Dublin

So I know I still haven't posted about spring break, but I am going to soon I swear!!! haha. Buttttt as a consolation I'm going to rant about how awesome Dublin is and how much I loved it.

So, I wasn't originally too psyched to go to Dublin because it wasn't until after I had booked the tickets and hostel that I realized how broke I am, but I am so happy that I went, and that it's the trip I will be ending on. Spring break and all the other trips I went on were amazing, and I got to see so much more than I saw in Dublin, but there was something about the atmosphere that I loved. It was a feeling of familiarity, and everyone was so nice. At this point I'm used to snobby English people, rude Parisians, and gross Italian men who cat call and harrass women. It may be connected to the atmosphere of drinking, but everyone is just so jovial!! hehe. I finally got to love life again, it's been getting harder and harder here because I'm homesick and need some warm weather for starters.

Maddie and I went with a friend from her program, Eric, and it was so nice to have a third person to add to the dynamic anddd it was nice to have a boy with us so we didn't have to worry about getting harrassed. Maddie and I were pretty traveled out so our expectations for Dublin weren't high. Mostly, we wanted a pint of Guinness and a relaxing weekend. Luckily, Eric had some tourist ambitions and we did a lot of walking and sight seeing around the city. We went to a history museum, took a tour of the Guinness storehouse and I enjoyed my first pint of Guinness, saw the castle and cathedral, saw Trinity college campus, went to an amazing open food market and I had the most delicious lamb and blue cheese sandwich and huge chocolate brownie that I have ever had in my life. Food is key in my life at the moment, I talk about food at least 3 times a day because it's so terrible at this school and in general in the UK. Being provided with full Irish breakfast every morning at the hostel was amazing. I'm well on my way to heart disease now and another 5 lbs, but I can't say I regret it.

It sounds ridiculous but not planning this trip made it that much more amazing. We were just wandering and happening upon things. Our first dinner was delicious and there was live music and a nice atmosphere, and it was the last restaurant we walked by, after searching for reasonable prices for an hour or more. Then, we went to a pub called the Pint the next night that we just happened upon and it was probably the best decision we made all weekend. Upon drinking in this pub, sitting at the bar, we got to chatting with the bartenders, one our age and one a stout bald man who must have been around 30. Eric was on one end, enjoying a beer and engrossed in conversation with an old man, talking about tanks or something ridiculous.....and I was on the other end with Maddie in the middle of us. A severely drunk, bumbling, slurring, swaying man saying he's a professor at Trinity College came up to me and tried to chat me up. Now Mom and Dad, don't be frightened, I had the luck of the Irish on my side this whole weekend. The older bar tender was amazing and kicked the guy out of the bar.

Then Maddie and I got to talking with him and he was telling us about the rugby match on the next day between Munster and Leicester which are two different provinces(or something) in Ireland. Both of which made up the Irish team that won the 6 nations championship this year. He also said he has a lot of merchandise because he used to work at the Guinness factory, and he said if I came back tomorrow he would give me a rugby jersey. So we left, did some walking around the next day and eventually made our way back so I could claim my jersey. This time an old man sat down next to me who was so sweet he was chatting with me about how bad music is today and how he misses love songs, and the first time he saw his wife Englelbert Humperdink was playing and when he saw her that first time he fell in love with her. And he showed me pictures of his grandchildren and he was so cute...a pleasnt change from the sleazeball the night before. We had a couple drinks and the bartender gave me the rugby shirt as promised, furthering the amazing mood I was in all weekend.

Unfortunately, our time in Dublin had to end. But I will most certainly be going back someday, and I really wish I had more time and money to go back now, to the countryside and coast to explore rural Ireland as well, but I need a reason to go back after all...

On a side note...take a look and listen at this. It made me laugh every time and feel like I was in Star Wars... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mXL1BEkjVto&feature=related