IRELAND

Irish Americans are biased, but no matter your background

the Emerald Isle sparkles.

"The fiddler downs his pint and motions the gang to follow him to the table. Soon they launch into an old Irish ballad. I came to the Cobblestone Pub just outside the Stoneybatter neighborhood because my local friends who attended BC told me it was about as local as you get in Dublin. I counted the tourists inside, I was probably one of five out of seventy-five people crammed into the pub. The odds felt authentic. Soon the place broke out in song and you could no longer distinguish."

--Luke's Journal

CITIES VISITED:

MUST DO:

FAVORITE MEMORY:

Dublin

Lahinch

Go a mission to find the best poured pint.

Visit Croke Park and soak up the surrounding proud working class neighborhood.

Get a picture with the James Joyce statue.

See Christ Church Cathedral and St. Patrick's Cathedral.

Pay respects at the Garden of Remembrance and Irish National War Memorial Gardens.

Oh yes-- DO NOT MISS THE CLIFFS OF MOHER--worth a day trip.

The way the party spills out into the streets on a warm soft Dublin summer night. There's few feelings like it, a moment of gratitude and joy ahead of harsh winter.

DIFFICULTY TO VISIT RATING:

1/5  EASY

The Irish love America and America loves Ireland. You'll be welcomed in. Dublin is walkable and there are a bevy of tour agencies that can facilitate trips nationwide.