DUBLIN! <3

Monday:
5AM Monday morning came way too fast. Or maybe it was that the packing on Sunday night NEVER seemed to end. First off, we figured out that I could not bring my carry on that I flew here with because RYANAIR had stricter carry on measurements and requirements and mine was pushing it. So I had to borrow the Trojan bag that Michael had gotten somewhere for free and try to shove all my stuff into it. So we all finished packing and got into bed somewhere between 12:30AM and 1:00AM, we were definitely not going to get enough sleep, but we were going to Dublin, it was worth it!!

So up we got, got ready and headed out the door by 6:00AM, we were on time, YAY!!! We took the tube to Victoria where we got the Gatwick express and we arrived at Gatwick Airport in no time! Then it was just sitting around for a while waiting for them to put our gate number up so we could start boarding. The flight was good, it was only a bit over an hour. It was my first plane ride in the daytime (when we left Philly it was dark already and I couldn’t see anything) and it was really cool being able to see the clouds and the land and water below! It was awesome!

So anyway, we arrived at Dublin Airport, went through customs where I got my second stamp, yay!! and then got on the Airlink to Heuston Station to head toward the apartment. We got off and started walking, seeing all of Dublin and the River Liffey and it was so beautiful!

Dublin & the River Liffey!

How pretty!

We headed toward our apartment in Ellis Quay (pronounced key) which was across the river so we crossed the James Joyce Bridget to get there (English major’s delight!)

James Joyce Bridge!

When we got to Ellis Quay there was no one there and a sign on the door to come back in 10 minutes so we started to wander around. We saw Coroner’s Court and the Jameson Distillery and it was pretty cool! Then we checked in and went up to the apartment and it was pretty neat. It was a 2 bedroom place with a balcony and a cute living room and kitchen area. The hardwood floors stole my heart, though!

After settling in we went to get something to eat. We took the Luas (one of Dublin’s methods of transportation. It is really cool because it is like a mix between a train and a trolley!) to Abbey Road where we found Jimmy Chungs, a Chinese buffet for €9 per person. YES, we ate at a CHINESE buffet for our first meal in IRELAND! We are crazy kids!

When lunch was over we headed toward Trinity College. On the way we saw the Bank of Ireland which was a really neat building. We got to Trinity College and went in, the Campanile is beautiful and of course we took some obligatory silly pictures.

West Front of Trinity College!

The Bank of Ireland!

The Campanile at Trinity College!

Bridget and I trying to take a picture in front of the campanile, TAKE 1

TAKE 2!

Finally! A cute picture!

Then we headed toward the library to see the Book of Kells, an illuminated manuscript which was created circa 800AD. It was really neat to see! The long library room was next and I was in absolute English major shock when I got there. The room is HUGE and as far down as you can see is filled with books (it’s a library, I know..I’m not done!). The books (over 200,000) are some of the oldest/rarest editions of these works and that is mind blowing! Also, the library itself was gorgeous. The wooden bookshelves filled with books from floor to ceiling and the moving ladders to reach them was AMAZING! I just stood there, in awe, unable to comprehend that I was really in this stunning library. The smell of the old books was fantastic (you might have to be an English major/literature fan to really understand and appreciate where I am coming from here LOL) and though it has always been my dream to have a library in my house, now I know, I want a library like THAT in my house! It was FANTASTIC!!!!

We left Trinity College and its gorgeous library and made our way to Oscar Wilde’s memorial. It was a cool statue of him lounging on a rock with a few other structures filled with his quotes.

Oscar Wilde Memorial!

"The truth is rarely pure and never simple" - Oscar Wilde

The memorial was in a garden so after we were finished paying our tributes we just walked around the garden a bit. The National Gallery was right across the street so we took some pictures and then continued on our journey. We walked to Grafton Street (the shopping area) looking for a present for the Quirke’s (Bridget and Michael’s family in Dublin who we were going to visit) and stopped into a shop to get them a box of chocolate.

We boarded the Luas to Cowper street and headed toward the Quirke’s. The entire area was GORGEOUS and I fell in love with numerous houses along the way! We finally got there and were quickly welcomed in and given glasses of wine. We introduced ourselves and talked a bit and then it was time for dinner. Dinner was this FABULOUS chicken with rice and carrots and more wine, of course! Then we had this pear tart topped with custard and mixed fruit for dessert. It was all really good! Throughout dinner we just sat and got to know each other and talked about everything from sports to the Spice Girls, haha. It was a lot of fun! When the night was over Jimmy drove us home in his car. It was my first time being in a European car and it was kinda weird! I just kept thinking, “wait, we should be on the other side!” However, by the end it felt kinda normal and I am unsure of what that means for when I get home and start driving again…uh oh…look out!!!! :)

It was quite a long day for us tired travelers so we just settled in to watch some REALLY bad British television! It was quite comical!!

Tuesday:
We slept in and got up for brunch. The Ellis Quay apartments gave us each a free full Irish Breakfast at La Cala, the restaurant downstairs. A full Irish Breakfast consists of 2 pieces of bacon, 2 sausages, 2 puddings (like scrapple….), 2 pieces of toast, a fried egg, baked beans and tea or coffee. I tried the puddings and was quickly done with them but ate everything else (except 1 slice of bread which I gave Bridget and the yolk of the egg which was too runny) and it was really good. I even tried the English tradition of putting the baked beans on the toast and eating it that way. That was good too!

