Introduction & What Makes Dublin Special

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Dublin is a city, it's a very small city for capital and it's super well connected. Ireland is is is really a small country. It's a l small little island and a gorgeous little island. But it's very well connected in terms of uh where it's based, where it's located in Europe. So uh we get a lot of people who come here who want to be just a short flight away from elsewhere in Europe so they can do quick little weekends away. It's like a couple of hour flights, very inexpensive to to get around.

SPEAKER_01 0:29

Welcome to the Truly Expat Travel Podcast. I'm your host, Paula, and this is season two. On season one, I talk to expats about their favorite holiday destination. On season two, I'll be doing things very differently. I'll be chatting to expats about where they currently live. Why they chose that destination, all those secret hidden gems that only locals know, you know, like favorite restaurants, best neighborhoods, things that tourists don't. Welcome to the Truly Expat Travel Podcast. My name's Paula, and today I've got a great guest. So, Danny, I met last year at a conference. So she's gonna talk about a really exciting destination that I absolutely love. And I at one stage last year felt like it was a second home. So let's get started. Welcome, Danny. Where are you? Who are you? How'd you get there?

Meet Danny: Founder of Nomad Era Ireland

SPEAKER_00 1:23

Thank you so much. Thank you, thank you. I really appreciate the lovely intro. I am in Ireland, the one and only. I am in Dublin at the moment, also, and yeah, the sun is shining. There's a sun eclipse that will be visible at some point today, also, so everyone's really excited and kind of there's a buzz around in the air. So I founded Nomad Era, which is the digital nomads Ireland hub in Ireland. Irelish, Irish hub in Ireland, you know. So essentially, this is for digital nomads, content creators, remote workers, freelancers, and we do an annual gathering, an annual conference, and a festival where everybody gets together and everybody learns from each other, and we travel and explore around the country and it's really fun. So that's my my short intro.

SPEAKER_01 2:08

And it was a lot of fun because I was there last year, so I can vouch for that. And how how did you get to Dublin in the first place?

SPEAKER_00 2:16

Gosh, well, I've been living here for for most of my life. My family moved to Dublin when I was little, so I grew up in Dublin. Dublin's been my my home for a long time. Though saying that I'm also semi-nomadic, so I'm not in any country all year round, like all of the time. A few months a year, I'm always somewhere travelling for a little bit. But Dublin is my home in my base.

SPEAKER_01 2:38

I can also vouch for that because she's a very hard woman to get hold of. Let's get started. Dublin!

Why People Fall in Love with Dublin

SPEAKER_01 2:44

Um for those who have never been to Dublin, what makes it so special? You know, and yeah, let's let's dive in.

SPEAKER_00 2:52

Dublin is a city, it's a very small city for capital, and it's super well connected. Ireland is is is really a small country, it's a l small little island and a gorgeous little island. But it's very well connected in terms of uh where it's based, where it's located in Europe. So uh we get a lot of people who come here who want to be just a short flight away from elsewhere in Europe so they can do quick little weekends away. It's like a couple of hour flights, very inexpensive to get around. It's one of the few English-speaking countries in Europe, so that's another attraction for people, you know, and one of the reasons they come, especially move to Ireland, relocate, and stay sometimes for a very long time, sometimes for a short time, kind of depends on their lifestyle and their preferences and their needs. But it's also a big tech hub. A lot of the headquarters are here for like the tech businesses, so there's tax incentives, etc. So that's kind of from a professional perspective as well. But otherwise, the weather's pretty mild. Dublin as a city is a coastal city, so if you want to go on a walk on the beach within half an hour from most areas, you can get to the coast. It's within an hour from the mountains. So, like for me, in terms of lifestyle, if I want to have a day where I'm just hanging out with my girlfriends and go for coffees, there's lots of options all around the city to just go from cafe to cafe and sit sit people watching, for example. But if I want to go hiking, I also have options of hiking within actually sometimes 40 minutes drive. And it's great. Definitely an outdoor person, so I am always out and about exploring hiking, spending time outdoors on the beach at the moment. But the weather we've had this summer has been incredible. Really warm sun. I know I know most of the most southern Europe are struggling because of the heat waves all all over. It's too hot. Whereas in Ireland it's just perfect. Yeah. And I know it's not it's not for for for the right reasons, obviously, with climate change and everything, things are things are shifting in in all sorts of directions. But it's been really, really pleasant here. And I've some friends from Spain saying, Oh, um, maybe I want to come to Ireland, they're looking to escape the southern heat. So the north, no, the north is in enjoying the the current weather, and I feel like we're very lucky to to have it. So you can really feel in the air and yeah, just lots of really really nice things and and the kind of the vibe. People are great, fun, good what we say in Ireland, good crack. Lots of fun. Yeah, so it depends. If people if people are interested in enjoying the outdoor, if be but the outdoors, if people are interested in like the professional side of things, Ireland's got a lot going for it. And Dublin itself is it's like a huge startup hub, so there's a lot of that too. Meetups, left, right, and centre. Like it's a really social place

