Anyway, let's just begin by saying that this trip could have started off much better than it actually did. Me, my friend Lisa, and her two friends from school were set to leave for Dublin early Thursday afternoon. However, 4:00 in the morning that same day found me curled up in bed with a pounding headache, a fever, and unable to swallow because my throat hurt so badly. Doesn't that sound like so much fun? Yeah, no. I actually felt so sick, I wasn't even sure I was going to make it to Ireland. Later that morning, after only 4 hours of sleep, I was feeling only slightly better, but I really didn't want to miss the trip if I could help it. I took medicine and said goodbye to Jacqui and Brittany who were leaving for Prague that morning and tried to rest more, only to realize around 11 that if I was going to Ireland I desperately needed to do laundry because I legitimately had nothing to wear except for the shorts and t-shirt I was already wearing having forgotten to do it after I returned from Prague. Awesome. So after almost two hours of laundry and packing, I was feeling a little better from the meds, and decided that I was definitely going to Ireland. I thought that was going to be my biggest hurdle for the day. I spoke too soon.
The four of us left at 1:30 in the afternoon to go to Victoria Coach Station so we could take a bus to the airport. Our flight was at 5:30 and we were planning to arrive there at 3:00 so we had some extra time built in for traffic. We checked online and double-checked at a ticket window at the Station and were told that the bus left every fifteen minutes and got to the airport in half an hour. This. Was. A. Lie. Not only did the bus leave every half hour but it took an hour and a half to get there. Which means we got there at 4:45. Fifteen minutes to get our boarding passes stamped and go through security = sprinting through the airport. And sprinting through the airport sucks twice as much when you're sick.
But, the luck of the Irish was upon us because we did end up making the flight and we did make it Dublin. Our flight landed around 7:00pm and we took a taxi to our hostel. Our taxi driver was extremely friendly (we would soon come to realize nearly everyone in Ireland is really nice) and he wasted no time telling us all of the places and restaurants we had to visit. (He was also quick to comment on my hair and my name which was really funny.) After dropping our stuff off at the hostel, we grabbed a quick dinner, and then headed to bed after what had been a long, stressful day.
The next morning, Lisa's two friends were taking the "P.S. I Love You" Tour (based on the movie), so Lisa and I were left to explore the city on our own. After a quick breakfast, we headed up to the main street to start our own walking tour. Literally as soon as we opened a map the next person to walk by us stopped to ask where we needed to go and pointed us in the right direction with a smile. This would proceed to happen every time we opened a map and as small as it might seem, it was one of the things I loved about being in Ireland. (I joked with Lisa that it was because of my red hair). I also saw the Gaelic version of my name everywhere which was really cool.
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| St. Stephen's Green |
Our first stop was Fusiliers' Arch, which is the gateway to St. Stephen's Green, a beautiful park area Lisa and I took our time walking through because it was so nice outside. From there, we headed to the Dublin Castle, which was much less castle-looking than I thought it was going to be, but still interesting. We walked around for a bit before moving on to see both Christ Church Cathedral and St. Patrick's Cathedral. You had to pay to tour both those places so we walked in as far as we could and then took pictures outside. (To be quite honest, every church, chapel, and cathedral in Europe starts to look the same after a while.) Soon after, it began to down-pour so Lisa and I high-tailed in to the next stop on our list: The Guinness Storehouse.
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| St. Patrick's Cathedral |
This was probably one of my favorite parts of Dublin, and I don't even really like Guinness. And I know what you might be thinking; seriously, one of your favorite stops was the Guinness Tour? But the tour itself--which is self-guided--is actually really cool and Guinness plays a pretty big role in the community as it is. The tour is composed of a seven-floor walk through that is in the shape of an enormous Guinness Pint which is awesomel if you look up at it from the bottom.
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| Starred in our own Guinness Ad |
Afterwards it was close to dinner time so Lisa and I decided to grab food in the bar/cafe on the level below us. We both ordered vegetable soup and a sandwich and when I say it was the best vegetable soup I've ever had, I'm 100% serious. Even Lisa agreed. We were both literally scraping our bowls, it was so good.
