Dublin in 4 days

River Liffey

Slainte!

This is cheers in Gaelic. (Pronounced: Slawn-chee).

If you are going to Ireland, you will need to know this. There are pubs everywhere and of course you will have to stop in and have a Guinness, an Irish ale, or some kind of whiskey.

Some need-to-knows about the Irish:

• They are sarcastic if they like you, be sarcastic back
• They are very outspoken and do not like insensitive a-holes, be kind
• They know how to have a good time!

Dublin, Ireland is a relatively expensive city in the EU, and you will need to budget accordingly. We stayed in an Airbnb on Capel Street for 4 nights for $540 total. The room was a studio with limited sleeping area and we had to share the bathroom with the studio across the hall. Needless to say, we were not in the room very often. Why would you be?!

Fly to visit Dublin in the fall through AerLingus, a round trip from New York is $550. Go on October 24th if you want a great weekend, Bank Holiday! (Basically means 3 day weekend with lots of drinking)...

Day by day: This will be arranged to give several options for you arranged in Daily activities, Restaurants, and Nightlife. Be glad to know Wifi is everywhere you go!!!


You will do a lot of walking around. Dublin is relatively small and you may see the same people several times. Don't be alarmed, it is a small world in Dublin. Our local Irish friend Darren told us, "There are no skeletons in any closets in Dublin, they are all out on the streets walking around." Duly noted.

Walk around the city in order to get a good idea of sights to see and places you would like to go. You may not be able to do it all in 4 days, but you will be able to see a vast majority of the city especially if you have an idea of what you want to do. If you have no idea what you want to see, I recommend a bus tour for 10 euro that will show you the most frequented spots in Dublin.

Daily Activities:

1. Guinness Storehouse
2. Pubs, of course
3. Churches/History museums
4. Walk around to see landmarks

Dublin is a very busy small city. People are walking everywhere in a hurry. It is difficult to compare Dublin to any American city as there are no high rise building and the tallest point is a monument that is a spire. The best view you can get is at the Guinness Storehouse Gravity Bar.

Best view in Dublin

Make Guinness your first destination on day 1 if you get there on time (closes at 5 pm), because once you get to the top, you have a map (provided by Guinness) in hand, and you can look out over Dublin in order to get a better idea of where everything is. (Be sure to book online before you go so you can save 2 euro and skip the line - Guinness Storehouse Tickets). At the storehouse, you will learn how Arthur Guinness was a boss entrepreneur and hustled hard to get Ireland's best beer spread around the world. He signed a 9000-year lease for the brewery in Dublin. It has only been a few hundred years, you better get there before the lease runs out.

After having the best Guinness in the world poured for you, you will be hungry, recommend here are several restaurants, and whichever you do not try the first night, go the next nights, or mornings, and try them. (In order of favor-ability).

Farm Restaurant

1. Farm Restaurant - This restaurant is slightly fancier and will cost around 20-30 euro for a meal and a beer, but it is worth every penny! They take basic Irish food (chicken, pot pies, roasts, etc), and make it up with delicious flavors. I recommend the Free Range Irish Chicken Supreme ----->>>
2. The Brazen Head (7-11 euro) - This is the oldest Pub in Ireland and is a must to go see, it is also very close to Guinness. Go have a pint and some onion rings.
3. Cafe Kylemore (7-10 euro) - A fast-paced breakfast place that will allow you to get a traditional Irish breakfast at an affordable price. Try your white and black pudding here. It's on a corner by the Spire, can't miss it.

After you have seen cool sights and had a delicious Guinness and filled your belly, it will almost be time for the nightlife! Be prepared, Irish people love to party. The nightlife is amazingly convenient to walk to, wherever you choose to go, unless it is 6 in the morning and you don't know which way is north and a local tells you to get a cab when you ask him where Capel Street is... Listed below are spots to go from on a drunk scale from least sloppy to sloppiest:

