Midterm Holiday Fun

Happy November! I can’t believe that we have entered the month of turkeys, birthdays (at least for my family), and saying thanks. I entered this glorious month in a very beautiful place – Dublin, Ireland! Part of my midterm holiday was spent on the Emerald Isle and I had a blast! What did I do, you ask? Well, read ahead and find out…

We landed in Dublin International Airport at like 10pm on Wednesday. We (myself and my two friends) wandered through the airport, collecting luggage, passport stamps, and bus information. As we walked out of the airport proper and to the bus pickup, a light misty rain began to fall. I took a big deep breath, letting the freshness cleanse the stale airplane air out of my lungs. As we loaded our luggage onto the bus and start on our journey to Dublin City Center, I leaned against the window and looked at the surrounding scenery. It was so different than Florence – there were trees everywhere. Everything was green and so beautiful. I couldn’t wait to see what Dublin looked like in the morning.

In Dublin!

Thursday dawned gray, rainy, and chilly, but hey, it was vacation rain, so I really didn’t mind. As I ate my breakfast with one of my friends, we saw my best friend from home (or BFF) and my friend’s (from Florence) boyfriend appeared in the lobby of the hostel! It was very exciting to see them! With our group together finally, the five of us headed off to the Guinness beer storehouse. We walked to the storehouse and saw Dublin in the daylight for the very fist time! It is an incredible city – the people were all really nice and it was really easy to get around. I did not realize how big the storehouse was until I was actually standing in front of it. The building mixed Georgian brickwork, with masonry stone, and topped it all off with very modern glass and stainless steel. It was a very interesting building. We all hurried in to get out of the rain, which was starting to get worse by the second.

The storehouse was warm and dimly lit, making you instantly feel comfortable. As we walked into the main atrium (all made of glass and stainless steel), your eyes are draw upwards to the glass ceiling and the overcast Dublin sky. After marveling at the clouds, you are drawn to a display case in the floor. In this special case is the 9,000-year lease that Arthur Guinness signed for the land that the storehouse is standing on. What also makes the atrium really cool is that it is actually a huge pint glass (really, really cool). It is hard to see, but you get a great view a few floors up.

The first floor is all about the ingredients used to make Guinness (barley, yeast, hops and water). It was really cool to learn what makes Guinness so different than other beers (apparently it is the barley they use). The next floor was dedicated to the making of Guinness. It was full of the old machines that were used to make Guinness many years ago. There was a quote on the wall saying that the machines should be as beautiful as the product they make – these machines were absolutely gorgeous (and probably even more beautiful than the beer).

Floor after floor, we learned about every aspect of the Guinness business. At the end, we were given a unique opportunity. We got to pour our own pint of Guinness. If I do say myself, I am a very gifted pint pourer. It was really cool to learn something that all the bartenders know. So if anyone needs someone to pour them a pint of beer, I’m your girl! Dinner out (lamb stew with mashed potatoes, yum!) and a trip to a pub in the famed Temple Bar area rounded out our first, wonderful day in Dublin.

My perfectly poured pint of Guinness 

The next day we woke up and headed to Dublin Castle. It is a beautiful building on a hill and it has a fascinating history. It kept being destroyed and rebuilt on the same spot, thus the new building is always being built upon the remnants of the old one. Now it is only used for ceremonies (the president is sworn into office here) and it was a hospital during the 1916 rebellion. It was cool to see all the old ballrooms and throne rooms and all of the period furniture. And it really was not like other castles I saw, which had dark colored walls. The rooms in this castle were painted in cheery seafoam green, bright coral, and butter yellow (which in  my opinion is a lot prettier). It was also really cool to explore the old Viking ruins and the old city walls that are buried under the castle. It was like you could explore history without leaving the premises of the castle. Lunch and a trip to a little bakery called the Queen of Tarts (I’ll talk about it in a little) preceded our visit to a place I really wanted to see. It started to rain lightly when we walked through a gate and into Trinity College. My cousin studied there last year and I was really excited to see his campus! It is spectacular. All the buildings are a grey marble color and there is a huge beautiful quad in the middle. We walked around, looked at the bookstore and looked at the replica of the famed Book of Kells. We finished up with dinner at a dinner at a place my cousin recommended. It was restaurant that was a converted bank! It was really cool. They put us in a private room and it must have been an office because it still had a safe in the corner. It was good food (a hamburger) and good company!

