Why I Love Spending Time in Dublin, Ireland

// March 8th, 2010 // No Comments » // Ireland, Travel, Travel Tips

Dublin, Ireland.

My second home. Contemporary, yet remarkably historical. The capital of Ireland and coincidentally enough the largest city on this abundantly green island. This sprawling, gritty, yet stimulating city is one of my top five favorite cities in the world. It’s one of those places that I could visit over, and over, and over again. Oh wait, I already have!

Fortunately for me, I was born 25 years ago to a mother who grew up in Dublin. Yep, so do you know what that means? I’m not only a US citizen, I’m also a citizen of Ireland! Hence why it’s my “second home”. Honestly, I’ve been to Ireland so many times in my life that I’ve lost track. Not only does my mother have family in Dublin, but my father’s brother lives in Galway, my second favorite city in Ireland!

Enough about me… here’s a couple of things that I recommend you do and see during your visit to Dublin…

Guinness Storehouse

The St. James’s Gate Brewery opened up on December 31, 1759 after its founder Arthur Guinness signed a 9,000 year lease on the four-acre property for a laughable annual rent of £45 (approx. $70 USD).

Although the tour of the Guinness Storehouse is a little pricey for the budget minded traveler ($18.25 USD) it’s definitely a MUST see in my book. In fact, the Guinness Storehouse is the No. 1 most visited attraction in all of Ireland since opening in 2000.

Inside the Guinness Storehouse is seven whole floors full of history, facts about the ingredients, and information on how Guinness is made. You’ll even get to learn about the man they call the “fifth ingredient”, Arthur Guinness himself .

Once you’ve had enough of the history and you’ve explored all to be seen in the Storehouse, the tour points you to it’s seventh and final floor. The Gravity Bar.

Conveniently located at the top of the Guinness Storehouse with a breathtaking 360-degree view of the city of Dublin. That’s not all! It’s now time for all of you Guinness lovers to sit back, relax and sip on your complimentary pint of Guinness as you ponder what your favorite part of your visit to Ireland has been so far… Hmm? I wonder?

Cost:

€ 13.50 – Adults / ($18.25 USD)
€ 11.00 – Student / ($14.85 USD)
*Receive a 10% discount off adult admission – only available if you book online.

Temple Bar

Not so much the pub itself, but the area around it. Just a short walk over the Hay’penny bridge, through an alley of sorts and there lies Temple Bar. An area known for it’s late night revelers, and overly crowded pubs, but to me Temple Bar is much more than that.

When in Dublin I enjoy spending a part of my day strolling through some of Temple Bar’s seemingly endless amount of cobblestone streets that are lined with shops, galleries, restaurants, cafes, beggars and street musicians with dreams of one day becoming as famous as Dublin’s most celebrated rock band, U2. The Temple Bar area is also a great place to people watch. If that’s your thing, you’ll probably end up spending the better half of your day here.

Tip: Head over to the Bad Ass Cafe if you’re up for some good pizza!

If you want to check out the Temple Bar nightlife, feel free! Just know that you’ll need two things before you head out for your night on the town. Common sense, and MONEY! You’ll be home early if you think that you’ll only spend $50USD. Nightlife in Dublin can be VERY EXPENSIVE!

Fact: The Temple Bar has won the title of Irish Music Pub of the Year each and every year since 2002, (2002-2009).

You can always count on some great traditional Irish music being played in Temple Bar. Be aware, the Temple Bar Pub and the area itself is very touristy so you’ll need to keep your eye out for pickpockets. Otherwise, enjoy yourself!

St. Stephen’s Green

This beautiful public park was built as a gift to the people of Dublin from the Guinness family in the 19th century. Adjacent to one of Dublin’s most popular shopping streets (Grafton St), St. Stephen’s Green is a place that you could easily spend the better half of your day. On a sunny day during the summer months you’ll find that St. Stephen’s Green is packed with all of the Irish that are trying to take advantage of a day without rain! Most tend to either walk the park, lay out in the sun or bring a lunch and have a nice picnic while being surrounded by a plethora of flowers, trees and lush green grass. St. Stephen’s Green also has a pond that you can bring the kids to feed the ducks.

