Dublin, London, Anyone?

[jacktharipper]

Traveling to Dublin for a week and London for a weekend in late April to visit my baby sis who is studying abroad there. Anybody have spot suggestions or park suggestions? Also must-do food/bar spots appreciated!

[neonblitz]

London isnt too bad for skating but you need to know your way about, Ireland is possibly one of the worst places on the planet to skateboard, Im from the north but from what i remember of Dublin it wasnt too hot either, we used to travel 3 hours to some shitty skatepark

[my pregnant head]

Yeah if yer looking to get much skating done in Dublin prepare to be disappointed. In terms of parks though you're best options are Bushy park (which has a bowl) and Monkstown skatepark. Neither are particularly convenient if you are staying around the city centre.

In relation to bars and shit the main places I'd highly recommend are:

The Bernard Shaw: probably one of the "cooler" bars in Dublin, big smoking area, pool table, it's chill to smoke weed out the back.

Anseo: Small kind of dive bar I guess, super friendly staff, low light, always playing rad music, Djs only play vinyl, good beer selection

Against the Grain/ The black sheep: One of two "craft beer" bars owned by same people, massive selection of unusual beers. Can have a kind of clean shirt office type crowd in it but it's still a pretty solid option just for beer selection alone.

There are a shit load of more traditional pubs you'd probably wanna check out but I dunno which ones to draw special attention to, a few places on Dawson street are probably good to start if you see some quintessential "Irish Pubs"

I could recommend  food but I feel if I start bigging up our burritos or whatever it'll probably pale in comparison to what you are used to in the states but if you wanna grab a good sandwich someday try get out to Junior's in Ringsend before like 2pm. For my money some of the best eats in Dublin. Bunsen Burger on Wexford street is phenomenal as well, Only do classic ham or cheese burgers but the meat is the best I've ever had over here.

And MOST IMPORTANTLY no matter what anybody says stay the fuck out of Temple Bar, everything is far more expensive than it would be elsewhere and just generally shitty and touristy.

Enjoy you're trip, dude. Feel free to get in touch if you have anymore questions.

[ciaran]

Dublin's not that bad for street skating. Now granted, it's not like Paris for simply cruising or Barcelona for the abundance of spots, but still, it's good laugh to skate around the inner city - forget about the immediate city centre itself, but there's been a fuckton of recent construction along both sides of the river Liffey going out to sea.  You might have some luck with finding a few random spots, meet up with some locals who'll show you around as the majority of stuff isn't necessarily the easiest to find.   Saying that, check out http://www.skateeire.ie for more info - hopefully you'll get skating at the recently reclaimed Bank of Ireland on Baggot St.  Think of MACBA with skatestoppers, cold & rain and you're there.  Wicked spot though, ha. 

Peter's Pub & Grogan's, both on Sth William St and the Long Hall just around the corner on George's St are non-touristy & worth checking for the more trad vibes.

One thing though is that Ireland is eye-wateringly expensive, with similar costs to Helsinki or Copenhagen, but without the fantastic Nordic chicks - ?6 for yer average beer in a pub and everything else is commensurate with that.

As Pregnant Head said, avoid Temple Bar.  It's just shit.  It's a tourist trap full of tourists (who'd have thought...) and far too many fuckwits who may not necessarily be tourists.

You might want to look into spending a weekend in Dublin and a week in London.  LDN is enormous with so much going on that you need a few more days to take stock of what you want to get up to and getting to know the lie of the land - you'll often be quicker walking 1-2 Tube stops than going on the underground itself, that sort of thing.  Mile End skatepark (E. London) has a shop on site - Parlour -  or if you don't make it out that far, try calling into Slam City in Neal's Yard in Covent Garden and grill them for info.

[The Muffin Man]

Anyone know the deal with the skate/nightlife and scene in Cork? I'm studying abroad there next fall, and am not exactly the most optimistic about what's going on there.

[ciaran]

It's heaps smaller than Dublin, but it's also got a large university, which means there's a lot going on.  The indoor park is pretty good and right in the city centre - https://www.facebook.com/CorkCitySkatepark - no idea how street skating is there these days.   There's loads to surf within easy reach, if you're that way inclined and if you've got access to, or your own car, take some day trips to West Cork and Kerry, the countryside, landscape and all that is unique and beautiful.   Make sure you take in a hurling or Gaelic football match at P?irc U? Chaoimh (Pork Eee Queeve) - Cork are usually do well in one or the other each year and the atmosphere at big games is phenomenal.