Dejé mi corazón en Dublín





Dublin was the most charming little city I have come upon yet. I fell in love with it. If I could study abroad anywhere, without learning a different language my choice would be Ireland. It probably did not hurt that it was fall and the leaves were changing colors! The energy is amazing, the people are the friendliest, the music is traditional, and the city was exquisite. We got to the hostel and thanks to Jamie and her frequent Travelocity bookings; we had our own room with a full bunk bed and our own bathroom. It was more like a hotel rather than hostel. I slept like a baby all the nights we were there. The next day we did another free tour with the same company (Sandemans New Europe in case you are interested). We saw Dublin Castle, Dublin’s Medieval Walls, Christ Church Cathedral, The National Library, Temple Bar, Ha’Penny Bridge, Spire of Dublin, City Hall, Trinity College, Leinster House, Chester Beatty Library, and St. Stephen’s Green. While Richie (our guide) was very nice, he wasn’t as entertaining as Ed. But I still enjoyed his stories. At Trinity College, a dean back in the day said they would let woman into the University over his dead body. How primeval of him! So, to get around this stipulation, when he died they buried his body on campus and as tradition, on the first day of class all of the women that are accepted to the university walk over his grave! Entertaining right!? And at the Chester Beatty Library there are tons of ancient religious texts from almost every major religion: Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Sikhism. Beatty used his wealth to gather the historical texts and when he died he left them to the people of the country and they erected a library to display his collection.

We stopped at a pub to get some food for lunch where we interacted with some other people on our tour. They were from all over the world! The food was some type of beef stew that was extremely delicious! Pub food in Ireland never disappointed me. Then Colleen, Maggie and I decided to do a Pub Crawl with the same tour company. I had so much fun with these girls, and the Irish nightlife is so enchanting. The city has such a solid foundation in music that most of the bars we went to had live music. I enjoyed talking/flirting with boys in English for the evening. It is much easier to do. My roommate, Natalie, suggested that I try some cider beer while in Ireland. I tried and I loved it, and it may have made me just a little bit drunk ;).

We had 2 and a half days in Dublin so we decided to relax on day 2. We walked the city streets and enjoyed the park that we were in the previous day. Then we found another fabulous Irish Pub to eat in and had another round of fish and chips. My friend, Melina, ordered a traditional Irish plate and it was amazing. Then we wondered over to Saint Patrick’s Cathedral which is absolutely beautiful! We wondered around inside for quite a while. It is amazing how much history is in one building. After we stopped in a couple of souvenir shops we decided we wanted to see a movie, after all they are in English! We saw Charlie St. Cloud, or here as it is known, The Death and Life of Charlie St. Cloud. After the movie we walked around a little longer before finding yet another Irish pub to eat dinner in. Then we stuck around a little longer to hear the live music before retiring for bed.

The next day, I had a mission. The entire trip I wanted to rent a bike and ride it around the city. So that is what I did. I rented a bike and rode off in the direction of… what else? The Harley-Davidson dealership! I could not leave without getting my dad a t-shirt, what kind of daughter would I be?! Unfortunately I got very lost! Fortunately, the Dublin citizens are very kind. Scared and alone I asked for directions from one man with his two grandkids and he gladly pointed me in what we thought was the right direction. However, I think I was closer when I was near him. But I turned back around and headed the way I came, only to hit the curb wrong and fall off my bike. Once I got back up and was riding again, I had a mini breakdown thinking that I was going to be lost forever in this city and miss my flight. I headed where he told me to and eventually asked for some directions again. This time I used the little map that I forgot I had and the gentleman knew exactly where I needed to go. Alas, I found the dealership and bought my dad a Dublin Harley-Davidson t-shirt. Still freaking out about time, I asked the gentleman at the dealership for better directions back into the city. It was much easier! Going into the city is easier than coming out of it! But I did get to see the outskirts of Dublin and I thought it was charming! I was disappointed I did not get to see the country side, but I guess I will just have to plan another trip someday! J Thanks for reading! (sorry for the lack of pictures, something is malfunctioning! But you can always check my facebook :)

Much love!  

On the River Liffey!