We stayed in a hostel, very different experience and I don't think many people in the US would like it. It was ok to me, clean at least, but very noisy and a lot of people coming and going constantly. So many youths from all over Europe travel around by staying in hostels so it was interesting to try to ask to sit at a table for breakfast when they spoke little English. Our breakfast, which was complimentary, consisted of the following options: Orange Juice, Tea, Coffee, Milk, Toast. Yup that's it. Thankfully we figured out the second day that the jam on the table was for everyone too. I had also brought a bag of apples to snack on so that helped in the mornings.
Dublin was very expensive. We were giving a special allowance for Dublin week and thank goodness! For a typical meal out you could be looking easily at 8 euros a person. Our first night there we went to a Mexican restaurant and most plates were 8 or 9 euros, mine was 12 but I really wanted it. After that we were savers for sure. Walked around Temple Bar area almost every night. It is a very touristy part of the city but always interesting to people watch.
Tuesday we woke up early and had a lecture on the 1916 Easter Rising. It was a major event that happened in Dublin. And as with any part of history here in Ireland, it is controversial and is viewed differently by each side. Some see it as a failure, others view the rebels as heros. We were then off for lunch. We couldn't help but to stop at Subway....it smelled so good! So I got a meatball sub and boy did it hit the spot! Finally something that tastes familiar to me. Then we all met back up and went to the Dail, the Irish Parliament. We had to be greeted by a member of parliament to be allowed in. We had to leave all of our bags/coats in security and we were able to go and watch a small session of the happenings in Dail. Their chamber seemed much smaller than the US congress and was also different because the speaker announced things in both Gaelic/Irish and English. We then were off to get a tour of the Leinster House, where the Dail is held. It used to be an estate/city home for the Leinster family I believe or some rich family and then they adapted it to be suitable for parliament. We learned that President John F. Kennedy was one of the few people to ever address both houses, as this has to be done by a Head of State.
Tuesday night we went and watched a play called Celebration. It was ok, thankfully only an hour. Then, we were on a search. We had to find this pub for Megan that was used in the movie, P.S. I love you. Well we found it, thankfully. Stayed there for a bit. Had my first pint of Smithwicks ale and it wasn't too bad at all. We walked back into the Temple bar area and decided to explore a little bit. We also wanted a bit of a treat for ourselves so some of us got milkshakes/gelato. :) I got tiramisu gelato and it was soo good!
Wednesday we were off to Kilmainham Goal/Jail. We had a tour of the facility and learned of it's long history. It was used from famine times up to 1920s before being shut down. I'll include some pictures at the end but I can't believe the conditions people were kept in. They were in solitary confinement 23 hours a day. Only 1 hour to be spent outdoors for exercise "walking in a large circle". And even then they were not to talk to other inmates or even look up. Very different feeling walking through that place.
We spent the rest of the day on a happier note, shopping. We spent an hour or so in one store called Lush. It has really good smelling soaps, shampoos, bubble bath, ever girly thing you could think of. And one of the workers there decided to give us the full tour and we got to try literally every product in the store. It was great fun. That evening we went to another play called the Silver Tassie. This one was a little better and had some singing in it so we all enjoyed it a bit more. We all walked around later in the evening and went to the oldest pub in Dublin. Then some of us went to the Porterhouse Brewing Co. and experienced Strawberry, Raspberry, and Chocolat Beer. Not all together for anyone of us we each tried one. I tried the Raspberry and actually liked it.
Thursday was our own day to do/explore what every we wished. First stop for all of us was Trinity College. We were able to get a group/student discount which was great and were able to see the book of Kells and Book of Armagh. Very old, like centuries old, copies of the Bible. I'm pretty sure the Book of Kells is just of the 4 Gospels but is done very carefully by Monks with different colored pigments. Learning how they did it, it was amazing to see the finished product. Day by day it is slowly still fading/disintegrating which is very sad. Then we split up with some of us going to the Dublin Castle next. The medieval castle was burned down but they built this new one on top of it in the 1700s. Very gorgeous. We then went on to see the Christ Church Cathedral which was also very beautiful and very old. Since this was our last night, we decided to splurge a little. We decided to go out as a group and find a good Italian place. We ended up in Temple Bar area and the place we got the gelato from on Tuesday, well they have a restaurant too so we went there. The food was very good. I got minestrone soup and bruchetta. Then I convinced Kayla to spit a dessert again with me so we got the tiramisu...let me tell you, that was the best I have ever had--and I'm not even in Italy yet! So we all enjoyed the wonderful meal until we got the check...ha we knew it was going to be expensive and we were all prepared for it since we had saved all week long.
Friday was our last day and decided not to do much shopping but we did make one stop in a bakery for Becca and a stop in Starbucks for Megan, Ashley, and me. It's been a really long time since I've gotten it so it was well worth it. We then made our way to the bus station and embarked on our 4 hour bus ride. Then home sweet home Derry!
Dublin was a nice trip but I am very glad I'm in Derry for the semester. Big cities just aren't for me.
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| The Dail/Irish Parliament |
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| Declaration of Independence from the 1916 Rising. Only 12 copies remain. |
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| The Jail |
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| Typical Cell in the new section of the Jail. |
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| St. Patricks Cathedral (didn't go see it, just walked by) |
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| Dublin Castle (Chapel) |
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| Blue Room in Dublin Castle |
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| Christ Church Cathedral |
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| Christ Church Cathedral |
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| Organs at Christ Church Cathdral |
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| The Virgin Mary Chapel in Christ Church Cathedral |
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| Candles lit in prayer for peace. |
Hope you all enjoyed the pictures of Dublin. Two more weeks of class then God willing my Aunt Sue will join me here in NI to travel for a week before I head off to my volunteer placement at Corrymeela for the month of November!
Best wishes all.