Have you been to Dublin? If so, feel free to leave a comment below about you favorite things to do and see!
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Top 5 Things to Do in Dubrovnik, Croatia

// February 22nd, 2010 // 3 Comments » // Croatia, Travel, Travel Tips

Dubrovnik.

Also known as the “Pearl of the Adriatic” and boy does it live up to it’s nickname. In June of 2008 we were fortunate enough to be able to spend seven wonderful days in this amazing old city and we loved every single minute of it. In fact, out of all of the countries and cities that I visited while traveling Europe, Dubrovnik was my favorite destination. Hands down!

Here’s our list of the Top 5 Things to Do in Dubrovnik, Croatia:

1. Walk The walls of Old Town

Yes, you can actually walk atop the giant castle walls that surround and protect the Old Town of Dubrovnik! The walk around the walls is about 2 Kilometers (1.2 Miles) long. Parts of the castle walls reach up to 82ft (25m) in height, and up to 20ft (6m) thick in some places! Make sure you charge up your camera batteries for this one. You won’t want to miss some of the best views in town. Literally!

Cost:

50 HRK/pp ($9.25 USD/pp)

Duration:

Until your batteries run out!

2. Kayak the Adriatic Sea!

We highly recommend this half day Kayaking adventure! We went with a company called Adventure Dalmatia and they were as professional as you can get. For those that have nightmares about flipping over in a kayak and getting stuck upside down, no need to worry! These kayaks are top loading, therefore you basically sit in a somewhat comfortable seat on top of the kayak. Plus, you can ride doubles! Instructors will lead the way as you struggle to keep in sync with your partners paddling. You’ll eventually get the hang of it and like us, you’ll end up passing your instructors at light speed while attempting to see how fast you can actually make your Kayak go!

As you cruise along the beautiful Adriatic sea you circle the Island of Lokrum, explore some small caves, and make a quick pit stop into a private cave beach along the Dubrovnik coast line called Bettina. Here, you’ll take a relaxing seat on the beach while you consume your yummy dalmatian ham & cheese sandwich which is included in the tour price. Once your food has been digested you can take a dip in the clear blue waters with your snorkel gear for a bit before heading back to the mainland. After all was said and done we had a great time, and boy were we sore afterwards!

Cost:

230 HRK/pp ($42.50 USD/pp) – Price Includes Kayak & Snorkeling Gear, Lunch, Waterproof Barrels for personal items, Guides/Instructors.

Duration:

2.5-3 hrs

3. Visit the isle of Lokrum

Lokrum. A small, lush, uninhabited yet beautiful island which lies about 700m off Dubrovnik’s spectacular coastline. With just a short 10 minute ferry ride from the port of Old town to Lokrum, this island can provide a few hours of fun in the sun and some nice hikes along Lokrum’s many cliffs. Not only can you spend a couple of hours taking in all of the photo op’s along the cliffs, but Lokrum also houses an old monastery, botanical gardens and a lake called Mrtvo More or the (Dead Sea). The Dead Sea was my favorite part about Lokrum, or was it the nudist beach which lies on the south-eastern tip of the island? Either way, we had a great time exploring all that’s to been seen on the isle of Lokrum and we highly recommend this short hop across the Adriatic. Oh, and one more thing… be sure to watch out for the gangs of pesky peacocks that seem to be around every corner on this island!

Cost:

40 HRK/pp ($7.45 USD/pp) – Round Trip Ferry from Old Town Port to Lokrum

Duration:

Early morning until the last ferry leaves…

4. Seaside Drinks at Buza

Buza, a unique cliff side cafe on the south side of Old Town that can only be found by catching a glimpse of an old wooden sign that says “Cold Drinks With The Most Beautiful View”. Be sure to keep an eye out for this little sign, because it can easily be missed! When you arrive at a hole in the castle walls that leads out to the sea, you know you’ve arrived! Most people pass right by this place without ever knowing it existed. That’s what makes it special though, right?

