Getting Lost and Finding Greatness

Dublin is a beautiful place to get lost in. It was the first place I traveled to when my classes had a break. I am a Canadian spending a semester in Nottingham and as much as I loved my new home I have always dreamed of Dublin. For it me has always held some sort of magic Celtic power, and I had to go there. With little planning my friend and I set off to Dublin. After a nauseating bus ride to Manchester and a short flight we had arrived in Ireland. We had no idea how to get from the airport to our hostel. This was the first time we got lost and it wouldn't be the last. After figuring out which bus to take we wandered the cobblestone streets in the dark pulling out a map every few minutes. We had no idea what street we were even on or which direction to head in. Canadians are clearly the most geographically challenged people; if there’s one thing that stood out the most between Canada and Europe it was how easy it is to get lost. In Canada there are signs everywhere that are easy to see, and the streets are in a grid so directions make sense. We clearly looked like Canadian noobs and many people came over to us as we hunched over the maps and gave us directions. The people of Dublin are some of the nicest in the world. Once we found our mold ridden hostel (seriously do your research on where you sleep it makes a world of difference) we decided to go to the first pub we saw and have a drink. We ended up at The Celt. My best advice for your traveling is to wonder around getting lost and stop when you’re thirsty. At the Celt we met Irish, Polish, Norwegian and American people and spent the night drinking Guinness and telling stories. We wandered around Dublin getting lost and only stopping to eat or do something free. We got lost and ended up in a beautiful garden with statues of authors such as Oscar Wilde, we got lost and ended up at a very weird museum full of stuffed animals, we got lost and ate the greatest fish and chips I’ve ever had, and we got lost and went to a pub and a band dedicated “Molly Malone” to their favourite Canadians. Every time we got lost the directions involved the spire. We had no idea what that was and we were laughed at by our new friends when they explained it was a giant silver stick. Now I always look up land marks before I travel anywhere. It was an amazing adventure full of confusion, new friends and new experiences. Just make sure you quit the Guinness before your flight or you will be too sick to enjoy your free plane food.