Dublin as a Startup & Tech Hub

SPEAKER_00 5:38

to be. And yeah.

SPEAKER_01 5:40

My son loved it, absolutely loved it. So he was in Is it Hoth? I always say that wrong. Is it Hoth? Yeah, and he just loved it. He said if it wasn't for the fact that it rained every day, he would definitely be coming back again.

SPEAKER_00 5:56

Tell him it stopped raining.

SPEAKER_01 5:57

Oh, it's nice.

SPEAKER_00 6:00

It doesn't rain any every day anymore. You know, we even had like dry grass for like a couple of weeks. It was just because it was no no rain at all. It was so dry, which is which is really unusual and definitely because well in the winters it's wetter, hence it's green everywhere. It's so green. For like the Instagrammers. For the Instagrammers, you always get the perfect photos because it's just lush, like lush green everywhere. It's fabulous. But now it's lush green with blue skies.

SPEAKER_01 6:28

But yeah, I think there's always green sky uh blue skies most of the time. Anyway, it's just it's a little bit cooler than most parts of Europe.

SPEAKER_00 6:35

Yeah, yeah, it's and it depends, I think, on on everyone's perspective and expectations. Sometimes you find beauty in in all sorts of things, depending on what we're looking for, looking at, looking for, and how we choose to see it. I think it's just my perspective.

SPEAKER_01 6:50

I no, I totally agree. I totally agree. So for the someone who has never been to Ireland, okay, say say that's they're they're thinking of coming to Dublin. Is it easy to get from the airport into the city?

Getting from the Airport to the City

SPEAKER_01 7:01

How would they get get do you know how they would get there?

SPEAKER_00 7:03

Oh god, it's really easy. I mean, there's lots of options. There there are direct local public buses. There's also the air coach, which is the main kind of airport bus that costs a little bit more, but you can also just get the normal um Dublin uh public transport bus, which is the most economic economical way to to commute. But yeah, you get out of the airport and then there, and they're there. And there's also taxis. So there are lots of options. And it's within half an hour. So again, Dublin is in that regard small and connected, so it's not it's not difficult. And also getting around the country as well, there's lots of options.

SPEAKER_01 7:38

Yeah, well, that was the question I was gonna ask. Do you need to have a car, do you think, if you're in Dublin?

SPEAKER_00 7:43

Hmm. I mean, if you're in Dublin, no. There's public transport, uh, there's the tram, the the train and buses,

Do You Need a Car in Ireland?

