The Next Adventure: Ireland, France, and Spain
After rescheduling once, my next adventure is almost here. When WestJet announced that they were starting a direct route between St. John’s and Dublin, complete with a stupidly awesome seat sale, I booked a ticket first and planned later. So where will I be going?
Photo: Vincent Lock
I knew when I booked the ticket that I’d be using Dublin, Ireland as a jumping off point to explore mainland Europe. I’ve always wanted to visit Paris, France so that went on the itinerary straight off. I’ll be spending almost a week in the City of Lights and it turns out that Fashion Week is happening while I’m there. Be still my little fashionista heart. Any guesses on whether I’ll be able to make it into a show or not?
But where to after that? It took me ages and ages to decide on the rest of the route. All I knew is that I wanted to visit somewhere I hadn’t been before so no England, Croatia, or Bosnia. Would I visit Italy and stuff my face full of pasta? Would I go to Slovenia and photograph the beautiful Lake Bled? Back to the Balkans? Maybe I’d check out Berlin, Prague, or Seville.
Photo: Swedish House Mafia
One evening, while chatting with a friend, Ibiza, Spain somehow came up. “Yeah, but I can’t afford that. The rich and famous go to Ibiza to party.” A Google search or two later and I learned that it’s possible to party it up in Ibiza without going broke. I’ll be there for three days right at the tail end of party season and have plans to check out a super club, a boat party, and maybe a beach club.
Photo: Bert Kaufmann
After that was settled, Barcelona, Spain was chosen because of a mix of cheap flights from Ibiza and Gaudi architecture. I’ll have four days to explore the Catalan city. On my first I’ll be doing a full day tour checking out all the Gaudi highlights and I’m crazy excited. Other than that, I have no current plans.
Here’s where you guys come in. I want all your tips, tricks, and must-dos for Dublin, Paris, Ibiza, and Barcelona. Have YOU been to any of these places? Where should I eat? What do I need to photograph? Are there any hidden gems I shouldn’t miss? How about overrated tourist traps? I want to hear it all. Leave me a comment or fire me off an email. And be sure to follow along on Instagram and Twitter for real time updates once I hit the road.
September 4th, 2014 at 8:21 pm (#)
Dublin; Guinness brewery is highly over-rated. Or consider it an 18-euro visit to the gravity room and enjoy a great city view and a cold Guinness.
DO the Jameson’s tour, well worth it.
A bus pass is worth the cash; add on a city transfer and you get a free shuttle to and from the airport, and two days of unlimited travel on the bus. Green line seems to provide the best route.
For a history buff like me, a visit to the Kilmainham jail is worth the couple of hours. Watch the movie ‘Michael Collins’ before you go, and you’ll definitely enjoy the tour. Green Line stops right by the entrance.
Temple Bar; OK, but expensive, overcrowded and a little over-rated.
Enjoy the visit!
September 10th, 2014 at 9:46 am (#)
Thanks for the tips! I did the Guinness tour on my first visit to Dublin in 2011. Maybe I’ll have to do the Jameson’s one this time. I can’t wait to have another Guinness in a Dublin pub and listen to some live music.