Following my excellent planning skills when it came to Stratford-Upon-Avon --->Venice, I naturally decided to do the same when it came to Dublin. I got back from Italy on a Friday evening and by the next afternoon, was on a plane to Ireland. (Well, it was Ryanair so I think "plane" is too good a word for it. Maybe a 1994 minivan that flies?). Either way, I was racking up airline miles.
Considering I've always thought something was fishy in my family and that I was actually born into an Irish family (Michael Flatley? Bono?) before they shipped me over to my parents, I felt that Dublin was more of a homecoming. There were more people who looked like me here then in Portugal or France combined. (For example, when we were on a plane to the Azores, my sister looked around at everyone and then at me and said "one thing here is not like the other." Thanks, Al.). No, I think I finally found my people. I even got compliments on my hair everywhere I went. (From men! And this is after I've read 2394290 articles in women's magazines about how curly hair girls should straighten their hair if they want to attract men. Apparently, just go to Ireland. And stop reading that crap).
ANYWAYS, once I met up with my lovely friend Courtney, our first stop was OF COURSE a pub for a proper Guinness.
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| It really is so much better here. |
Apparently this was such a ROOKIE MOVE, since shortly after a guy came up to us and asked where we were from. When we asked him how he knew we were from out of town, he said, "because no Irish girls would order Guinnesses." Maybe I'm not Irish then? (We had two more).
Anyways, after meeting up with some awesome people, we went to a few more pubs and got a nice warm welcome from the lovely Irish folk. And their street decorations.
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| On the way to the next pub! |
The next day was all about the Dublin sights. No filters needed in these pictures, folks. Everything is really this vibrant.
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| Trinity College |
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| I'm not SAYING I want to go back to school again, but if I did.... |
Grafton Street!
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| I looked for Glen Hansard, but no luck. |
St. Patricks Cathedral:
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| Maybe I was baptized here? |
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| Hello greenery! |
Dublin Castle:
Obligatory selfie to prove I was actually there. And no, that is not a growth coming out of my shoulder. It's a heating pack since apparently I'm 88 years old and my neck freaks out whenever I travel.
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| GUESS I HAVE OLD MUSCLES NOW. |
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Sandcastles! In the courtyard?
SOMEONE had too many Guinnesses. |
And finally, for the highlight of our trip: THE GUINNESS FACTORY!
Part of the tour included learning how to properly pour a pint (good thing that bartender certification I uselessly got back in 2007 finally came in handy!) and obviously, Court and I were PERFECTION.
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| Look how gorgeous |
We got to enjoy our perfect pints on the top floor of the factory, which overlooked all of Dublin.
Not too shabby.
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| Obviously, I've just discovered the panoramic option on my phone |
Random additional picture: this was the only place in our hotel room that had wifi. So we spent a lot of time in the hallway.
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| Hi Court! |
So that was Dublin. A lot of cheese and potatoes, pints, and
laughter. I met some great people there and it's because of them that I'm
definitely going back. Well, them and, who I suspect to be my birth parents,
Fiona Shaw and Liam Neeson. Until next time, Slán go fóill!
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