Day 1: After a sleepless night in the airport, we got into a line of about 150 people to check in for our 6:30 flight over to Dublin. We were so tired that the wait didn't seem so long, and we eventually made our way through security and onto the flight. It was a short flight, but we all slept the entire hour and a half and had to be woken up by the stewardesses. After getting through customs we relaxed and ate breakfast in the airport before hopping on a bus to the center of Dublin. I talked with the bus driver to make sure
we were on the right bus, and I found out from his co-worker that his name was Liam and he was the best bus driver in Dublin. When we stepped onto the street next to Dublin's Spire, I knew I was at home on the Emerald Isle. (Some even say my hair got more orange during our stay...) The streets were almost empty, and the weather was pleasant. After being in crowded London for the weekend, we were loving the lack of a crowd! Since we couldn't meet with
our couch-surfers (the people with whom we'd be staying) until five o'clock, we had to fill the day. We walked along O'Connell Street and found a souvenir shop. Tired and full of Irish glee we all picked up some things to take home. When Jacqueline went to pay, however, she realized that she didn't have her wallet. After hunting through the shop and walking back to the Spire, the wallet was nowhere to be found. When we seemed to be out of options, we looked across O'Connell Street and saw the Dublin Bus Company's main office. We ran over, told them our bus number and that Liam was the driver, and they called him right away. Liam was our hero. Someone turned in the wallet to him and he would be back at the stop in about twenty minutes! Jac was so happy, she bought him a meal from Burger King as a reward. After the safe return of the wallet we took another bus over to the Guinness Storehouse.
The tour was awesome, and we even got to learn how to pour the perfect pint of Guinness! We're all certified Guinness pint-pourers now. Check that one off the bucket list. We got to chill in the storehouse and drink our perfect pints. Being so tired and hungry, those pints went a long way and we had a good laugh. Eventually we made our way back to the Spire, got some food from a café, and met up with two of our hosts! Frank and Jip (pronounced "yip") were both from the Netherlands and working in Dublin, and they walked us to their flat as we chatted and got to know these complete strangers we'd be living with for five days.
I couldn't believe the flat we were staying in. It was HUGE and really, really nice. It was ridiculously cheap, too. We met the third of our four hosts, Lucasz (Lucas) from Poland, and we all relaxed on their couches drinking coffee and tea. The guys were really nice and funny. It was going to be a great week. After a few hours we decided to tag along with the guys to a bar called the Porterhouse where the couchsurfing 'community' of Dublin was having a mustache party. The Porterhouse was located in Temple Bar, which is a big area of Dublin full of bars, pubs, stores, and restaurants. What happens at a mustache party is you walk in, get a mustache drawn on your face, and you hang out. These WILL be happening next year at Iowa. The mustaches break the ice and everyone loves them! I even got to draw one on a guy from
Wales and a girl from Australia. The bar was really cool with multiple floors, a bunch of staircases, and a great band that played a bunch of great covers. After a few hours of fun, we were ready to collapse so we headed home to crash on the couches.
Day 2: In the morning the girls and I headed to Temple Bar to find a place to eat breakfast. We ended up in a cool little café that served amazing breakfast and even more amazing coffee. After eating we explored the rest of Temple Bar, stopped in a photography gallery, and made our way to Trinity College. The campus of Trinity was beautiful, and its most famous attraction is its library, which has marble statues, long wooden tables, and rows of giant wooden bookshelves with the sliding ladders as well as the Book of Kells. The book is a copy of the Gospels in Latin that dates to around 800 A.D. that was found on an island after a viking raid. It cost 9 euros to go through the library so we decided against it and headed to Grafton Street, which is similar to Temple Bar only with nicer stores, a few
malls, and a ton of little shops. We then walked down to St. Patrick's cathedral and park, and I went inside the cathedral to take a look around. The girls waited outside, but I'm named Patrick. I had to go inside. It was a pretty cathedral with a lot of cool artifacts, statues, and stained glass. After that we walked past Dublinia, which is the Viking area of Dublin. We made our way back downtown and wandered around, listening to street bands, looking in stores, and grabbing a few snacks. Eventually we got back to the flat to relax for a while until we headed out to a pub to watch some football and get some supper.
The pub we went to had round tables with Guinness and Carlsberg beer taps in them. If you have a party, you ask the bartender to turn on the taps and then you can pour your own drinks!