Since we had slept late and it was already after 12, we decided to go to the Guinness Storehouse for our tour first. After all, by time we made it to the bar, it would be 2PM or so. We got to St. James’ Gate and went in and started the self-guided tour. It was really cool, the middle of the building was shaped like a pint glass! How cool, right? So we went through and learned how beer is made and what the essential ingredients are and how they interact. We even got to taste the roasted barley (which was really bitter…almost like coffee beans). After that we headed to the tasting lab where they give us a small taste of the Guinness draught (whether to get the bitter taste of the barley out of our mouths or what, I don’t know). Then we learned about how they made the wooden kegs and it is such a neat process, I was in awe! Despite the ease of the metal kegs these days, I almost wish that the wooden ones were still around just for the artistic talent of it.

Then we headed toward the next floor which was all the advertising of Guinness throughout the years. I LOVED this floor. It was soooo cool to see all of the different ads and even some of the same ones that they just morphed and improved as time went by. I just loved being able to see the difference between when the ads started and today’s ads!

One of my favorite advertisements! The RAF toucans!

When you are done the tour, you head up to the Gravity Bar for a complimentary pint. The bar has all glass windows from ceiling to floor so that you can see all of Dublin as you drink your beer. It is also cool because on the glass all the way around there are quotes from James Joyce’s novels. Who said that beer and literature didn’t go together?!?! Haha.

So we got our free pints (they are cool because they put shamrocks in the head of the beer when you get them, but our bartender didn’t so when a guy standing next to me asked if I would take his and his friends picture I took the opportunity to ask if I could take a picture of his shamrock!) and I drank the whole thing. I was surprised. I don’t generally like beer, but it actually wasn’t too bad and it seems that I have acquired a taste for it in small quantities. Bridget got about ¾ through hers (which was more than ANY of us was expecting she would do!) and after taking some pictures we headed to the gift shop where I got a few presents for people and a track jacket and t-shirt for myself.

The Shamrock in the Guinness, can you see it?

When we left and checked the time it was after 4! We had spent 4 hours in the Guinness Storehouse!!

After Guinness we headed toward Christ’s Church Cathedral and St. Patrick’s Cathedral and took pictures. Dusk fell on St. Patrick’s as we were walking away from it and it was a great photo op! It was easy to imagine how it looked in earlier times! Then we came across an interesting wall mural that had everything from people throwing bricks at each other with words such as “pow” and “bang” and a guy laying on the ground bleeding from the head to Spongebob Squarepants. It was definitely...different!

Christ's Church Cathedral!

St. Patrick's Cathedral!

St. Patrick's Cathedral at dusk! How pretty!

We went to see Dublin Castle but it was dark and the gates were locked so we did not see too much. Then we went to dinner at the Porterhouse bar and restaurant and it was really good! I was hoping that they would have corned beef and cabbage on the menu but they didn’t so Bridget and I both got a smokey burger instead. It was fantastic!

The smokey burger we ate at Porterhouse!

When dinner was over we walked around Temple Bar (an area of Dublin) for a bit and then headed towards Grafton Street. We saw the Molly Malone (Tart with a Cart) statue and just walked around. On the way back we stopped at Q Bar for some drinks. Bridget and I had never done an Irish Car Bomb and decided that being in Ireland, it was the time. So we got 3 Irish Car Bombs except the bartender didn’t really seem to know what she was doing and gave us a full pint of Guinness instead of a half one. So we had to drink half of the beer before we could drop the shot of Bailey’s into the glass. This was no problem for Michael or I…Bridget had a harder time, lol. So anyway, eventually we did our car bombs and they were amazing! It was seriously like chocolate milk, who would have thought?! So after that we sat and watched a re-cap of the Liverpool vs. Real Madrid football match and got excited because we would be at a football match the very next night!

I also managed to obtain a Guinness glass from the Q Bar that night. I know, I know, I shouldn’t have done it but I really wanted a Guinness glass and after all we had paid €24 for 3 car bombs! I needed something to remember the occasion!

Shortly after that we headed back to the apartment to pack and then got to bed for an early morning.

Wednesday:
We got up and got ready to go, made sure all of our stuff was packed and then checked out of our apartment. We walked to Grafton street and went to Bewley’s Café for breakfast. I got a croissant and coffee, Bridget got tea and a scone and Michael got orange juice and a chocolate éclair. Our food was okay but our service was shitty, most likely contributed to by the fact that we are Americans.

Bewley's Cafe!

After breakfast we headed toward Nassau street to Trinity Crafts where I got some presents for people and souvenirs for myself and then went to Kilkenny’s to look around. Kilkenny’s had THE MOST beautiful pottery and in my head I thought of all the people I knew who would really appreciate a piece of pottery. Then I remembered that we had NO MORE room in any of our bags and in truth, they were heavy enough already!

When we were all done buying our last minute things, we walked to Connolly Station to catch the Airlink back to the airport. After a really amazing trip, it was time to say goodbye to Ireland and head back to London for a Fulham vs. Blackburn football match!! Our flight back was okay, we sat in the exit row (not my favorite spot by any means…) so that the two tall people I was traveling with wouldn’t be squished!

We landed in Gatwick and tried to go through customs but since we came from Ireland the guy just took our boarding pass stubs (which I was upset about because I wanted to keep mine!) and led us through this random door. We didn’t have our passports even looked at. It was different and not what we were expecting!

So we went and got tickets and boarded a Southern Regional train back to Victoria so that we could get back to Regent’s and put our bags down before heading out to see the football match!