SPEAKER_00 7:51

depends on where people are are staying. If you're getting around the rest of the country, sometimes maybe. Some people I I have friends who've actually cycled around Ireland, again, being a small country. One of my friends literally did like a coastal route, the entire island of Ireland, like all around. Stunning, stunning routes, obviously. But there are some places that are not possible to reach by public transport. So for some of those, a car will be helpful. Other places, you know, you can get very relatively close by bus and then from there figure out, you know. The West Coast, for example, if someone wants to see the cliffs of Moher, which is one of the big famous attractions, you could potentially just get a bus to Galway City, stay in Galway for a few days and then do a drait. They trip to the cliffs, which makes it easier. You're exploring another location, another base. Galway's a fabulous city, it's very artistic, musical. Like I feel like half the musicians in Ireland are from Galway, but at least you go there, you just hear music everywhere, every corner. It's just a fun city, and it's it's really colourful. Yeah, it's really, really cool. So from Galway City, there's options, but yeah, there's like small like local buses. Routes might not be as frequent. It's sometimes, again, if it's like a little village in the middle of nowhere, there might be buses only a few times a day. So it's it's a case of planning a little bit in advance or potentially renting a car for like a smaller part of the route once you get to the closest town or city in the area that you want to explore. Like Donegal, we were in Donegal as well last year. Yeah, was it last year or the year before? We we were in Donegal first and then we came to Dublin, right?

SPEAKER_01 9:26

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 9:27

Yeah, Donegal is stunning, like it's such a gorgeous region. It's kind of large for Ireland, but there's a lot of places you cannot reach by public transport. And to get like to this kind of really wild, untouched nature, yeah, you need to um improvise, be resourceful,

Exploring Beyond Dublin: Galway, Donegal & the Cliffs of Moher

SPEAKER_00 9:44

meet some locals, or get another get a car.

SPEAKER_01 9:46

Yeah, because I I actually drove up there, but then I caught the bus back.

SPEAKER_00 9:50

Oh, there you go. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 9:51

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 9:52

Did you leave the car? What what happened with the car?

SPEAKER_01 9:55

So I drove up there with my son and his girlfriend. Oh, perfect. And they took the car and went back. Because it's not that far. I think they took four or five hours on the way back. So it's not that far.

SPEAKER_00 10:03

Yeah, so you're from a from from from a larger country.

SPEAKER_01 10:06

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 10:07

But you're like, it's not far. I'm like, oh, it's the other end of the country. But actually, no, you're right. Ireland's so small. Like I was speaking to somebody from Germany the other day, and I was saying, Oh, it's a three-hour drive to whi whichever place we're talking about. And they were like, Oh, that's really close. I'm like, Oh, I suppose it is, yeah. Within a few hours you can reach pretty much the end of the country, like go going up and up and down or you know, east-west. So yeah, it's very, very doable. And it's beautiful.

SPEAKER_01 10:35

And is do you think Ireland is a tipping culture? Is there a tipping culture?

SPEAKER_00 12:24

Potentially, like not wildly tipping, maybe. Like I think uh in in the US there's probably more of um tipping culture than here, but on average about 10% as a tip. I think some people decide whether a tip is to be given uh based on the service also, or just rounding it up a little bit. Depends

Tipping Culture in Ireland

SPEAKER_00 12:46

on where you go. I think it also depends on the kind of place. Is it expected? In some places, yes. In some places it's kind of more casual, but uh it's nice to tip.

SPEAKER_01 12:56

Yeah, yeah. I mean people service is good.

SPEAKER_00 12:58

Yeah, exactly. They work hard, they they do get paid, but like you know, the the pay in the in the services industry is not necessarily reflecting the amount of work gone in. They work long hours, so like, yeah, yeah, it's just a case of giving them a little tip. I think they deserve it.

SPEAKER_01 13:13

Yeah, no, I agree. I totally agree. And for in your opinion, what's the best time to travel to Dublin?

SPEAKER_00 13:22

Like now.

SPEAKER_01 13:22

Now today would be a really good day. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 13:27

Uh today'd be great, just if you can make it just before the eclipse.

SPEAKER_01 13:33

So you think summer, August, September? 100%.

