of the 1916 uprising in a couple decades. That won't be going on in September but the place is still a cool thing to check out.

St Patrick's Cathedral: It's a superb example of architecture, it houses Oscar Wilde's corpse, and the city hosts some rocking classical music concerts there. (The last concert I enjoyed in this venue was Bach's St Matthaus Passion.)

Fagan's Pub: This is on Drumcondra Road, which is a very short walk outside of city centre. Basically, if you want to check out the Prime Minister's digs and where he takes world leaders to drink when they visit the Republic--and have a good drink in a nice atmosphere--this is the place to go.

Glendalough: The Wicklow mountains are about a half hour drive outside of Dublin. The scenery is stunning and you get to tour the ruins of a monastery raided by vikings.

Women: Irish girls really shouldn't be your main concern in Dublin. Thanks to the massive immigration the nation encourages to keep the economic boom going, Dublin is easily one of the most cosmopolitan cities in Europe. I didn't run into many Irish girls in Dublin actually. However, I did run into loads of impressionable and hot 20-year-olds from former Soviet blocs.

Actually Oscar Wilde is buried in Pere La Chase cemetary in Paris. Which also houses the remains of Sara Bernhart, Edith Piaf, Marcel Prouse and Jim Morrison.

http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg...e=gr&GRid=1102

Sounds like a nice itinerary. We were only there for a couple days, but we found Dublin to be a very walkable city. You can hit most of the highlights without having to take any public transportation. If you take the train down from Belfast and head east along the Liffey from the station toward Temple Bar, you'll pass the Guinness* Brewery on the way.

Our visit was pretty James Joyce-centric (the Joyce museum, there was a superb Ulysses exhibit in the basement of the National Library at the time), so we didn't hit some of the stuff you've got planned, but the Book of Kells and the accompanying incredibly cool library that Cuchalain mentioned are definitely musts. You'll recognize a bunch of stuff from Once near Trinity.

And, yeah, internet cafes are pretty easy to come by, if I recall correctly.

* Incidentally, the Guinness really does taste better in Ireland. You'll absolutely notice the difference. The Jameson's tastes exactly the same, but if you get a Jameson's and Coke, it'll taste better, anyway, since the Coke is made with sugar instead of corn syrup.

No Blarney Stone Devin? That's not very touristy of you.

Psh, details. Tell them you're visiting. They'll move it.

It's because Ireland is the only country in earth where the Guinness isn't killed by pasturization. Also in my opinion Jameson is to be drinken neat with perhaps a water or a Guinness back. Don't kiss the Blarney Stone. I'm told by a reliable lass from Cork city whom I met that drunken Irish laddies piss on it.

Devin, Dublin is INSANELY expensive. If you thought London was bad, Dublin is worse. Hope you're on expenses.

The Guinness Brewery is a pricey proposition. Thirty Euros for one beer (maybe two if you're lucky), and a tour of the brewery? On typical tours you get to try multiple beers from taps, maybe even some unique brewery-only specials. You'll enjoy none of that.

But, if you just want to see the brewery...

I believe the fee for enterance for a single adult is 14 euros and it came with a complimentary pint, at least it was when I was last there 2 years ago. Helpful hint: make friends with any old people on your tour and they'll probably give you their comp pints. Worked for me.