1. Local pubs - The Brazen Head pours a nice pint for a few euro. There are pretty much pubs on every block. Pick one, have pint, pub crawl.
2. The International Bar - Wasn't able to visit this bar but it has great reviews. They play music, put on shows, and pour beer from around the world. It will be a top priority on my next visit.
3. The Temple Bar District - This hip area is the largest bar scene in Dublin. It a touristy area where you are sure to find people from all over the world. Go here for slightly overpriced drinks and wasted people everywhere. A few notable bars in this area are Big Ben's and Fitzsimon, both have a diverse crowd with large dance floors.
4. The House - This local spot is easy to miss on Leeson Street. It looks like any normal house with people walking in and out. You would never know it exists if you aren't a local. We got lucky enough to bump into the bouncer and he invited us in. This place is a gem for nightlife! Drinks are reasonably priced, there are friendly locals who want to party, and there is a nightclub that opens at midnight in the basement. Grab a pint, be social, and check your coats at the door when you're in the mood to dance into the late hours of the night.
5. Xico Party Cavern - At this point, you should be feeling a little wobbly but still able to function. This club is a great spot for the youth in Dublin (21-28). There are several floors and a huge dance floor that is hard to get around, better to just dance through it.
6. Copper Face Jack's - This place would make the Virgin Mary scream in fear, do 10 Hail Mary's, and sprint in front of a bus in hopes of being closer to Heaven.  If you have made it to this club, you are hammered. This whole club might as well be a giant dance floor full of sloppy drunks locking faces. Prepare to see a side of Dublin that should remain a skeleton in the closet. Enter at your own risk (never sober). My oh my, is it fun though!

(Bonus: *For American Sports fans*: There is a bar called the Woolshed in the north end that has a plethora of TV's, they show every game you could think of, head on over and check it out on football Sunday, life-saver!)

When you awake with a hangover after a crazy night of baby guinness shots and late night grub, walk on over to your nearest coffee shop and reminisce in the beauty of world travel and your love for the Irish, then prepare to do it again because you might not get a chance to come back! Mybest  advice is to be as open and friendly as possible and be ready to say YES to anything that may come your way. Have a Guinness for me! Slainte!

So you're going on a trip

Giddy. Excited. Slightly nervous. Something new. Feels like Christmas Eve as a wee lad. Packed bag 3 times. Checklist reviewed 3 times. All that's left is to go explore!

We like to have fun. We like to be social. We like to say, "Hey, I'm going on a trip, and that's all there is to it."

That's great and all, but it's wrong. So much goes into having a successful trip, and if preparing is done right then you can avoid a LOT of headaches later on. Of course, you can keep an exciting impromptu feel to your excursions, but get the basics down and you will thank yourself later.

When going to an NFL game in Europe, a jersey is a must

Bear Necessities:
- Passport, ID, Copies of each
- Form of Currency
- Phone (this can take care of boarding passes, maps, notes, camera, itinerary, and so much more)
- Map (if there is no internet for phone....but let's be real...where are you going, the moon?)
- Neck Wallet to discourage thieves

1. Know your trip

What are you taking? Where are you wanting to go? What to see? What kind of trip are you going on? Business/ leisure? Hiking? Walking a lot? How much money will you need? What to do with pets/kids? Hostel, Hotel, Airbnb, Couchsurf? Will there be power to charge phone and internet to access a map?

Answering these basic questions will help you narrow down what to put on your checklist. Every trip is going to be different and require a different set of items to accommodate the tripee.

2. Make a checklist

After answering your basic questions, make a checklist that will make sense for your area of travel. If you are going on a hiking excursion where you will be staying in tents, then it might be a good idea to bring a tent! Other items to bring would be a sleeping bag, lots of water, boots, and a plan for food (whether your food is pre-made or you will be on-the-go eating).

A site that is very good with coordinating a good trip with proper gear is Outfit Me Hub. You can use it to see what they would recommend on a trip you are considering, then pick out gear from the site or arrange your own.

Regardless of where you are going, you will find out quickly that a little prep goes a long way and it will at least let you get that much further. Of course there are spontaneous adventures that happen that can't be planned for, those just have to be taken as they come!

Get Lost

Not in a way your 4th grade crush told you when you were bugging her on the playground. Not the way a store clerk tells a solicitor or a panhandler. Get lost on that trail you haven't taken, but have wanted to. Get lost in some writing or what you believe in and love to do. Get lost in something that makes you say, "Yeah, I know why I'm alive." Getting lost will help you get found.

These pictures are from the Bright Angel Trail in the Grand Canyon. I had no intention of hiking to the edge of plateau and the end of this trail when I started, but it happened. As I began, it was at the canyon edge. I was walking down this myriad of a trail that winded down the mountain side as I peered into the pristine view of the canyon.

