So Emily and I got back from Ireland yesterday, and oh my goodness it was good to be back.
Here's what I have to say about Ireland : I was a little disappointed.
Don't get me wrong, I have a good time, and I'm really glad I went, but it just didn't live up to all the hype. Emily had really hyped it up (she'd never been), and I got excited, because who wouldn't want to go to Ireland? It's Ireland. It's supposed to be so cool and green and beautiful. I don't know how to explain it, but it was just underwhelming.
That being said, I got some good pictures and I can check it off of my bucket list. Holla.
We got into Dublin on Monday morning at about 8 am and immediately went to our hostel, hopeful that we could take a nap. Alas, we weren't allowed into our room until 2pm. Womp womp womp.
So we went on a walking tour which was actually really cool. It was neat to see all of the history. Apparently, Ireland revolted against the English A LOT. And apparently, Ireland failed in their revolts A LOT. It was pretty comical because something always seemed to go wrong. Still, that little country is tough, and gained their independence from England in early 20th century.
The tour took us to Trinity College, a really old college in Dublin, and supposedly a good school. Some pretty famous scholars and writers have studied there. Samuel Beckett, Jonathan Swift (wrote Gulliver's Travels), and Oscar Wilde. Wild. Here is a picture of the quad.
Pretty, but I prefer Hearn Plaza.
One of the main roads in Dublin is O'Connell Street. It's neat because there's a large median where you can walk, and there are tons of statues of famous Irishmen.
There's O'Connell
This sexy man is James Joyce. I had to snap a quick picture of him. I remember reading Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man in IB English senior year of high school. Just vomited in remembrance. Thanks a lot, Jimmy.
This is Molly Malone. She sold fish and was a prostitute.
There's a really pretty area of town that is made up of pubs called Temple Bar. There's actually a bar that is supposedly the original Temple Bar, but now the whole neighborhood is called that.
This was probably my favorite part of town. It was so bright and so colorful. There was music being played all day in all of the pubs and it was just really full of life. I think that's what I expected all of Ireland to be like.
One of the nights, we went to the oldest pub in Ireland (recommended by my brother David.) It's called the Brazen Head and dates back to 1198. Throughout the pub they have dollar bills with names written on them. Apparently David and some friends wrote their names on a bill way back in 2007 when he was studying abroad. I looked and looked for a good twenty minutes, but there were literally thousands of bills...so I couldn't find it. Oh well.
That's the essential of Dublin, with the exception of our Guinness Storehouse visit. This was absolutely my favorite part of Dublin, so I'll dedicate a whole post to it. I have tons of pictures, and not to brag, but I received a certificate saying that I learned how to and succeeded in crafting the perfect pint of Guinness.
No big deal.
Luv,
Sarah
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