April 18/2010 :: Dublin

Day 86
Mood: Refreshed and relieved
Weather: Beautiful...I'm surprised I'm in England
Quote of the Trip: "I'm as cute as a camel raised by seagulls....with crabs." [make of it what you will!]

So we're starting off with my Dublin adventure!

It began on Tuesday April 13th @ 1:00 am. We stayed up that late and walked to the bus station where the English bus driver played a very cruel joke on us. Turns out we'd read the ticket wrong and should have picked up the bus at a different stop. The driver proceeded to tell us our seats had been sold and we had no way to get to the airport. He then told us that he had been lying, I refuse to accept that this was some twisted humour, and let us on the bus. We were quite angry. Sleep was attempted on the bus but it was very difficult.

We arrived at Stanstead airport at around 4:00 am and got in line. It went very smoothly through the airport and we got on our Rynair flight without hindrance. Slept and then arrived in Dublin! 40 minute bus ride later and we arrive at Avalon House [our hostel]. I ended up in a loft bed...I didn't care either way...I was just tired.

My little loft~

We had a walking tour of Dublin at this point, free of charge~ Our guide Cillian was adorable! 3 hours later we were in St. Steven's Park. We sat and enjoyed the atmosphere before heading to Oscar Wilde's park.

Overview of Dublin!

Then it was back home. I finally ate my first meal in 24 hours. [food in Ireland is really expensive]. Then at 6:00 in the evening I fell asleep...until 7:00 am the next morning. I was really exhausted.

Day 2~

We started off the day with free breakfast at the hostel. We then went to Trinity College to see the Book of Kells. I realized, according to cost, I could either see the book or eat that day. I decided food would be my best decision so unfortunately I missed out.

But then we went to the Guinness factory and I had my first taste of Guinness. For 11 euros you got entry and 1.5 free pints of Guinness. Luckily I tried the first half pint and decided I did not like Guinness so I was able to use my ticket to get a free soda instead of another pint. We had a great view of the city from the top of the Guinness factory. It was gorgeous!!

At the Guinness factory

Then we wandered around some more and finally, that evening, we went on a pub crawl. We had some Tapas at one pub and then walked around to find another. Finally we headed back and spotted a pub with live Irish music. We stepped inside and proceeded to have the best time ever!

We randomly met a group of people when a Scottish girl at the table next to ours drank the rest of her boyfriend's Guinness. A group of Irish at the bar spotted her and hence began a hilarious slew of accusations. It was hilarious. Eventually those two tables and ours joined together and we had an absolute hoot! The Scottish and the Irish are so friendly!

Me at the pubs!

Then our evening ended and I went and had a 2 hour sleep...prepared to leave Ireland @ 3:00 am and return to Oxford.

Little did I know how hard that would end up being...

[stay tuned for Part 2 when Iceland ruins our travel plans!!]

:: Julianne ::