The Bright Angel Trail is one of the main trails on the South Rim of the canyon. It takes you deep into the canyon, and directly to the Colorado river. You can see where the trail ends on the plateau, where the River trail continues onto the Colorado river and the Phantom Ranch. Completing the entire trail there and back is intended for somewhat experienced hikers and is not advised to be completed in one day. I did not know this.

Exploring the Best Tropical Island

Paradise Point ($21 well spent)

If Jimmy Buffet had 2 tickets to paradise and he gave them to you, St. Thomas is where you would be heading. "A water lovers paradise". Visit, www.vinow.com/stthomas/ for details on the geography of St. Thomas.

Whether you come by cruise, plane, or sail, you will most likely end up at Long Bay at one point or another.

Long Bay is the central bay port and is the destination for tourists who want to shop, drink, and discover other ways to spend money. The main attraction in this area is Paradise Point.

Paradise Point is a sky lift that takes you to one of the highest points you can reach on the island and you are free to roam around the top and view sites of the entire southwest side of the island. At the top, you will be able to meet other tourists and meet locals who work the attraction. Feel free to grab an adult beverage and enjoy the day away as your senses are overloaded by a beautiful view.

If you are like me, and you like a more interactive attraction with some adventure, you will want to check out a smaller bay with a smaller crowd. I advise you to check out one of the smallest bays on the island- Coki Bay.

Coki Bay - Locals claim this is the best snorkeling bay

At Coki Bay, you can snag snorkeling gear and fish bait for $15 and enjoy the beauty of the sea. From what the locals told me, this was by far the best snorkeling destination as far as scenery goes, and they were right! I snorkeled for about an hour and saw a plethora of different fish (they will literally eat from your hand), an octopus, a sea turtle, sea urchins, crabs, iguanas everywhere, and sea horses, but no sharks. It was the best experience on the island. After I was almost finished, I was swimming around the bay and came across the local lifeguard, Tomi, who exclaimed to me in the most Jamaican/tropical accent, "You just out here swimmin, and you ain't scared of nothin huh?!" We chatted for a while then parted ways.

This island is one of those small islands, but it has a lot going on. You can snorkel, scuba dive, kayak, take boat tours, go on hikes, see amazing views, drink loads of alcohol, shop, interact with locals, or just simply relax on the beach. For more information on this beautiful island, visit - http://www.visitusvi.com/explore_islands/st_thomas.

And so it begins... Travel reviews, product reviews, experiences, marketing links

Bright Angel Trail, Grand Canyon

My first blog. This will be a relatively simple blog: If I go somewhere to eat, vacation, make a purchase, or experience, then I will be reviewing the event on here. I will also be providing information about tricks used to marketing your businesses website as I continue to grow and learn more about the industry.

When to follow along:

• If you are someone who is interested in learning about new places to eat, visit, or helpful things to buy, then follow along and I will post my own opinion and provide links to tell more about the product/place visited.
• If you are someone who wants to learn a thing or 2 about marketing your business, I will be posting infrequent posts with articles about marketing strategies I have learned about.
• No controversial posts here, just informational purposes only!

Background:

As is the mindset of most Millennial's: I love to travel. I do it when I can, I enjoy sharing my experiences with others as well as hearing other's. I love to meet people and I know everyone has at least one great idea to offer if you dig deep enough. I am from the best Midwestern city in the country, Kansas City, but don't be fooled, it is in Missouri. I have traveled out to Cali to hike the mountains in Malibu, to the Grand Canyon, and all the way to hike the Zugspitze in Germany. Along the way, I have seen places such as Jamaica, St. Thomas, The Bahamas, Rome, France, and of course I have had my fair share of adventures in American cities like Chicago and Vegas. My upcoming adventure that is already booked and planned is a 13 day trip to see Dublin, Prague, and end in London to catch the KC Chiefs play at Wembley (All of which, I will be reviewing!)

My profession is a Digital Marketing Consultant, I currently consult small business owners on how to effectively market their businesses to get the maximum return on their marketing investment. Problems are abundant, every business has best solutions. I find those.

I like to meet people and experience anything new. I like to share my opinions because I like to hear others opinions as well. Feel free to read and follow along (or not), it's up to you, cheers to a new blog!