The taps keep track of your drinks, and you pay at the end of the night. We enjoyed some quality pub food and watched the game. After a while our hosts arrived to have a drink with us and to say goodbye to Jacqueline, Anna, and Hillary. Those three were heading off to more cities with different groups, and Cassandra and I were sticking around Ireland. We finished our drinks, sent the girls on their way, and walked home to crash on the couches for the second night. Ireland has been amazing so far. It feels like I'm right at home. :)
Day 1: After a sleepless night in the airport, we got into a line of about 150 people to check in for our 6:30 flight over to Dublin. We were so tired that the wait didn't seem so long, and we eventually made our way through security and onto the flight. It was a short flight, but we all slept the entire hour and a half and had to be woken up by the stewardesses. After getting through customs we relaxed and ate breakfast in the airport before hopping on a bus to the center of Dublin. I talked with the bus driver to make sure 
we were on the right bus, and I found out from his co-worker that his name was Liam and he was the best bus driver in Dublin. When we stepped onto the street next to Dublin's Spire, I knew I was at home on the Emerald Isle. (Some even say my hair got more orange during our stay...) The streets were almost empty, and the weather was pleasant. After being in crowded London for the weekend, we were loving the lack of a crowd! Since we couldn't meet with
our couch-surfers (the people with whom we'd be staying) until five o'clock, we had to fill the day. We walked along O'Connell Street and found a souvenir shop. Tired and full of Irish glee we all picked up some things to take home. When Jacqueline went to pay, however, she realized that she didn't have her wallet. After hunting through the shop and walking back to the Spire, the wallet was nowhere to be found. When we seemed to be out of options, we looked across O'Connell Street and saw the Dublin Bus Company's main office. We ran over, told them our bus number and that Liam was the driver, and they called him right away. Liam was our hero. Someone turned in the wallet to him and he would be back at the stop in about twenty minutes! Jac was so happy, she bought him a meal from Burger King as a reward. After the safe return of the wallet we took another bus over to the Guinness Storehouse.
The tour was awesome, and we even got to learn how to pour the perfect pint of Guinness! We're all certified Guinness pint-pourers now. Check that one off the bucket list. We got to chill in the storehouse and drink our perfect pints. Being so tired and hungry, those pints went a long way and we had a good laugh. Eventually we made our way back to the Spire, got some food from a café, and met up with two of our hosts! Frank and Jip (pronounced "yip") were both from the Netherlands and working in Dublin, and they walked us to their flat as we chatted and got to know these complete strangers we'd be living with for five days. 
I couldn't believe the flat we were staying in. It was HUGE and really, really nice. It was ridiculously cheap, too. We met the third of our four hosts, Lucasz (Lucas) from Poland, and we all relaxed on their couches drinking coffee and tea. The guys were really nice and funny. It was going to be a great week. After a few hours we decided to tag along with the guys to a bar called the Porterhouse where the couchsurfing 'community' of Dublin was having a mustache party. The Porterhouse was located in Temple Bar, which is a big area of Dublin full of bars, pubs, stores, and restaurants. What happens at a mustache party is you walk in, get a mustache drawn on your face, and you hang out. These WILL be happening next year at Iowa. The mustaches break the ice and everyone loves them! I even got to draw one on a guy from
Wales and a girl from Australia. The bar was really cool with multiple floors, a bunch of staircases, and a great band that played a bunch of great covers. After a few hours of fun, we were ready to collapse so we headed home to crash on the couches.
Day 2: In the morning the girls and I headed to Temple Bar to find a place to eat breakfast. We ended up in a cool little café that served amazing breakfast and even more amazing coffee. After eating we explored the rest of Temple Bar, stopped in a photography gallery, and made our way to Trinity College. The campus of Trinity was beautiful, and its most famous attraction is its library, which has marble statues, long wooden tables, and rows of giant wooden bookshelves with the sliding ladders as well as the Book of Kells. The book is a copy of the Gospels in Latin that dates to around 800 A.D. that was found on an island after a viking raid. It cost 9 euros to go through the library so we decided against it and headed to Grafton Street, which is similar to Temple Bar only with nicer stores, a few 
malls, and a ton of little shops. We then walked down to St. Patrick's cathedral and park, and I went inside the cathedral to take a look around. The girls waited outside, but I'm named Patrick. I had to go inside. It was a pretty cathedral with a lot of cool artifacts, statues, and stained glass. After that we walked past Dublinia, which is the Viking area of Dublin. We made our way back downtown and wandered around, listening to street bands, looking in stores, and grabbing a few snacks. Eventually we got back to the flat to relax for a while until we headed out to a pub to watch some football and get some supper. 
The pub we went to had round tables with Guinness and Carlsberg beer taps in them. If you have a party, you ask the bartender to turn on the taps and then you can pour your own drinks! 
The taps keep track of your drinks, and you pay at the end of the night. We enjoyed some quality pub food and watched the game. After a while our hosts arrived to have a drink with us and to say goodbye to Jacqueline, Anna, and Hillary. Those three were heading off to more cities with different groups, and Cassandra and I were sticking around Ireland. We finished our drinks, sent the girls on their way, and walked home to crash on the couches for the second night. Ireland has been amazing so far. It feels like I'm right at home. :)
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