I realized, looking back at my posts, I haven't done a post on tips or travel guides in a long time! So, after being to the Cliffs of Moher this past summer, I thought I'd give you guys my tips for dealing with the Cliffs of Moher, but most importantly, dealing with the Cliffs on a windy day!
So as you may know, my post before I moved to Spain was about my trip to the Cliffs of Moher, where and what I ate and all of the fun surrounding almost being blown into the Atlantic ocean. All in the name of tourism, I suppose!
As well as providing tips for the Cliffs, I'm gonna give some suggestions for prospective tourists on what would be cool to do in the area, where would be cool places to stay and why you should stop in Clare whilst travelling along the Wild Atlantic Way. So, enough jibber jabber! Onto the tips and suggestions!
TIPS:
1) Suitable Clothing: It's the Atlantic Coast, people. It's gonna be a cold one! Ireland is known for its unpredictable weather. So a coat or windbreaker is definitely a must-have for anywhere in Ireland, really, but especially on the Cliffs. The wind is pretty powerful and also cold, sea foam floats around and the mist certainly isn't dry! So for the outer layer, definitely bring a coat/jacket. A hat, if its windy, is a very good option. Wind swept hair is one thing,
but gale force wind swept hair... you'll be leaving Ireland like a hairless cat. So definitely bring a hat. In terms of footwear, definitely wear something suitable. Walking cliffside, there are steps and uneven surface as well as slopes, makes for hard work on the feet, so comfortable soles will mean that there is one less thing to worry about. In terms of accessories, I'm kind of on the fence about whether to advise an umbrella. In theory, its great if it starts raining, which it most likely will but in reality, I can see that umbrella turning inside out and the struggle to get it back in formation.
2) Experience the Visitor Center: Not only is it educational, but its actually super interesting and fun. For secondary school students in Ireland, persuading you geography teacher to bring you to The Cliffs of Moher, which is really near to the Burren, one of the largest Karst Landscape areas in Ireland is a great way to get a day off school while also going to the place where they filmed Harry Potter! Inside the visitor centre, you get to see many cool things. First of all, the visitor centre is inside a hill. Literally inside a hill. If any of you have seen the Teletubbies,
exactly like their house. Then you go inside. Small stores and cafes are visible when you enter, and then you go into the main lobby. Here, there are many interactive displays. One of my favorites was looking at what the earth looked like centuries ago and what it will look like in the future, it was super cool. There were posters and signs at every turn, showing what animals were known in the region, what it would have been like here in Ireland years ago and what the people who lived in the area were like and what they did. There were applications to send postcards, a screening of a birds-eye view cartoon of the Cliffs, which was neat as you saw parts of the Cliffs you may not see. So, taking a look inside the visitor centre is a definite must as you get an indoor experience of the outdoors, something I thought I'd never say!
3) Invest in the local businesses
What's great about about the area in which the cliffs are, is that the region is surrounded by local business. From Ballyvaughn on, there is a variety of local businesses the come to and beyond the Cliffs. Doolin, the closest village to the Cliffs has a lovely little cosy restaurant known as the "Stonecutters Kitchen". I've never been to Stonecutters myself, but from the reviews I've read and the things I've heard, they serve the best fresh fish and chips as well as the best seafood chowder along the Wild Atlantic Way, one review claimed that the food was "the best fish I've ever had" So, gastronomy is a very wide part of the local business in the Cliff region, with fresh fish being a giant contributing factor. On the cliff site itself, there are the Puffin Nest Coffee Shop and the Cliff View Café which serve great food with locally sourced produce. As well as these places, there are souvenir shops as well minted into the hillside. It would be worthwhile, when in the Moher region, to check out other local
attractions. The money spent in this region is definitely well worth it.
4) TAKE PICTURES!