SPEAKER_00 13:36

Uh summer is brilliant. Summer is amazing. Like I remember I used to live in Barcelona, and when I was there every August, I would escape the heat and literally just come back to Dublin because

Best Time of Year to Visit Dublin

SPEAKER_00 13:44

also to see family and friends. But it was the perfect time to escape the heat, the humidity. And right now, like Spain, Italy, well, pretty much like most of southern Europe, it's very, very hot and it it's kind of challenging. People are, you know, some people are struggling. Obviously, if if you've got work, if you've got aircon, depending on if they're co in a coastal location or not, it's different. But in general, it's just really lovely right now. And in the summer would be my general recommendation because it's you see the the best of everything, you see Ireland uh in its kind of best light, in all the its colours. Well, maybe there's more colours in autumn. So come in summer and stay for the autumn. Yeah. Um, but it depends. Like we've people coming in the middle of the winter. Uh spring, spring is also lovely. I think it depends on what people are looking for, what they're after, what kind of expectations they have, if they're an outdoor person or not. There's people that go out hiking in the in the winter and they really want to feel like the wind and the rain you know on their face. And the grey skies. There's sometimes something a little bit serene and calming about this type of uh weather too. And one of my favorite islands, Akil Island, if you go there, whatever the weather, it's it feels magical. There's like something in the air.

SPEAKER_01 14:54

So yeah.

SPEAKER_00 14:56

But summer summer would be what I would recommend to the majority.

SPEAKER_01 14:59

One thing I never got a chance to do that I really wanted to do was actually stay in a lighthouse. Because a lot of your lighthouses are accommodation now. Oh, so cool. Yeah. That's one thing, and I th and I thought winter would be lovely because then you've got all the the waves and it's the wild nights. Yeah.

unknown 15:17

What's going on?

SPEAKER_00 15:18

But it's kind of exciting. You know no one's gonna come in.

SPEAKER_01 15:22

Exactly. And you know what? I actually was there February last this year, this year, and it was actually nice. It was not too cold.

SPEAKER_00 15:29

No, it actually never gets that

Staying in a Lighthouse (Hidden Gem Experience)

SPEAKER_00 15:31

cold, I think. I mean, compared to a lot of other places and also the rest of Europe, like the rest of continental Europe, the the winter as winters get very cold, you know. Like when when snow comes, like it can get really, really cold. So Ireland's, I think it's just in general milder in every way. But yeah, the lighthouse, I've never stayed in one either. That sounds exciting.

SPEAKER_01 15:52

Yeah, I really want to do that. That's gonna be if I ever get back there. That because I was going back quite a lot now that the now that they've left, I don't really have an excuse to go.

SPEAKER_00 16:01

Oh, we can visit me.

SPEAKER_01 16:02

Yes, I can. But um, I think because September, I was there last year, September I saw you then, and it was beautiful weather. Like it was really nice. We went swimming. We went swimming last year. Yes, you did.

SPEAKER_00 16:15

Yeah, so that was fun. To be honest, I don't know how, whether it's like some kind of like, you know, God what God working at us, the universe or whatever, or if it's just I don't know what it is, because like even though summer ends, if we usually have our event after the summer, and we always get pretty decent weather for it. We get sunshine, we can go swimming, we go to the beach. Some people like try a bit of sunbathing, depending on you know the program and stuff. But we've had decent weather usually. It's kind of like the extended summer that we still manage to get. And then there was there was one year in one of the events we actually had the weather switched in August. It kind of got a bit rainy and a little bit cooler, and then the week we had our event, which was just after, it picked up again and the sun came out, and I was like, oh, thank you.

SPEAKER_01 16:59

That's so nice. It was lovely.

SPEAKER_00 17:02

Yeah, and it's not like I sit there praying all day, give sunshine, give us well. Sometimes maybe I could or should I I think I have at least once, but but it does actually like we usually have like really cool lovely weather. So I plan it, you know, with my friends.

SPEAKER_01 17:18

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Last year has so last year I started doing the sauna and then swimming in the ocean in Ireland. That has I as now my thing. I just love that. I love that the one thing I didn't understand though is that when I was in the in the ocean and people were not going in the sauna, they were just swimming in the ocean and it was absolutely freezing cold. That I don't understand. But the whole sauna by the water and then jumping in the ocean, honestly, next level, it's so amazing. And there's so many in Ireland.

