Monday morning it was time to head to Dublin. We could have flown from London to Dublin, but we decided to take the ferry. We also picked the cheeper one that took two hours longer. We board the ferry to find out it is a cruise ship (basically) filled with dining halls, lounges, bars, and a movie theater. The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus (the film Heath Ledger was filming when he died) was playing in the theater and we considered watching that but went to get lunch first. It turns out the ferry wasn't quite a cruise ship in that I started feeling sick right away and could feel the boat moving. At this point, I thought the movie was a great idea. So, we went to that. It was good, although quite strage...
When it was over it was nearly Dublin time! We had to take a bus to the city center and then started walking to find our hostel. (Amanda had a blackberry with gps on it that helped us navigate quite frequently!) We found our hostel, checked in, and headed out to find a place for supper. We had looked at at least 20 menus before picking a pub. Amanda and I shared a pretty decent burger. Then, we walked around for a while, checked out the river and the temple bar area (very touristy), got a Guinness then went to the hostel and called it a night.
The next day we woke up and had breakfast in the hostel. Then we started walking around without any clear plans for the day. We saw Christ Church Cathedral and St. Patrick's Cathedral (both from the outside since it cost a few euro to get in and I think my friends were pretty churched-out). We found a park and a playground and went on the swings for a while. For lunch we found this great little place with a "3 course" meal and pop for around 7 euro. I had spanish meatballs, fries, and nachos. It was really just a little bowl of each, like a sample...but it was delicious nonetheless! After lunch we walked some more then headed to the Guinness factory. We had alredy made reservations so getting our tickets went smoothly and we headed in to the factory. It wasn't like a normal, Wisconsin brewery tour in that it was self guided and you didn't actually get to see the production of Guinness. But, again, fun nonetheless. With the ticket you get one free pint of Guinness either on the top floor of the brewery or on the fourth floor where you would be taught how to pour the perfect pint of Guinness. Of course, we opted for learning how to pour Guinness. It was pretty difficult, but now I know all the tricks (for example, it can only be poured in a very clean Guinness glass and the beer must be 6 degrees celcius)...anyway, I'll give you more pointers if you're interested. I know have a certificate that says "Jane Voelker has crafted the perfect pint of Guinnesss." I thought I should apply to work at a bar in Madison when I get back and attach that to the application! (I tried to upload a photo, but it wouldn't work....Italian Internet...)
Anyway, after the tour we went to the "Queen of Tarts" bakery that Amanda's friend recommended where I had yet another fabulous cupcake! Then we stopped at a souvenir shop to look for claddagh rings. I decided that I wanted to get one and Amanda wanted one too (although she's Mexican she grew up in the South? side of Chicago with tons of Irish people! haha) We finally found a cute one and she said it was bad luck to buy your own claddagh ring, so we bought each others!
Then we went back to the hostel to make free phone calls back to the states. I called home and Emma answered. We talked for a while since no one else was home and then I hung up and went upstairs for a nap. Well, actually they only had one phone so we had to go one at a time. While I was waiting for Abe and Amanda to get done I lived out part of my worst nightmare. I think this hostel may have doubled as a middle school or orphanage. We were in the common room and there were 9 middle schoolers gathered around a computer laughing at facebook. 2 middle schoolers playing guitar and singing. Another group of middle school boys playing bloody knuckles and a group thinking they were cool drinking some sort of low-alcohol content beer. Everyone was screaming and it was a nightmare. Needless to say, after a few minutes I went and waited on the bench outside for them to finish.
After naptime we went out for supper. We did the same ol' look at 3000 menus before picking a place, but finally agreed upon something. The next morning we were leaving early for Munich so we headed to bed at a decent hour.
Oh, we also got offered cocaine. A man asked if we wanted some and we said, "no thanks!" Then he proceeded to show us his hand filled with little balls? of cocaine and asked if we were sure. Then, we ran. Dublin disappointed me a bit. I thought there was going to be pots o' gold and leprechauns everywhere. (Not to mention I thought I would see "Houlihan" written everywhere, but I didn't see it once!) But, instead there were tons of homeless people and lots of trash everywhere. I think next time I visit Ireland I will stear clear of Dublin and go to the countryside or to Kerry county, the actual land of me mother, right? Anyway, it was a fun trip, but too short! And before I knew it, we were off to Munich, another land o' me forefathers.
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