Trip #4: Dublin

I'm going to follow the blessing rather than go in chronological order, try to stick with me!

Sunbeam: On Saturday Cass and I took a day trip to Killiney/ Dun Laoghaire to get out of the city of Dublin and see some of the coast line. We were extremely lucky and picked the most beautiful day to go and walk around, it was sunny and warm and we felt like we were in a movie. We got fish and chips at a local to-go place and sat on the pier, living the life. Literally every other person we saw walked by with ice cream cones, which we wanted to get but after the fish and chips we were literally stuffed. It was a relaxing day and the perfect follow up to the *good luck* we had the night before...


Good Luck: Simply put, Friday night was amazing. I knew that there was no one way Dublin could be a bad trip because we planned to see Ben Folds, but this concert surpassed all my expectations. We ended up getting to the venue literally five minutes before they opened the doors, perfect timing. Since the place was pretty small, it was all standing room and we got to be in the second row. While Ben was playing I could literally see the sweat on his face -- gross, but awesome!! The concert went by too quickly, he played so many great songs. Afterwards, we hung out for a little bit and talked to the guitarist... see yah in London, Ryan!

 

Sheltering Angel: I stayed (fo free) with one of my best friends and old roommate, Cass, for the weekend. I'm such a lucky gal, seeing Matthias last weekend and then Cass the next. She fed me some Magnum bars (yummm), showed me the lay of the land, and gave me a comfy place to sleep. 

Trying my first & last Irish Guiness with Cass... not my drink of choice

Laughter & Friends: Cass and I can always share a good laugh... its ironic that I'm talking about her in my blog considering blogs are the source of our endless entertainment. But also in the business program with Cass are two fellow VIPers (Volunteer Illini Projects, for those of you who do not know of the largest student-run, student-staffed volunteer organization on campus {free advertising}), so it was great to laugh with them too! And Chad was there to rep the Chi O-Sig Ep bond.

     

Whenever you Pray: I arrived in Dublin around 11am on Thursday, Cass and I went out to lunch & then I wandered around Dublin while she was in class. I tried to pretend like I was a local and strolled into St. Stephen's Park, which was so pretty. Dublin isn't that big so I kept on finding myself re-tracing my steps, but in those steps I found Christchurch Cathedral and a random Polish Cathedral that was actually really cool inside. I have yet to find a church that I haven't enjoyed going in to.

St. Stephens Park

Christchurch

Polish Cathedral

Other anecdotes:

Irish people are the friendliest people I've met so far. Even the bus driver was in a good mood and happy to help. Specifically at the Irish Pub though is where they show their full friendliness. On Thursday night a few Irish guys led us to Flannery's, a popular pub with a really fun young crowd. At said pub, you'd think the Irish guys would be flirting with the girls. Well, we did get our fair share of attention, but mostly it was Chad and another one of Cass's friend from Uni who the guys were excited about. "Chad" is apparently a really American name (I know one Chad...?) and so they were constantly taking solo pictures of him on their phone and asking to have pictures with him. I mean, I know he looks like NPH, but that doesn't mean he's a celebrity (they were probably just confused).

Saw the Book of Kells for free because a fellow Chi O is friends with a guy who goes to Trinity College and students get to bring guests. It was so interesting! My favorite part though was the big library after you see the book.... it has dark wooden walls and really high ceilings. Not quite as majestic as the scene in Beauty and the Beast, but the same idea that you get on those library ladders and can slide around and just pick out extremely old/important books. I love libraries almost as much as churches. 

 And that concludes my blessed Irish weekend!

Cheers!