SPEAKER_00 17:48

Incredible. Yes, it's true. There's there seems to be more popping now every like every

Sea Swimming & Sauna Culture on the Irish Coast

SPEAKER_00 17:52

so often I see there's new ones coming up. So yeah, that's a really cool popular experience nowadays. It was not a thing before, now it really is a thing. I know like a lot of Scandinavian countries have this that it's so common that you jump into the snow or ice, like even more potentially extreme for me. Yeah, but um and then you go into the sauna. But like obviously for the health, there's huge benefits, the hot and cold for the immune system, it's incredible. In Ireland, the like you said, uh the sea itself can be cold. And if anyone's coming from tropical countries, you know, you're in for a surprise. Yeah, but in our lovely warm weather in the summer, it's actually still refreshing and lovely. But I have to say, sometimes, like you know, the Wim Hof um method, like the ice bat challenge and all these things. It's like sometimes swimming in the Irish Sea, but definitely in the winter, it feels like you're doing the Wim Hof um ice challenge. You go in, get your ice experience, you come out. Like, so there's benefits, there really are really great benefits. I have a friend of mine who swam every single day, all year round, every year. I don't know if she's still doing it, but she used to like wake up every morning, go for a swim first, regardless of the the weather, the type of the um time of the year, the cold. It was it would be like a quick swim, but for her health, she decided this is what I'm doing, and she stuck to it for like a long time. But in the summer, it the the it's less cold, obviously, and then there's still the sun on us, and it's a really beautiful experience. And then, like, you can still sunbathe in between.

SPEAKER_01 19:18

Yeah, so it's pretty nice.

SPEAKER_00 19:20

I love it. I'm hooked on that too.

SPEAKER_01 19:22

Yeah, and then also in winter, snuggling up in a pub, drinking a Guinness by the fire, it just there's something quite special about that too, right?

SPEAKER_00 19:31

Or hot whiskies are also nice.

SPEAKER_01 19:36

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 19:36

I know, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 19:37

But that's I I totally agree. Totally agree.

SPEAKER_00 19:40

Hot whiskey port, I mean, coming up to Christmas, kind of like mold wine as well, is it's just lovely. So me as my friends, we go up for hikes. One year we went actually in Akhil surfing. So, surfing, you're on you're you're in the water with your wetsuits,

Cosy Pub Culture: Hot Whiskeys, Live Music & Open Fires

SPEAKER_00 19:56

it does get fresh, cold, cool. And then you come out, and so in Akil the experience was there was this bus on the beach, which was fabulous. It's like a bus that turned into a cafe. So we had our we had our we finished our surfing session and we were all cold, and then you we went for our hot drinks on this lovely bus. It was such it's actually a it was kind of romantic as an experience, it was so lovely. And then hiking after a long hike, going to a pub with like a you know, a local meal, like say a burger with a drink or um a hot beverage, just you've done your exercise, you feel good, you're cold, you're warm, it's soothing, it's comforting, it's and then you have like Irish pubs in general are just so cozy, aren't they? So you you really can just relax and enjoy the vibe, and then you want to stay there for hours. And not not even necessarily just drinking alcohol, it's not about that, it's about the the feeling, the co the comfort, the coziness, and the company usually.

SPEAKER_01 20:51

And everyone's so friendly there as well, you know, like you end up chatting to the table next to you anyway, or that's just you.

SPEAKER_00 20:57

You do no no I'm saying, well, maybe it's just us. I can go alone, no problem, and I could just sit somewhere and by the end of the evening I have like ten new friends.

SPEAKER_01 21:06

Yeah, yeah, and the same.

SPEAKER_00 21:08

Ten new besties, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 21:10

And do you drink Guinness? Should I even be asking that? Um I do, yeah. Yeah, yeah. So is there like everyone always says that they have a favorite place that they have Guinness? Do you have one? Like is there one that's the best Guinness that you know of?

