What a bittersweet farewell…
On Wednesday when we arrived in Dublin, we took our map and made our way to our hostel. It wasn’t too hard to find, even though our map was not very helpful. Once we checked in, we tossed our bags in the room and decided we wanted to try to make it to the Guinness Storehouse Tour before it closed. We chatted with the reception staff, got the info we needed, and headed out. We found the tram station, and just missed the tram. Since it was already getting late, that threw our plans off. So instead of doing the tour, we walked to Temple Bar, took a photo, wandered a bit more, and decided to sit down at a pub for a hot chocolate with baileys. It was absolutely freezing out! We were so cold!
Since it was so miserable out, and since we were so tired, we just decided to head to dinner and then go back to the hostel. We ate at “The Celt”. It is a cozy, little, traditional pub. I had Bangers and Mash and Nat had a traditional stew. They were both delicious! As was the pint of cider we shared. Our waiter was very kind and helpful (plus attractive) and he asked us where we were from. He then responded “would you believe me if I told you that I lived in Rochester for 13 years”. His dad was a doctor at Mayo for a while. Such a small world!
After dinner we went back to the hostel, got ready for bed, and fell asleep. We were in a room with 5 bunks, but only 7 beds were full the first night. However, I managed to wake up every time someone came in the room or went to the bathroom. The hostel was very loud, too. I tried to sleep with earplugs in but they kept falling out. So in my dreams, I was paranoid about them, so I kept searching for them in my sleep. It was not a very restful evening.
In the morning we woke up, ate breakfast at the hostel, and repacked our bags. At 10:10 the tour guide picked us, and a few others, up for a free walking tour of the city. There were 5 people from our hostel, and we stopped at 3 more hostels to pick more people up. Once everyone was gathered we stopped at a café for coffee and tea to regroup and prep for the tour. When we left it was windy and chilly, when we got to the café it was sleeting, and when we left to start the actual tour it was snowing flakes the size of quarters. I wish I had brought a hat. Opps.
The tour guide’s name was Laurence and he was a Dubliner through and through. We saw the Temple bar district, the Dublin Castle. Several famous bridges and monuments, and stopped at a pub for a snack in the middle of the tour. It was a nice stop. We had some great people on our tour. We met 3 girls from Spain, a girl from Iceland, and a girl from New Zealand. It was really fun to meet everyone, chat, and see the sights together.
After the tour ended myself, Natalie, Brogan (New Zealand), and our new friend from Iceland all decided to continue on to a few more sights together. We went to the Book of Kells first. It is the first illustrated copy of the 4 gospels, written and painted in the 800s. It was very impressive. After visiting the book we went to lunch, and more fish and chips it was! Next we headed to St. Patrick’s Cathedral. It was huge & beautiful! Next, Natalie, Brogan, and I went to the Guinness Storehouse for a tour. It was a pretty impressive tour, actually. We saw and learned all about the ingredients, process of making the beer, had a sample, and then learned how to pour a pint. It takes 119.5 seconds to pull and pint and is a very specific process. I wasn’t a huge fan of the Guinness (big surprise there…) so I had a soda and took pictures of the girls as the poured their pints. It was really cook to watch! It has to sit for about a minute as the nitrogen works its way out of the beer, changing the color to a dark brown/black. After they pulled their pints, we went to the gravity bar on the top floor and enjoyed a beautiful view of the city! It was nice, all lit up and such.
As we exited, the weather couldn’t decide what it wanted to do. It was windy, snowy, and cold. We kept getting snowflakes in our eyes! But, after a few minutes walking, we found the tram station, and headed back into town. We stopped in a few touristy shops, and took Brogan to “The Celt” with us for dinner again. Our waiter was there again, so that was funny. I had haddock/cod/salmon chowder, Natalie had Bacon & Cabbage, and Brogan had the Bangers and Mash. It was all quite good!
After saying goodbye to Brogan, back to the hostel we went. We headed to bed, didn’t sleep well again, and we were up around 6 to get ready to head to the airport. We packed up, checked out, took the “Airlink” bus, and are waiting at the airport now. We always manage to be here too early. Oh well. Our first flight will take us to London, the second to Chicago, and the third to Minneapolis. It will be a long day of traveling. I am planning to watch many movies on the plane haha
It is really bitter sweet to be leaving. I am exited to see my family, be back in my bed/shower/house, and to eat away all the cravings I have developed over this trip. However, besides those few comforts, I’m not really ready to go home yet. This trip has been such a beautiful & wonderful adventure. I am so blessed to have been able to travel Europe as a young lady, with my best friend. This trip was all we dreamt about, and not heading home seems pretty daunting. Its time to go back to school, find another job, and prepare to graduate. Real life seems pretty overwhelming, to be honest. But, I am going to enjoy the flights today, spending time with my family this weekend, and will take teach day as it comes- treasuring the memories of this trip each day. What a journey! Adventure was, is, and will always be out there!
