Ireland: Where There Are No Strangers, Just Friends You Haven’t Met Yet

Posted by Kalie on September 11, 2009

Ello, loves!  So, I’m having a really hard time being in Dublin.  Here’s my dilemma: I’m surrounded by Irish people.  These Irish people have Irish accents.  Being around all these Irish people with Irish accents makes me want to speak with an Irish accent as well, but I know that as soon as I open my mouth to speak they’ll catch me as a fraud.  So I simply speak with my boring American accent.  I guess if this is the biggest problem I have right now, I’m doing okay.

Other than the whole accent thing, my time in Ireland has been great!  My first full day I walked with Clay to Trinity College where he dropped me off at to see the Book of Kells, which is a beautifully illustrated manuscript of the four Gospels from around the 800s.  I wandered around the area a bit when I realized I’d left the maps of Dublin at Clay’s flat.  Slightly panicked (because I’m prone to getting lost with directions), I somehow found my way back to his place (without directions).  That evening Clay took me to his local pub just down the street.  He ordered me a half-pint of Guinness before I knew what was happening.  When I objected, he said it was part of the Dublin experience, so I grudgingly backed down.  I managed to make it about 3/4 through the glass when I decided I’d had enough Guinness to last me a lifetime.

The next day I had plans to meet my friend’s sister, who is studying at the University College Dublin, at the Guinness storehouse.  I left two hours early, allowing me time to amble through the Temple Bar area, see Christ’s Church, and many other landmarks along the way.  Lindsey and I toured the Guinness storehouse, had a small sample of Guinness, and used our free drink tickets for Sprites instead of Guinness.  The view from the Gravity Bar (the top floor of the storehouse with a panoramic view of Dublin) was incredible since it was a sunny day.  After the tour we slowly made our way back toward O’Connell street.  We happened upon a small bakery in an alley and split a scrumptious fruit pavlova.  Then we found O’Donoghues Pub, ordered chicken, chips, and a pint each of Bulmers Cider.  After a little over an hour, we had each finished our first pint.

For my last full day in Dublin, I went on a 4 1/2-hour double-decker bus tour of the southern coast and Powerscourt Garden.  The title of this post is a quote from the very Irish bus driver.  On the way down we drove past the coastline, and on the way back drove through the inland hills.  The Powerscourt Garden was very beautiful, and it couldn’t have been a nicer day for being outdoors.

I had a wonderful stay in Dublin, with great weather and a great host!  I’m off to Sweden tomorrow and am looking forward to it very much!

Cheers!

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