The next day, Saturday, Lisa and I had originally planned to take a train to Galway (on the other side of Ireland) so we could see the city as well as the Cliffs of Moher. However, since we hadn't bought train tickets ahead of time, they were too expensive to buy that day and we had to stay in Dublin. Not that I'm complaining about staying in Dublin, but I do really, really wish I had gotten to see Galway and the Cliffs of Moher, especially after hearing such great things about them from friends who had gone before. Even now, a week after coming back I still wish I had been able to go. Ah well, you can't have everything. Guess this just means I'll have to go back eventually!
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| Yum! |
Instead, our first stop that day was to get a traditional Irish breakfast. Now what does this consist of? Well, it's close to a normal American breakfast (though of course the Irish were around first) and it's a big plate with a fried egg, sausage, bacon, toast, black and white pudding, and baked beans. Can you say comfort food or what? And it was all great! Obviously the black and white pudding and the baked beans were the odd ones out, but I tried and liked them both! Also, the name of black and white pudding is deceiving since it's not actually pudding or even remotely close to it. They are actually very similar to hash browns. But all in all very yummy and very filling!
Our next stop was to see Trinity College, Ireland's oldest university. The campus was beautiful, though we didn't stay for too long as it started to downpour again. To get out of the rain, the four of us went to the National Museum of Ireland (look at us being all educated and cultured) to see the "Bog People." These bog people were human sacrifices over 2,000 years ago who had been tossed into the peat bogs after death for disposal. However, because of the unique properties of the bog, their bodies have been really well persevered, especially parts of the body that are usually the first to go such as their hair, skin, and fingernails. Yes, it was even more creepy than it sounds. Cool maybe, but to be honest they looked like zombies, and they skeeved me out. I can do skeletons, but not these things. And no, I don't have a picture of them. A, we weren't allowed to take pictures, and B, I wouldn't have anyway. If you want to see what they look like Google them because they still give me goose-bumps. Moving on.
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| Trinity College |
We walked around some of the shopping areas in Dublin afterwards but as it was still raining, not to mention cold, we stopped for some hot chocolate at a cafe. We spent a bit of time there warming up until we set out to walk around again. It was dark out by this point, and we just happened to pass by the Dublin Castle as we wandered around, where we saw a line of people snaking out the door and around the corner. Intrigued, we went up to a worker and asked what it was for. The woman explained it was part of the Halloween Festival and that "Dracula's Castle" was being put on inside. She said if we wanted to wait it would only be about 15 minutes as it moved pretty quickly so we decided to stay to check it out as the excited line seemed to be a good indicator of the event. (One of the things we immediately noticed about Ireland is that they were much more into Halloween than England was. All of the pubs and stores were decorated for the holiday and we saw tons of kids dressed up even though it was a week early, whereas you would have never known in London it was anywhere close to Halloween. All of us loved it since it felt more like how home would feel around now.)
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| Spooky Decorations at Dublin Castle |
As we slowly moved up in line and got closer to the entrance to the Castle courtyard, we saw this massive moving skeleton standing over the doorway being operated by four people as well as torches lining the walkway that every few minutes would throw up huge fireballs. Needless to say, it definitely amped up the excitement. We finally got to go inside where we saw a bunch of different fire-sculptures all over the place as well as actors all dressed up in costume walking around scaring people and instigating mock-fights with each other. Dracula was pacing back and forth on the balcony, overseeing everything as dozens of people walked around admiring the fire show and trying to avoid being caught by the actors. Even though it wasn't really a haunted house, it was really cool and different! It's kind of difficult to describe in its entirety, so you'll have to check out the pictures!
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| Fire show! |
After we got our fill of the Halloween excitement we went to grab dinner at a pub called O'Neill's (how much more Irish can you get?). I got Irish roast beef, carrots, potatoes, and gravy and it was all delicious! It was the closest thing to a real-home-cooked meal I've had since I've been abroad. (Yes, I cook most of my own food, but we all know nothing beats Mom's cooking.) Then, to round off the night we went to another pub to see an Irish step-dance show, just to get another taste of Irish culture. The show was pretty good and between that and the castle, it was a great way to end our last night in Dublin.
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| Irish step-dance |
Also, before I go, a very very happy birthday to Emily, Morgan, Riley, and Aunt Carol!!! I'm sorry I wasn't able to actually wish you all a happy birthday in person, but I hope you all had absolutely fantastic days!! Love you all!
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