SPEAKER_00 21:25

Guinness watching this. Um, do I have a favorite Guinness place? There's one pub, I could choose, I can't remember the name of it right now. It's on Dame Street. It's a very little old kind of an old man's pub as it's referred to. Yeah. And they've a fabulous Guinness. That's just in in Dublin. But

The Guinness Debate: Where Locals Actually Drink It

SPEAKER_00 21:43

lots of kind of smaller bars, not not the typical tourist t-spots, not inside Temple Bar personally. I mean, obviously the prices also change when you're in these spots. But Johnny Fox's pub, I don't know if you've been to it before, it's in Wicklow, it's one of it's like the highest level pub in Dublin. It's super colourful and wonderful atmosphere. That also has my favorite seafood chowder.

SPEAKER_01 22:05

Ah, okay.

SPEAKER_00 22:07

So you could go and get your seafood chowder and then get a Guinness. I find country pubs, countryside pubs, they they all have great Guinness. In general, in Ireland, it should be the best than anywhere else in the world because it's made here. So like the actual water that's used is the original source of water. This is what they say. That if you try Guinness anywhere else abroad, that isn't Ireland, it doesn't taste the same. So if you've never been to Ireland and you like Guinness, well, you have to come to the source and try the best.

SPEAKER_01 22:33

Yeah, exactly. Exactly. So we went we went to the gravedigger pub. Yeah, they should. It was sponsored by Guinness. I know. But we went to the Gravedigger's pub because everyone kept saying it's the best Guinness, it's the best Guinness, best Guinness. I don't even drink Guinness, but my son does, and he said yeah, it was really good. But I was also quite fascinated, it's a really old pub, and there's so much history there. I didn't realise that the cemetery next door was where Michael Collins is actually buried. I I was like blown away. You know, but anyway, I'm a bit of a history buff, so that was quite exciting.

SPEAKER_00 23:09

There's lots of little surprises that Arlene has. Yeah. There's a pub, I think we went to it last year together. Or I don't remember if you were you if you joined, it was the day before the event kicked off by the along the quays by the river. Did you did you come to that one?

SPEAKER_01 23:23

Uh the the day before. I went to the one the day before, yes.

SPEAKER_00 23:25

Before that was another one, like a lovely pub. Lovely, lovely um but since you're focused on games, lovely goodness. I was gonna say in general. For me it's a lot about the people too. But yeah, absolutely. Yeah, you can taste the difference. And in Ireland, uh at least among the the ladies, myself included, one thing that's um popular with Guinness itself because it can taste a bit bitter. No, it is the flavor of it. A drop of blackcurrant syrup.

SPEAKER_01 23:54

Yes.

SPEAKER_00 23:54

Like it adds this sweetness. Have you tried it?

SPEAKER_01 23:57

I have tried it and actually I liked it. Yeah, and my husband was like, I'm not buying you that I'm I'm not going to the bar and asking for that.

SPEAKER_00 24:06

He's like, I'm just gonna get you pure Guinness. Yeah. It's a girdle thing to do. It is. Exactly.

SPEAKER_01 24:13

But yeah, I don't drink beer, but I actually liked it with the um a little bit of the raspberry in it. That yeah. So don't come at me for those people that are Guinness drinkers. So what would you say your favourite meal or a typical meal would be if you were in Dublin?