It is one of the most beautiful, picturesque view I think I've ever come across. Totally natural, when looking out at the ocean. You see the sea foam, the erosion-caused sea stacks, the wildlife and most importantly, the amazing Cliffs themselves. You can see the sea stack that Dumbledore and Harry were on in "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince". You really get to picture a bit of everything! Wildlife, Nature, Landscape and a piece of movie culture! Even on a cloudy, misty day, the pictures, along with what you see with your own eyes are really just one of a kind!
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I highly recommend for anyone who is thinking of travelling to Ireland, thinking of finding a place to visit in Ireland or if you're Irish and you haven't been to the Cliffs, to definitely go and take a look at the amazing landscape.
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Hey guys! So here we are in November! Know what that means?! Halloween is over the hill and now it's time to get ready for Christmas! It's weird that another month is gone already! Time is going so quick here! But we've gotta look forward and be excited for what November can hold (Some studying
required for me but oh well!)
October has been a weird and wonderful month here in Madrid. I think I've been sick for most of the month, toothaches, flu but that didn't stop me partying studying, and most importantly, discovering the city of Madrid and all its glory, obviously! So now we're more familiar with Madrid, which means that the chances of us getting lost when we go out in the city is less likely and less frequent. So let's start with some of the things that Madrid had to offer in October;
I guess you can't really talk about October and not mention the all-Ireland Senior football final between the hopeful Mayo and Dublin. Considering it was
a national sporting event for the Irish nation and the hopes were high for Mayo to win, a trip to the Irish pub was necessary to watch the game! We went to the James Joyce Bar (C/ de Alcala near Banco de España station http://www.jamesjoycemadrid.com/index.asp), which I've mentioned in previous blog posts. It's one of my favorite haunts in Madrid for a nice drink and some good food. Now when I say that the place was full, I mean it was wedged from wall to wall. Even the poor waiting staff had a difficult time getting through the crowd. It was fun to see the place wall to wall Blue and Green with supporters with the odd person from another Irish county in between (Shoutout to the guys from Donegal and Tipperary!). All out to see who would win, with it being a national sporting event and all. Guinness in hand, the match started. Let me tell you. I've never felt such an intense atmosphere in such an enclosed space. Being from Galway, I just sipped my beer and enjoyed the match both on screen and the amusing intensity out of the supporters!
After the match, a trip to a tapas bar seemed like the best option in order to some of comfort the blow felt by the Mayo fans by Mayo's unfortunate loss. One place came to mind for such an occasion. El Tigre is probably my favourite
tapas bar in Madrid and it's a place I would highly recommend to anyone if they're visiting Madrid with friends or a small group. As soon as you walk in to El Tigre, a member of the waiting staff greets you, takes your order and brings you to a table. Along with your drinks, multiple plates of tapas are given as well. I'm talking marinated chicken, patatas bravas, croquetas and ham dishes! And the price at the end? €5 per person! For all the tapas and the drinks, it's well worth it. (https://www.facebook.com/pages/El-Tigre-de-Hortaleza/260790540642267)
One of my favorite things to do in Madrid with friends, is to go to some nightclubs and have a good time. Being an Erasmus student, we are part of an ESN Group which holds events every week. So, sometimes we end up going to these events, For example, we went to a Animal themed party (I got my face
painted like a "dog") and at the start of October, we went to a neon party, which was an amazing night out. A lot of friends were at Nomad Nightclub (https://www.facebook.com/pages/Nomad-Madrid/1543729569251356?fref=ts), the home of Erasmus parties so it was a great night. Messy, with the
neon paint, but great fun. Nomad nightclub has great music and great drink offers for students, especially those on Erasmus. As well as Nomad, another nightclub that always has a good night is Moondance Nightclub! This place is a must-go place for people looking to party here in Madrid. The line to get in isn't too long but once you're inside, the place has three bars, a great dancefloor, good drinks and amazing music. I've had one too many good nights in both Nomad and Moondance and I would recommend anyone who is gonna go party in Madrid to check them out. (https://www.facebook.com/Moondance-Madrid-511225095607096/?fref=ts)