There’s actually two Cafe Buza’s (Buza 1, and Buza 2) along the edge of Old Town. Both are accessed by holes in the castle walls, and both serve the same menu — drinks only!  If you’re feeling a little adventurous, make sure you bring your bathing suit so that you can do a few of the many cliff jumps that are quite conveniently located at Buza. Usually, you’ll find a lot of the young locals jumping there through out the day. Watch to see where they jump from, and where they land and you’ll be fine! But, then again… don’t take my word for it!

Overall, Buza is a great place to end an evening while sipping a glass of wine and watching the sunset over the Adriatic Sea. Sigh… LIFE IS TOUGH!

Cost:

Reasonable.

Duration:

You won’t want to leave this place!

5. Explore Old Town at night

Old Town at night is as beautiful as it is during the day. From the immaculate white cobblestone streets to the maze of stair-filled alleyways that make up Old Town, there are endless routes to explore and you can do so feeling completely safe at all hours of the night. In saying that, I always recommend bringing a friend or two along with you because being cautious never hurts!

You’ll find that there’s usually a lot going on in Old Town by night. The streets are filled with the young and the old and most seem to enjoy taking an evening stroll while admiring all of Old Town’s beauty. If walking isn’t your thing, you can hit up one of the many restaurants and bars in the area, or you can even make a delicious decision to stop into one of the few gelato shops in town. Mmm!

For a fun, reasonably priced night out head on over to Latino Club Fuego where you can drink and dance until the wee hours of the morning. Head over to Gil’s Cuisine and Pop Lounge for a more expensive, posh night out. Gil’s is an Old Town hot spot where you can wine and dine on their open air roof-top dining/lounge area. The views cannot be missed, but the prices sure can!

Cost:

Depends on what you like to do!

Duration:

All night long…

Have you been to Dubrovnik? If so, feel free to leave a comment below with your own personal Top 5 things to do!
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Blogging While Traveling: Is it WORTH it?

// July 16th, 2008 // 4 Comments » // Travel, Travel Tips

In the beginning I was told that keeping a blog while traveling would be nearly impossible. With the availability of internet and open Wi-Fi connections across Europe, and the sheer work load of writing in depth each night about my experiences in all of the cities and countries that I would soon be visiting, I knew this would be quite the task!

After completing three full months of blogging on the road, I truly found out how difficult it actually is to find time to sit down each night and put my day, thoughts and experiences down on paper or on the web in this case. Not only did I have to worry about writing often enough but I also knew that I had to make every blog entry interesting and read worthy. It had to be interesting enough that people from all over the world would actually look forward to tuning in to read what I had been up to and where I’ve traveled to over the past few days. I needed to find a way to engrave my website into my visitors heads and make them want to come back for more every day or two.

Before creating PauseTheMoment.com I would have never labeled myself as a writer, never mind a good one. After researching about the difficulties of keeping a personal travel blog, I didn’t think that I could possibly maintain a full on blog for a week never mind a few months. I underestimated myself as most would if they were in my situation. I now feel that overcoming my fears, and creating a fairly successful travel blog has not only been an incredible personal achievement, but it was one of the best decisions that I could’ve ever made. I wouldn’t change it for the world!

The best part about it all is that I now have an archive of great memories, stories, photos, videos, and more to look back on for years to come. I now plan on printing my entire journey to Europe in book form so that I can have an actual hard copy of it hanging around. How great will it be to be able to have a hard copy of my entire trip in arms reach at all times?

If you are thinking about starting your own personal blog of your travels or adventures, my advice is to go through with it! Understand that there will be a lot of hard work and effort involved but if you succeed in keeping it up to date you won’t regret a single minute that you spent on it. Good luck, and when you’re struggling to decide whether you should continue writing, or just quit and take the easy way out, KEEP ON KEEPING ON!

