Ellen came down to Milan from Strausburg, France and we flew to Dublin, Ireland for the weekend! We met up with Emily and Cailey, two of our good friends from DU! (Ellen and I have been roommates since Freshman year and she also is to blame for several photos in this post!) After some initial confusion, we found Emily and Cailey and the four of us grabbed a taxi and went to our hostel. Even though it was already edging on midnight, we were all fired up and went out to a nearby pub for a quick drink and a chance to catch up. Then we meandered around the nearby area before hitting the hay.
We just landed in Dublin airport!
Our hostel. So edgy!
Saturday morning we woke up bright and early so that we could be sure to fit in as much as possible during our stay in Dublin! We had discovered a Starbucks right around the corner from our hostel the night before, so that was our first stop! I can't tell you how sinfully delicious that iced gingerbread latte was....
As we were on our way, we discovered Cassidy's 27, a local night club and bar! Cassidy is an Irish name, but it's really rare in the US. You can imagine my delight when my name was splashed all over Dublin!
Our first adventure of the day: The National Leprechaun Museum! Oh yes. It exists and it is WONDERFUL! We didn't know what to expect, which made it so much better when we learned what the National Leprechaun Museum really is all about: making you feel like you're a leprechaun! First you go through a tunnel that causes the perspective to change and the people on the opposite end look tiny! And then we went under the Giant's Causeway which led us into the living room of giant furniture! This was my favorite room! It was all decked out to be a giant's house, so we all felt about one foot tall! It was so fun! We clambered up onto the giant armchair and, amazingly, all of us fit! We couldn't stop laughing!
When we walked through the giant's fireplace we found ourselves in the map room. There was a giant table with a map of Ireland, there were projections moving over the map with descriptions of Ireland's history. Way cool. We then made our way into the rain room, the ceiling was covered in black umbrellas! Which of course prompted Mary Poppins photos... Then we made our way under the rainbow of ribbons into the room with the Leprechaun's pot o' gold where we all tossed a coin over our shoulders for luck! We snapped some photos, heard a story about the Leprechaun's gold, and then made our way under the Fairy's Hill. The walls were covered in copper and had projections of different images portraying Irish folklore. Our storyteller/guide told us about some of the really fascinating stories.
After finishing our tour we spent a little while drawing pictures for their gallery! It was hilarious, four 20 year old girls coloring to our hearts' desire. It was fabulous! As soon as we finished the staff put out photos up in frames on the wall, too funny! There was a little garden behind the museum where we were able to snap an adorable picture of us in the photo cut out. Ms. Emily definitely won the "Best Vacation Activity" award! It was incredibly entertaining and will be fondly remembered. I recommend it if you get a chance to go see Dublin!
Seeing as we had just played our hearts out for a little while, we decided to find some fish and chips for lunch. We ended up at a place that has been visited by famous stars such as Alan Rickman! It was my first fried meal since coming to Europe...YUM!
Following lunch we went for a walk around Dublin, heading towards the Dublin castle and the Guinness Factory. After seeing the chapel of the Dublin castle, we found a little street market and an amazing cafe named Queen of Hearts. We put our names on the wait list and started perusing the extensive menu. looking for the perfect pick-me-up snack. I ended up choosing sponge cake! It was delicious! After a tiny little nap at our table, we made our way to the Guinness factory!
We heard "ASSAULT" the sign, not "CONSULT"! Hahaha!
The Guinness factory is shaped like a giant pint glass! At the very top there is the Gravity Bar, the walls are all glass so you can look out over all of Dublin. We saw the ingredients that go into Guinness, how it is made, and then got to sample it ourselves! There were several steps we were to follow: 1. Look. 2. Listen. 3. Smell. 4. Sip! Ellen and I enjoyed the taste, but Cailey and Emily were not really fans, but we all had a good time at the factory.
On the way back to our hostel we stopped for dinner at the oldest pub in Ireland, the Brazen Head. We had a tasty dinner accompanied by and old Irish man singing traditional pub songs with everyone joining in! It was great, we were even able to join in on a few ourselves! After a little nap at the hostel, we headed back out to a pub near our hostel with a live Irish band! It was called the Vat House, and boy was it was packed! We finally snagged some seats at the bar, ordered some ciders, and enjoyed the music. Ellen and I had a fun conversations with a couple of guys, apparently they hate Guinness! Who would have guessed?
Sunday morning we rolled out of bed and made our way to the little seaside town of Dalkey, outside of Dublin. It was absolutely beautiful. We stopped at a cafe and got some breakfast, I had a bagel! Yum!! Then we wandered around until we found the ocean, and it was covered in sailboats! The ocean was the essence of sea green, and the sunshine was divine. We made our way to the seawall at one point, and as we were taking photos, we got soaked by a wave! With all the shrieking we made quite a scene! The little islands had a red and white striped lighthouse, it was so classic! I'm so happy we were able to get out of the city and see the countryside.
Had to pet the moss on the wall!
"GAH! We got splashed by the waves!"
It was a beautiful weekend with some of my best girlfriends, I'm so happy that I got to go! Saying goodbye to Ellen, Emily, and Cailey was so sad, but it also made me excited for my return to DU! Can't wait to head back to Ireland either!
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