In the middle of October was a pretty fun time. Assignments from University started pouring in slowly, I got a package sent from Ireland from my family (a late birthday present) full of sweets, treats and Irish teabags... The essentials really. But also the arrival of my roommates parents, which was nice. So it was time to put my tourism knowledge of Madrid to good use and show them around some great parts of Madrid, some of which I mentioned in previous Madrid blogs. We left our zone and headed towards Sol, the main center of Madrid. All roads seem to lead to Sol. We made our way through the mass crowd in Madrid. Coming from the small town of Tuam, it's always amazing to see the hundreds of people around Sol on a given afternoon. We walked down towards Opera, taking in the sights of street performers and music happening on the street. We came the the Teatro Real, where there was a farmers-style market. We browsed briefly before heading into the grounds of the Palacio Real. The Palacio Real is actually a superbly beautiful building. During the day, you get natural light showing how beautiful it is but even at night, the place is just amazing! We walked around the grounds for a little while, gazing at the Palace. One of the cool places adjoining the Palace is the Almudena Cathedral. For anyone who has a proclivity for art, history, architecture or religion. This place will blow your mind entirely. I'm always
gobsmacked when I'm in the place. It has so much culture and art. We walked around taking in the religious sculptures and artifacts. It was pretty interesting! From Almudena Cathedral, we walked to Plaza de España, one of my favorite plazas in Madrid. It is one which links with Gran Vía, the way to the Temple de Debod, a gift from the Egyptians, and hosts the statue of Don Quixote. I love this place too both in the day and in the night. The sculptures and water features create a picturesque vibe to the plaza, along with the trees surrounding the area. From the Plaza de España, we went towards Callao to get food in my favorite Italian restaurant in Madrid. Di Bocca is an amazing eatery for lunch or dinner. (https://www.facebook.com/pages/Di-Bocca/183032268377684?fref=ts) With dishes that will surely fill you, their food is really good. I got the Spaghetti Carbonara and the rest got lasagna and pizza. The silence from the table was a good sign of a good meal, I reckon! The food hit the spot and it was enough to fuel our energy for another hour. From there we continued down through Gran Vía and down through the Paseo de Prado and back up towards the Sevilla metro to head back home! It was quite a foot-aching adventure! That evening was a quite one and also one where Meghan Trainor was tracing around Madrid, weird, right?
The rest of October was a bit up and down. Some of which was surrounded by sickness and studying and the rest was having a nice time around Madrid with friends, eating one-too-many Burger Kings and sometimes getting caught in the rain! But one of the nice places I discovered towards the end of October was the Cuatro Caminos area of Madrid. I traveled from my area to Alonso Cano and
from there I walked towards the Rios Rosas area to try and find a costume shop so I could get some stuff for Halloween. The Barullo Company is a great costume shop just beside the Rios Rosas Metro station (Which was closed for repairs which was why I went to Alonso Cano). I bought my goodies for Halloween, including fake glasses and fake blood.(https://www.facebook.com/barullocompany/?fref=ts) And after shopping I decided to walk in the opposite direction, because no matter where you walk in Madrid, you'll stumble upon a metro station! I walked up the boulevard towards Cuatro Caminos and it was a very nice neighbourhood. Not too busy in the evening that I was there but it was nice! You come to the main roundabout beside the metro stops, Cuatro Caminos is the start of Line 2 and is on Line 1 and 6. On the roundabout is a 24 Hour Carrefour, in the area there is a Mercado de Maravillas and it is definitely a place I wanna discover more, as I am sure there is more there.
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That's some of the things I've been up to in Madrid in the last month. Stay tuned for more and I'll be sure to keep you guys posted on things here in Madrid with tips and recommendations!
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Be sure to like, comment, share and enjoy guys! Any blog hints or anything is welcomed!