The ruins under Dublin Castle

We became real tourists the next day, participating in a Hop-On, Hop-Off bus tour. It picked us up at St. Pat’s Cathedral, an absolutely beautiful church. It was amazing – so majestic and really fit into Dublin. As we rode around, our bus driver provided commentary that made me laugh so hard I could barely catch my breath. We got off at a beautiful park and walked around, looking at the monuments, the outside of Dublin Zoo, and the American ambassador’s house (which is next to the Irish President’s). It was so nice to see the fall colors; we do not have any trees in Florence and the few that we do are evergreens, so they don’t change color in the fall. It was a great break from the hustle and bustle of the city. Hopping back on the bus we rode to O’Connell Street, the main boulevard in Dublin. We grabbed lunch and walked to the Old Jameson Distillery (which makes whiskey). It was more of a museum than the Guinness storehouse, but still pretty cool. We got to learn how whiskey was made in the very beginning and we got to see a whiskey tasting (which was really cool and quite similar to a wine tasting). It was pretty cool to see and learn about! Dinner (thai chicken pizza) and a pub wrapped up the night. It was great spending time with my friends!

On our final day in Dublin, we went to Kiliman Gaol (jail). It is famous because it held the leaders of the 1916 rebellion, which was a very large moment of history for the Irish people. It was also where they were executed (which is really sad). It was my first time touring a jail, and to be perfectly honest, it really creeped me out. It was cold, dimly lit, and it smelt weird (like musty air mixed with fear, but that is just my opinion). The walls creaked and all of the cell doors had holes drilled into them (to let the guards look in on the prisoners). I was afraid that if I looked into the hole, something would be looking back at me. After looking around on the inside, we toured the courtyard where history was changed. The people of Ireland were upset when the British killed an injured leader (James Connolly) of the rebellion and it led to the Irish people getting their independence. It was a tale of sadness, sacrifice, and standing up for what you feel is right. This jail might creep me out, but it is a valuable piece of Irish history.

Right across from the jail is the Modern Art Museum of Dublin. It is in a beautiful old estate with a beautiful old chateau with tree-lined paths and a proper garden. It was so nice to walk around the building and look at the beautiful scenery (it is on a hill and you have a great view of the Irish country in the distance). The modern art museum was really cool. I expected really modern art, but it was mostly semi-abstract paintings – it was really cool to walk around and look at the exhibits. After a while, I started feeling hungry so we went off to lunch. We went to Queen of Tarts, a delightful bakery that had the best food I have eaten in Dublin. I had a wonderful sandwich filled with roast chicken with veggie stuffing (which was on homemade bread) served with a huge green salad. It was so wonderful to have something that reminded me of home (my mom makes awesome roast chicken). To wrap up my meal, I had an apple crumble tart with homemade cream. It was so yummy! I love Florence but they are greatly lacking in the baked good area. It was nice to have something that reminded me of home, Thanksgiving, fall, and family (and who really does not like a warm piece of apple pie with whipped cream). After lunch, we walked around a little bit more, exploring the cute little shops and streets of Grafton Street (the main shopping drag of Dublin). Dinner (Mexican! Something a little different than pub food) and bed followed shortly, for we had to get up early to get to the airport (like 3am…).

My apple crumble tart at Queen of Tarts

I had such a wonderful time in Dublin. I got to hang out with my good friends I met in Florence, and it was wonderful to see my BFF from home! Dublin is the total opposite of my beloved Florence, but it was just as wonderful. It was also really cool to explore the city that my cousin lived in when he did his study abroad. Dublin is a city full of warm, wonderful people and a rich history. I can’t wait to go back!

Slán a fhágáil ag duine (or Ciao!)