Hello, again!
It's officially almost been a month since I have arrived here in Ireland, and I'm happy to say that I am figuring some things out! I know my way around town, I can estimate about how much groceries cost, and I have grown to (almost) like the Irish version of American peanut butter. This is progress.
On campus, I have joined an accapella singing group called the Singin' Tonics, the French Society, and the surfing and kayaking club. Between those groups, I've started to meet native Irish people, and hopefully I will be going on some trips and doing some water sports and adventuring around Ireland! Things are so relaxed as far as scheduling and planning, I need to get used to it! If a meeting is going to be held, usually you won't know about it until 5 hours before and if you don't make it, well, tough luck.
Anyways! On yet another weekend getaway, a group of 8 of us took off for Dublin - the BIG city. I flew into Dublin when I first came to Ireland, and I will go there at least another five times due to traveling (there is no airport in Galway), but I wanted a weekend where I could actually see what Dublin has to offer and take my time there. As the capitol of the Republic of Ireland, it had a vast history and plenty to offer.
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| This library is stacked. |
Some of the most popular tourists attractions in Dublin are Trinity College where the Book of Kells is held (The four gospels written by the Irish monks), and that was our first stop. Trinity College was absolutely fabulous, I feel like any University in Ireland pops straight out of a Harry Potter movie with cobblestone streets, vast pillars, and gothic architecture. The Trinity Library was absolutely incredible, I have attached some pictures so you can see. The library not only contains the Book of Kells, but thousands of literary works that are so old that they can't be touched and need to be preserved in a temperature controlled room.
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| Taken in the Trinity College Library |
The rest of the day we hit museums around Dublin where there was a great amount of history about the start of Ireland, and the recent discoveries of remains of ancestors and early Irish monks were found in some of the lands of Ireland. Dead bodies, sharp agriculture tools, some ancient Egypt mummies.. you know the drill. It was awesome.
As college students are usually frugal, we found a hostel on the internet, saw that it was under 14 euro a night, and booked it. In a 12-bed dorm room, we crammed in there and checked out our humble abode for the weekend. I'm putting it lightly when I say this, but the place was exactly what you would expect. The showers contained hair from the usage of dozens of people, there was a random sewer entrance under one of the beds, and It was run by an Italian man who would fit in any Italian language lessons he could when we had a spare moment in the lobby. But, he had a good sense of humor and I appreciated that in him.
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| This was written on the ceiling of my bunk bed. Classic. There were some other notes that were written on this bed, but I've refrained from showing it out of pure respect to my readers. |
After getting settled and finally falling asleep, a stranger entered our room. It was a drunken Irish man, who must have been staying in our room for a night as a temporary home out of the bar. He tripped over things, caused a ruckus, and then started threatening things to each of us. It was quite terrifying, and I know my parents won't appreciate this (sorry Mom and Dad, I'm alive though!) The men in our group did the respectable thing and told the security guard about the problem, and he was forced out of the hostel for the night. Let's just say we didn't get much sleep that night, as we were literally living out a horror movie and didn't know what to expect next. Advice to future travelers, do research on your hostel! Read reviews.
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| Adorable. |
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| One of the walls of the park was filled with shoes with plants growing out of them. Hip, eh? |
Some people believe that traveling is about finding the little gems of a place, people watching, and finding where the locals go. In Dublin, on accident, I did exactly that. On a wrong turn when trying to find the city center, I ran into one of the most bizarre parks/community areas I've ever seen. The entrance to the park was covered with lampshades hanging from poles, and people were greeting each other with warm hugs and catching up on the 'craic' (fun) of the week. This was the ultimate hipster spot, as people were drinking tea, smoking and a teenage band was starting to play a free concert. Around this park were random works of modern art. From a steel eating machine to tires formed in weird patterns, this was chaos in a nutshell. I've never seen a community area so colorful and disorganized, and I felt extremely out of
place.
But, as any tourist would do in that situation, I somewhat discreetly took a few photos, took out my bag of cookies, and watched for awhile.
My friend Kyle and I attended mass at St. Patrick's Cathedral in Dublin, where the boys choir sang like angels and I gazed at the vast cathedral and tried to comprehend how old the place truly was. I don't think Europeans realize how strange it is for Americans to be amongst such old building and historical parts of the world, as America is fairly recent and we aren't accustomed to interacting with such important pieces of history.
One of the last stops of our weekend was at the Kilmainham Gaol, the prison in Dublin that was used to hold Irish prisoners throughout several wars with Britain and civil wars between the Irish people. It was very interesting to hear the stories of the prisoners, learn about the conflict with Britain, and to see the actual jail cells themselves. The stories of torture, harsh killings and hangings was difficult to hear, but I guess it is an important part of history for us to understand.
While Dublin had bizarre moments, it was a big city with plenty of culture to explore and find. I hope to see more attractions when I return again like the Guinness Brewery and the National Gallery.
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| Dublin, we shall meet again soon. |
I'm heading to Rome and Paris with my mom tomorrow, we are going to conquer the mainland of Europe together mother-daughter style. Read on next week to hear about our adventures!
Thanks! Love you all.
Cultural To Do's & Don'ts, and Irish Things:
'Craic' = Fun
- What's the Craic?
- Where'd you find craic?
- Any craic?
- Let's go get some craic!
-Don't tip waitresses or cabdrivers, as it can almost be taken as insulting to them.
-Turkey isn't very popular in Europe, I need to stop trying so hard to find it in grocery stories. Just settle for ham, girl.
-Don't talk about hunting or shooting guns, as Europeans will think you are highly dangerous and will get very uncomfortable.
-When in doubt, always order a typical Irish meal with potatoes. It's always fabulous.
"Ireland is where strange tales begin & happy endings are possible."
- Charles Haughey
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