Wednesday afternoon it was off to Dublin! After having the plane delayed about and hour we finally arrived. So it was Jes, Jen, Morgan, and myself on our way. We took the air coach which is a bus system that takes you directly from the airport into the city. When got onto the bus Lady Gaga's "Just Dance" was playing and I knew I would love this country! Plus...I was really looking forward to being in an English speaking country! It was been getting a little frustrating dealing with the whole language barrier and it was really relaxing to know that I wouldn't have to deal with it for 5 days. So anyways...Jacquie met us in town and took us to her house. She lives in this great house with 5 other roommates who are awesome! They are from all over the US and all so welcoming to us. You could tell the difference between the East Coast and West Coast people. The people from the West Coast are so laid back and non-judgmental. That night, Jacq took us to this pub called the Oliver St. John Gogarty. Of course we had to get a Guinness in Ireland! There was a band playing traditional Irish music. It was so much fun! We were all signing along to the songs! Everyone in Ireland is so nice, friendly, and wants to have a good time!
Thursday morning we got up, got breakfast (Bagels! oh how I've missed breakfast food! Its not big in Italy!) and took a bus to the country side. We got off the bus in the tiny town of Arnao and spent the afternoon walking about 5 miles through the beautiful Wicklow Mountains National Park to the town of Glendalough. It was so quiet and serene. And it was just how I had imagined Ireland looking. Everything was so green with cute little houses. We stopped at tiny tea house along the way for a 'spot of tea' and some scones to warm us up! Glendalough means the glen of two lakes. Glendalough is where St. Kevin's church is (St. Kevin was a hermit priest who founded Glendalough in the 6th century) and the Round Tower which was used as a bell tower and used to store refugees in times of attack. I learned all of this from my great tour guide Jacquie!! We walked through Glendalough and found the two lakes which were so pretty! Of course I took tons of pretty pictures! Then it was back to Dublin! We went out to dinner at a place called Sheehans. So yummy! Then out with Jacquie and her roommates to a pub. Had a great time.
Friday we went out for a traditional Irish breakfast which included eggs, toast, sausage, bacon, and beans! (Luckily they left out the blood pudding!) Then we were off on our walking tour of Dublin by our excellent tour guide! Dublin is so much bigger than Florence but a nice city to walk around in. We went to some great parks like St. Stephens Green and Jacq showed us St. Patrick's Cathedral which also has a great park next to it. We saw the the famous Molly Malone statue, River Liffy, Ha'Penny Bridge, Trinity College, hit up some shops and walked around the center of town. And we even got Shamrock Shakes! The whole city was gearing up for the St. Patrick's Day festivities! It was so fun! Everything was green, white and orange! Unfortunately, Morgan has flying out that Friday night because her boyfriend was coming to visit her in Florence on Saturday afternoon so she couldn't stay the whole week. So after walking around the city for most of the day we took her to the air coach stop to catch the bus back to the airport. On the way to the bus stop, she wanted to run into the food store quick to get some shepherds pie seasoning mix. We knew that she was running a little low on time but she was determined to get the mix. She was successful and we put her on the bus to the airport. Then we headed back to Jacq's place for dinner. After dinner we were just hanging out planning what to do for the night when the doorbell rings. Jacquie's roommate answers and who walks in but MORGAN! And she says..."I guess I shouldn't have stopped for that shepherds pie mix!" HAHA! So all of our mouths dropped open when she walked through the door! We legit couldn't believe she has missed her flight! She got to the airport just as they were closing the flight and they wouldn't let her board! (Keep in mind- we flew Ryanair). So the poor girl had to book another flight to Rome at 6am Saturday morning and then take a 3 hour train ride from Rome to Florence and then the shuttle to the Florence airport! But she did make it home safe and sound! We just kept telling her that it would be a great story later in life! And that that was one expensive packet of shepherd pie mix! Haha!