SPEAKER_00 24:30

Oh gosh. I I probably give you random answers that are not expected at all. And what should I say Guinness by is that is that since you know if we're getting disposed by Guinness. Yeah yeah Irish stew can be delicious. I mean if you're looking for traditional Irish food like a hot meal after a cold experience is where it's at pub the pubs in Ireland have great food. Sunday roast is a very kind of popular and very comforting type of meal to have I also like there are some places that have really nice vegetarian food

Best Local Food & Restaurants in Dublin

SPEAKER_00 25:04

so that's first that's kind of different. There's a one of my the restaurants that I really like is called Cornucopia and their food is divine like it's vegetarian and it's delicious. Like they have salads they have you know hot and cold it's just and then the this their desserts are amazing. But if you don't talk about food I'd be here for hours. Roastic stone as a restaurant has incredible food. Someone from my family used to work there so we used to go there frequently because you know you get some kind of like discount I don't remember what what the arrangement was but we would go there often for every birthday we were like let's go there and it's just magic. Yeah there's loads there's loads of places I'm a foodie I love food. Me too I am as well I've probably eaten at half of Dublin I also like like I like Asian cuisine too some Italian nice pots too so it kind of depends on who's into what but like for a really authentic Irish experience I would actually explore the pubs they actually have really decent food. Yeah food.

SPEAKER_01 26:08

And if you had three days and say say I was coming to visit yeah I know there's so much to do and three days doesn't even touch the the surface but if I came over never been before and you as as a a local where would you take me on those three days?

SPEAKER_00 26:24

Tour guide your tour guide your private tour guide is it Dublin only or Ireland the entire that's a bit easier grant. And I would definitely take you to a coastal spot so you mentioned Hoth where you're where your son was living actually Hoth is lovely like that whole region there's a cliff walk in Hoth which is really nice there's a couple of little bays for to dip in for a bit of a swim and then walking relatively close walking distance or by like a couple

Danny's Perfect 3-Day Dublin Itinerary

SPEAKER_00 26:52

of stops on the bus or train is um there's the other beaches like Malahite or Port Marnock. They're very very popular that's the north side coast alternatively south side coast past Don Leary which is a small harbour town you've got also lovely beaches and lots of really great fishing chips the coastal towns have like the best fishing chips. So I I take you to a coastal location we could do a beach walk and a little hike which is accessible in Dublin. Hoth is good because it's in the county of Dublin. Also Bray is an alternative on the south coast south side that would be Bray to Greystone's walk amazing you're walking along the cliff and you just these fabulous views it's gorgeous. It's very very doable not a difficult walk and yeah fish and chips so that you'd get your fish and chips you'd get the mountains the coast then around Dublin city centre there's lots of if you're history buff lots of history so architecture for sure uh some of the kind of big highlights the sites are within like a half an hour walk from each other there's loads of museums and galleries many are free some are free on a certain day of the month and maybe a drink by the river in or by the canal in Dublin I like water. Definitely a night out at a local pub with preferably live Irish music so we do a bit of dancing a bit of Irish dancing a lovely Sunday roast yeah yeah how many days are we at there? So we could do our hiking and sea trip with fish and chips hike followed by a roast every night we go to a different pub and then one day sightseeing around a city centre.

SPEAKER_01 28:32

Yeah that's three there you go nice and I remember yeah yeah book me in because did you know I I also remember I did like a walking tour which was great because it gave me the an understanding of the history and and bits and pieces.

SPEAKER_00 28:44

But I also remember you saying that there's a a double decker bus that does like a high tee oh yeah yeah absolutely did you yeah there is there is the double double decker kind of it's like one of these hop on and hop off buses so he does an extended version of Dublin City Center because he goes into the Phoenix Park which is the biggest park in the country where like you you find deer in the park. You can actually walk there from the centre those who don't know it's about maybe an hour just casually walking to get there or you could get a bus toward to it you'll see deer walking around because there's deer that live in the park even though it's like a city park it's unusual but it's really cool. President lives in the park too and there's

Phoenix Park, Deer & the Hop-On Hop-Off Bus

SPEAKER_00 29:26

like the presidential kind of um White House of Ireland let's say there's like lakes, cafes, there's a zoo in there it's a big park it's massive so for doing sports and stuff it's really popular there's loads of like kind of sports activities that can happen there picnics and that and so the Double Decker pop off hop on and off bus goes into the park as well and then it goes around like that we have a a ghost what's it called the ghost there's a ghost bus but there's an experience that people can also try and like go to places where you know again it's all part of history. Yeah it goes to lots of different sites and you could get your ticket you explore and then you go back to the bus and then you keep going so you can you don't have to just you can stay on the bus because it's got a view from the from the from the top it's it's open at the top so you can just enjoy the views and take pictures and just kind of get enjoy that vibe. But if you want to get off and go to a museum go and explore it go do your thing and then get back on the bus and keep going and go to the next spot. So you don't have to think about like necessarily walking all day or like will I have time to get to all the spots that kind of sets a good dealer.