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How to Book the Best Airline Seat…

// July 10th, 2008 // 1 Comment » // Travel, Travel Tips

You know when you book yourself a flight and then you’re prompted to pick your seat? I don’t know about you, but for me this is a daunting task! If you’re like me, you take one look at this airplane seating chart and you think to yourself, well if I sit at the absolute front of the plane I’ll get the most leg room and I’ll be first off of the plane!

Being first off the plane might be great and all, but remember that most parents with infants snag seats right up front too so that they can use the baby trays that are attached to the walls. Believe me, I experienced a six hour scream fest of a flight on my way from Boston to Dublin back in April of 2008 due to a baby sitting across from me. Not cool!

Well, we’re all in luck now because some absolute genius has set up a website called (www.seatguru.com) that shows the seating charts of more than 50 Airlines! Not only can you see the actual seating chart of the actual plane that you’ll be flying on, but you can also find out everything you need to know about where the best seat on the plane is, which seats have the most leg room, which seats are exit seats, which seats do and do not recline all the way back, and best of all which seats reside right next to those fantastic smelling airplane lavatories! Mmm!

Check out SeatGuru now, for your own sanity!

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PTM Travel Tips //
Minimizing International Fees while Abroad…

// April 23rd, 2008 // 5 Comments » // Travel, Travel Tips

When planning an international trip, everyone knows that things add up pretty quickly. With the economy in near recession at the moment the Dollar as a currency has never been worse. Knowing this, I’ve done a lot of research on this topic and I figured I’d share a few tips with you on how you can actually save money while you’re overseas.

The fees that I’m talking about are Banking Fees such as ATM Fees, Fees on International Purchases, Currency Conversion Fees and more. After you add all these fees up, depending on how long you’re planning on traveling, or how lavish you decide to live on your trip they can add up to hundreds, maybe even thousands of dollars (if you’re living like a king). Wouldn’t you rather take that money and use it to pay for a few extra nights stay at a nice hotel at the end of your trip, an unforgettable paragliding experience in Austria, or maybe you could use that extra money you saved to pay for a few souvenirs and gifts to bring back to the folks back home.

If you are currently a Bank of America customer and you’re planning on using your ATM/Debit card abroad, STOP! Have you weighed out your options yet? It’s something you should really think about. Did you know that you could be charged 3% on transactions? Yep, a 2% Foreign Currency Transaction fee and and since Bank of America is VISA, (Visa & Mastercard charge a mandatory 1% Foreign Currency Conversion charge). So that’s three percent each and every time you use your card! (more…)

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PTM Travel Tips // Travel Insurance 101…

// March 17th, 2008 // No Comments » // Travel, Travel Tips

Are you heading out on a trip abroad and you’re debating on whether to get travel insurance or not? Well, I was in the same boat as you up until a couple of months ago. I tend to do quite a bit of research on products and services before buying. What can I say, I’m a bargain shopper! I’ve learned from the best (my mother).

After searching far and wide across the web, I couldn’t find a travel insurance company that would cover me for 3+ months. All of the companies that I contacted only offered insurance to cover me from when I left the USA, until I arrived back in the USA and even at that they were trying to charge me astronomical prices.

Due to it being such a hassle to find the “right” coverage that suited me best I decided to look into getting travel insurance just to cover my Contiki trip, a 23-day coach tour that I’m taking to multiple countries across Europe. You know, just so I’d be covered in case the trip was canceled for some reason, my flight from Dublin to London was delayed, my baggage was lost, etc. Well, again come to find out no company will cover you for a trip that starts in Europe and ends in Europe. The insurance companies need to know what date you’re leaving the US and what date you will be returning to the US. Basically, for those who are traveling to foreign countries, going on a round the world trip, or just going on an open ended ticket vacation with no set date of return are in big trouble! Or are they?
(more…)

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