Saturday we slept in as we were all feeling a little tired from all the walking and sight seeing. There was a carnival going on in Merrion Square, close to Jacquie's house, so we went to check that out. It was a beautiful day so we took a ride on the ferris wheel and at the top we could see all of of Dublin! It was very winding at the top so I was a little nervous but it was actually really fun! Dublin doesn't have too many big buildings so there is not really a skyline or anything like that to see but it was still cool. Then we bought some postcards and sat in St. Stephens Green and wrote them out. On our way back, there was a large crowd that had gathered around a guy doing a comedy act in the street so we stopped to check it out. He asked who was from American and we yelled "WOO!" thinking others in the crowd would have yelled...but no...we were apparently the only ones. So this comedian goes of on this tangent about who when you ask Americans were they from they say "WOO" instead of "New Jersey!" It was so funny and so true! Then he got Jacquie in on one of his songs and started calling us the "American Girls with white teeth!" It was really hilarious and so random! Later on there was another act going on in the street and the guy was seeing Bruce Springsteen's "Born in the U.S.A"! It was too funny to see Irish people belting it out! The Irish are actually obsessed with Bruce! He was on tv and there were pictures of him everywhere! (Dad, I know you would appreciate that!) After another day out and about Dublin, we had dinner and got ready for a night of dancing at this really cool place called the Purty Kitchen. Again...we all have a fantastic time!
On Sunday we were all so bummed that we had to leave. Dublin was getting more into the St. Patrick's Day festivities. The carnival expanded with tons of venders and games all over. There were little kids with their faces painted and everyone decked out in green. We were really sad to be leaving at such an exciting time! We packed up all of our stuff and took the bus to the Guinness factory where you learn all about Ireland's most famous beer. It was actually a really awesome place and very interesting. Guinness is celebrating its 250 year anniversary this year. Its made from water, barely, hops and yeast and there are three different types: Draught, Extra Stout and Foreign . As you are walking through the factory you can stop at the "Taste Lab" and try the different kinds. And at the end of the tour you get a free pint in the Gravity Bar which is at the very top of the factory which is all glass and can sit and enjoy the view of Dublin! It was so much fun!! Another interesting fact that I learned was that Guinness Brewery is the same as the Guinness Book of World Records! (This may be common knowledge but I never knew this before!) One of the managers at Guinness got into an argument about a silly topic at a pub one night and wondered where he could find the answer to his question. Then he thought that there must be others all over debating silly topics at other pubs throughout Ireland so...he came up with this book and it was first published in 1955 and has been going ever since! After the Guinness tour we walked through town once more, stopped for lunch and were on our way to the airport. We decided to give ourselves extra time because we didn't want to run into a situation like Morgan had. Also stopped for some Irish Soda Bread because I just had to try it out and compare it to my moms. No surprise Eileen Hagner's Irish Soda Bread blew it out of the water! So we're going through security and they stop me and tell me that I have to open my bag because I have two umbrellas inside that needed to be inspected. I politely told the woman that I only had one umbrella but that I would get it out and show her but she insists that I have two. And I am confident in my answer knowing I only brought 1 umbrella to Ireland. So...the checking of the umbrella quickly turns into a big deal as I have to go back and forth through security with my bag and without it. As I am going through my stuff I see Jes's purse (she asked me to pack it for her because she didn't have any room) so then it dawns on me that she must have an umbrella inside her purse...so thats where they were getting 2 umbrellas from. Now the way they were acting you would have thought that the umbrella was a loaded weapon. The man at secruity was talking to me like I was a harden criminal saying..."You have TWO umbrellas!" like they had never seen them before. So after opening and closing the umbrella and sending both though the scanner I was free to go. So we find out gate and get in line. With Ryanair there are no assigned seats so its literally a free for all. Come time to board the plane I see people having to check the size of their luggage and I just knew that this was going to be a problem. Of course come my turn to board, the guy says I have to check my luggage because it was too big. (Keep in mind I had the same suitcase going and it was no bigger returning and I had no problems.) So I then had to wait in a line that was a mile long for check my bag while at a snails pace they wrote down everyones information and then I had to pay 30 euros for my stupid bag! Needless to say, I was not a happy camper on the flight home. We got into Pisa airport around 11:30 and then had to take a 80 minute bus ride back to Florence. BUT...it was ALL worth it. I really had a fabulous time! I truly enjoyed Ireland and its people and I couldn't have asked for a better host and tour guide! Thanks to Jacq, everything was wonderful! I definitely want to go back to Ireland someday and do the whole country. It has so many different aspects to it and theres just so much more I want to see!
So back in Florence, its another busy week. Went out to the Dublin Pub (yes in Florence!) for St. Paddy's Day! Had a good time. This weekend we are going on our 3rd Rutgers Excursion. This time its an overnight trip to the city of Verona and then to Bardolino (which is on the lake Lago di Garda)to visit of a wine-producing family estate in the heart of the Valpolicella region and then to Venice for the day on Saturday. We leave very early Friday morning and won't return until late Saturday night...so it will be another busy, jam packed weekend but I'm really looking forward to it!!
Pictures of Ireland!
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| Dublin, Ireland March 11-15 2009 |
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