Luck of the Irish!

Now that I have been settled in London for a number of weeks now, I finally had the chance to go on my first trip! For 3 days my roommate Morrisa and I traveled to Dublin, Ireland, the land of potatoes, rugby and NOT leprechauns (I'll explain later).

Our first day was fairly uneventful since we had a later flight, but I did get to try Persian food! I know I should be trying actual Irish food, but when it's 9:00 pm and you want food, pubs are only selling booze (aka Guinness) and a pint was not going to satisfy our appetite. Morrisa also learned that when you pick the right hostel, they are not scary (It was her first time staying in one). The one we stayed at was only build this past summer and for €11, you can't beat that.

Me and my Type A personality, I had to plan out everything. After getting ready in the morning, I sat on the floor off our room, laid out our map, and circled everything we wanted to visit. From there, we sorted out which places we would visit each day so we could just walk. However, Dublin is so small, we actually did walk everywhere which was great for everything but my feet.

Officially Certified Jameson Taste Testers

After spending an hour circling my map, we were finally off to our first destination. We started at the National Museum of Ireland of Decorative Arts and History. My favorite exhibit was the different eras of furniture. We also went to the museum cafe for lunch where I had a garlic potato cake. I couldn't leave Ireland without having some kind of potato. Next was the Jameson Distillery. Being that I am technically still underage in the United States, I am not the most knowledgable when it comes to my alcohol except for Natty Light, Jungle Juice, and Andre. We went through the process if how the whisky is made and how Jameson differentiates from other brands. At the end, Morrisa and I were selected to be official taste testers and compare Jameson with Jack Daniels and Scotch. By far Jameson was both of our favorites. After the taste tests, we received our "diplomas" for whisky school!

Fun Sized!

Our next endeavors were to the National Leprechaun Museum. Since we came straight from Jameson after our taste test and our free drink on top of that, we were definitely a bit giggly and talking about mystical creatures was no help. The museum starts with everyone becoming the size of a leprechaun for the adventure and walking into a room with giant furniture. Our entire tour was women so the tour guide continued to make fun of us. We then walked trough the rainbow to the pot of gold when we learned that leprechauns are not from Ireland, but an island in the Irish Sea near the Isle of Man. According to our tour guide, the original stories were all lies.

The view from the Gravity Bar inside
Guinness Storehouse

On Friday, we started our day at the Guinness Storehouse where I had my education on brewing beer. At the top floor of the Storehouse is the Gravity Bar with gorgeous views of Dublin and everyone receives a free pint. While we were up there we managed to find other Bucknellians who were also in Dublin. Apparently, the Bucknell Bubble cannot even burst in Europe. Compared to what I am used to, Guinness was much heavier and I tried, but I could not finish my pint, so we gave the rest to two other guys from Bucknell who most likely downed it.

After Guinness we went to St. Patrick's Cathedral. Inside was GORGEOUS and there is so much history. I was by far the most in love with the stain glass windows and their intricate designs. My mother loves this, but there was a gift shop in the back of the church and what did I buy? The best leprechaun shot glasses ever. Sad to say most other shoppers were looking at them as well. Why they were sold within a church is beyond me. We then ended our touring at Dublin Castle which had oh so fantastic pink, green, and navy rooms, my favorite :)

Pretty St. Patrick!

They look so much better in person

Inside a Dublin Castle guard booth

We finished dinner in Temple Bar at a Mexican/Italian restaurant. Weirdest combination ever, but it was still good. We then went to a pub and  somewhat began to understand rugby. The six nations game of Ireland vs. Wales was on so there were many Irish, as well as Welsh fans around us who tried to explain the game to us. They then proceeded to say american football is not real and one guy in particular kept telling us the Patriots were going to win the Super Bowl. Clearly that was a bunch of lies.

Birds "walking on water". Can you find the hidden heart?

Our final day in Dublin was sadly a rainy one, but that did not ruin our fun. We started off by walking to St. Stephen's Green. I have not seen so many birds before. One elderly woman kept feeding them whole pieces of bread (and they flew holding entire slices) so they were going nuts. I kept wanting to sing like Julie Andrews "Feed the Birds", but then I realized I was not in London this time. After our stroll and bird photo shoot, we went to the Irish National Gallery and then the Book of Kells at Trinity College. It was interesting to see how the books were written and the shelves of books that still remain.

Like all adventures, they have to come to an end and this one had to end on the Luton runway in the snow. Considering every plane was delayed, I have no clue how we landed, but only Ryanair I guess will take that feat when your ticket is £13.

Oh yeah, and I can't forget about by new St. Patrick's Cathedral souvenirs!

My Lucky Irish Leprechauns!