Dublin Publin

Hello blog followers! I'm sorry I have been so suckful at updating but now I finally have a good chunk of time to think and write so here it is... the epic entry that will cover the last 2 weeks... where should I begin? How about our weekend in Dublin?

So on June 26th, a group of about 18 of us went to Dublin. We left Galway on the bus at 4 PM. Kristi and I sat behind this really cute gay couple who were talking about going to the parade and they seemed really cool. I wanted to talk to them but I was too shy. We got in around 7:30ish and wandered around trying to find our hostel. Once we did, we changed and went out to try to find something to eat. My first impression of Dublin was that it was a bit too crazy for me. I know it sounds weird coming from a girl who works in Manhattan but I've been away from there for so long and gotten used to the Galway atmosphere which, although the nightlife is great, has far less people. We kept looking for somewhere to eat but because it was so late by the time we got out, all the kitchens in the pubs had closed so we had to settle for this Native American pizza/smoothie/bagel place named Urban Apache?? It sounds like the most random, obscure grouping of things but we got this delicious olive & mushroom pizza from there and were able drink the 2 euro cheap-ass cider we got from the off licence next door with it so all was well. After that, we went looking for somewhere to drink. We got to The Temple Bar area but everything was so packed and crazy that we couldn't even fit into most place (and there were only about 8 of us). We ended up at this pub called Farrington's and, because it was already so late by then, Kristi, Sarah and I ordered a pint of cheap beer & a shot of cheap vodka (classy, I know) to jump start the night. We sat and listened to some good music for a while and then, while simply trying to order some Guinness and mind our own business, we yet again got made fun of for drinking an old, Irish men's beer. We tried to defend ourselves but to no avail. Luckily, the guys who were giving us a hard time ended up being cool and we hung out with them for the rest of the night. They were a football (read: soccer) team who had just had their last match of the season and were out celebrating. Daryl, the captain of the team who I was talking to, was really nice and he and his friends ordered Kristi, Sarah and I "Baby Guinness" shots which were mostly Tia Maria, a coffee liquer, and some Bailey's. The Bailey's sat on top of the Tia Maria so it looked like a lil' Guinness in a shot glass. It was very tasty. After Farrington's, we walked around looking for more places to go and attempted to get into this one club but, because of the Gay Pride Parade that was happening the next day, it was a "Ladies Night" and the guys couldn't get in. We ended up at this one pub which, although it looked normal and traditional on the upper floor, looked more like a grungy basement down below which is where the music was. The best comparrison I can make is to the scene in the beginning of Across The Universe when Jude and his lady are singing "Hold Me Tight" at the punk rawk show. Anywho, after that, we returned to the hostel at some ungodly hour and, in an attempt to brush my teeth, stumbled upon Mike, another kid on our trip, sprawled out on the floor and hugging the toilet in the co-ed bathroom. That was a fun surprise. We went to bed and woke up at 9 AM the next morning in order to get the "free breakfast" the hostel provides which turned out to be toast & coffee. Sweet. After everyone was up and recovered, we set out for the Kilmainham Gaol on foot with one map and no idea of where we were going. We walked for about half an hour on the backroads and through a residential area yet miraculously found it. While sitting outside waiting for the stragglers, Kristi and I saw two faces who looked oddly familiar. Upon further examination, we decided that it was Gavin & John, the two guys we met in The King's Head in Galway a week prior (see June 25th's post)! We went up to them and said hello, both groups unable to believe that we were randomly running into each other again. Small world, huh? Anyway, after that we took a tour of the jail which was very interesting and then hopped on the bus in hopes to meet up with Luis & Sharkie, two of my friends from Lehigh who just happened to be in Dublin for the weekend too. We found them on O'Connell Street and walked around looking for food. We found a Middle Eastern place and sat down for a delicious lunch of falafel. Afterwards, we returned to where the parade was supposed to be going and realized, after a bit of searching, that we definitely missed it. We are assholes lol I guess we didn't realize how long we were taking at lunch and, having only had experience with the HUGE NYC Pride parade, I kind of assumed it would last more than a half hour so yeah... That was kind of dissappointing :-/ we did see a bunch of people with rainbow flags walking around but nothing like last year's parade in the city. Oh well. After that, we parted ways with the boys and Kristi, Sarah and I met up with everyone else again and we all went on the tour of the Guinness storehouse. That was AWESOME. With admission, you ticket stub got you got a free pint that you could redeem either at the Pour Your Own Pint station or the Gravity Bar at the top of the place. On our way up, we decided that it would be sweet to be able to say that we poured our own pint of Guinness in Ireland so we used our ticket stub there. It was fun and we got certificates and everything. After we had finished there, we decided to head up to the Gravity Bar even though we wouldn't be able to get a drink up there but just to check out the sweet view of Dublin. On the way up, this random couple in front of us turned around and went "Hey, do you guys need extra ticket stubs?" We had no idea how they would've known that we had used ours already but we didn't argue. We got up there and the bartenders poured Guinnesses with 3-leaf clovers in the foam. It was awesomeeee. After we left, we hopped on the bus that we thought was going to bring us close to home but apparently, it was the last bus of the night and we were at the end of the line so we had to walk home from O'Connell Street. It was alright though because it was a nice out. When we got home, Sarah, Adam, Kristi and I went out to dinner and I got bangers & mash which was yummo. Back at the hostel, we drank a lil' and then went to this pub called The Turk's Head. We stayed there for a bit, Adam & I danced a lil' and then we got Kristi birthday shots for her birthday which started at midnight! Once some people came, we decided that it was time to leave so we went to The Temple Bar and sang and danced a bunch. Another birthday party group came in who happened to be in Dublin for the parade and we talked to them for a lil. Kristi tried to get the pink birthday hat from the birthday boy but was unsuccessful. After that, we decided it was time to go home but first, Abrakebabra (which I had been calling Abrakedabra all weekend and only realized on Sunday that that wasn't the name of it...oops?) I got chicken fingers and then we went to bed. The next morning, we realized that Tommy hadn't come home which wasn't good especially because he doesn't have a cell phone with him in Ireland but we didn't really have time to figure out where he was because we had to check out by 10:30 AM. After we found him, we went out to breakfast where I had a delicious omlette and then headed back to the Guinness factory to buy souviners because our bus ticket was still valid. We rode the bus around for a while because it was one of those tour buses with the open tops and live commentary by the driver who was this crazy awesome Irish guy who sang songs and told us a lot about everywhere he drove past. Then, we went to Trinity College to see The Book of Kells but it cost 10 euro to get in and it had already been a very expensive weekend and we didn't even really know what we were going to see so we just decided not to go. Instead, we sat on a bench outside to rest for a bit and ended up getting pooped on :-/ just our luck. After that, Sarah was pretty sad so we found a Starbuck's for her (the FIRST one I've seen in Ireland! How sweet is that?) We met up with the rest of the group, walked back to the hostel, got sandwiches on the way, and headed to the bus. We got on and saw the same gay guys we sat behind on the bus ride there! Second small world realization of the trip. Anywho, that's about it. Although it was a lot of fun, a lot of people who went were saying that they were glad we are studying abroad in Galway and not in Dublin because it is too crazy there and Galway is more quaint while still having a lot of stuff to do in it. Phewf. That was a mouthful. I think I'll leave the Dingle recap until later today or tomorrow.... I have to go to the gym today (in the rain :-/ meh) and maybe do something besides writing in my blog so yeah. Until then...