SPEAKER_01 30:29

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 30:31

It definitely fills and helps with that.

SPEAKER_01 30:32

Thank you so much for coming on is there anything else you think that other people would like to know is there any tips or that you haven't book your flights I think I mean Ireland it is a lovely charming little country.

SPEAKER_00 30:48

Yeah one way to arrive here is obviously by plane which is the case for pretty much most countries in the world but also you can come here by ferry too from France, from Spain from the UK and that's another nice experience to arrive on a boat and depending on which part of you know Ireland because you like either arrive like Cork and the south or like Dublin and kind of the then the east coast it's a cool experience I've I've done it myself multiple times and it's just lovely. Like sometimes if it's a longer or shorter ferry journey that turns into its own little adventure. And then coming into Ireland there's lots of adventure stuff that you can pack in I'd I also would recommend coming to one of our events with Nomad Era because we include culture, history, nature into a business personal and professional development program. So it's fun and educational

NomadEire: Ireland's Digital Nomad Festival

SPEAKER_00 31:38

and it's fun and you get to scale your business. It's fun and you get to compete and win prizes and meet cool people and this year we have investors coming we have an AI company that's a big part of it. They're giving lots of freebies to people there's a lot of cool stuff so like obviously if people are interested in like maybe they've been building their AI products and they're like I can't afford to go on a trip now I don't have time well actually you can come here and finish your AI product pitch it to an investor and then go horse riding afterwards for example so there's a lot there's a lot of opportunities and I would I would definitely say look into that. If you are looking to find out more about Ireland our projects check out Nomad Era N-O-M-A-D E-I-O-E which means Ireland the latter part means Ireland in Irish and come and join us you can learn a few words in Irish do a bit of Irish dancing with us and we'll also definitely explore the local pub scene but then during the day you get to learn and network as well. So there's loads and loads happening and I'd love to have you join us.

SPEAKER_01 32:38

Excellent I'll put all those that information in the show notes but what dates is the conference the conference the main the main conference is the first to the third of September.

SPEAKER_00 32:49

This year we've expanded it to a a whole town festival for the entire week of that week and we're in Nace in County Kildare which is less than an hour outside of Dublin so it's very accessible also on public transport. You don't need to rent a car to get there and at the end of the week we also have a matchmaking festival for singles global singles so we've internationals flying into Ireland for this and lots of lots and lots of Irish also attending that's another event which is going to be in Dublin the 4th to the 6th of September.

SPEAKER_01 33:17

So there's a lot going on hosted by by our our um community and for our community so come have fun meet someone cool grow your world expand your life excellent thank you so much Danny for coming on I I really hope hope that people get to experience Dublin because it is an amazing city to go. Thank you really preceders thanks for coming and thank thank you everyone for listening to the Truly Expat Travel podcast safe travels and I'll see you next

Conference Dates, Location & What to Expect

SPEAKER_01 33:46

week. Bye for thank you for joining me on the Truly Expat Travel podcast. If you liked this episode and you found it valuable then why don't you go ahead and like and subscribe so that you don't miss an episode moving forward. I've got some amazing guests and some fantastic destinations coming up but if this is the episode and this is the destination that you really want to go to then I suggest you head over to trulyxpatravel.com where you'll find travel guides and deep dive into this sort of destination. If that's not what you want and you can't find an episode that is a destination you want to travel to then head over and follow me on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok because I'm pretty sure you'll find

Outro

SPEAKER_01 34:32

something there. All right in the meantime, safe travels and I'll see you next week.