May 14-17, 2008
I can’t believe I am on my final trip! Yesterday I woke up feeling like how I felt when I arrived, in a dream. It is surreal that I am visiting another country, coming back for two weeks and then flying back home. I want to enjoy this as much as possible…my weekend in Dublin!
Yesterday Jacqueline and I left Madrid around 7:00 p.m. because our plane was running late, but we still arrived when it was dusk. Since Dublin is one hour behind Madrid it was nice because we got some more time before it was dark to get to our hostel. Right away we noticed how green Dublin was from our airplane…What a sight!
Our hostel is right in the middle of Temple Bar. Temple Bar is filled with bars, stores and cafes. It is a cool location, right near all the people. I love the cobble-stoned streets, that is one thing I will greatly miss about Europe…how old everything is. I was ready to go to bed when we got back from dinner because of my ankles. I hurt my ankles running and I noticed a week ago they were really swollen then after a few days they started to hurt more. So instead of going to the doctor (no time or money) I found health info online and talked to my aunt who is a nurse. So I got medicine, a bandage (like a soft brace) and one crutch. I am trying to keep the pressure off my ankles, mainly my right ankle cause it hurts worse, but I also am trying not to hurt my left ankle more. So I know it will be interesting to see how traveling goes with hurting ankles. I feel like a dork, but people have also been very helpful…with opening doors, helping me with my luggage, etc.
————————————————————
I am so exhausted from the past two days. My ankles are very sore and so is my right wrist, but all the pain and tiredness was worth it. I had a great last trip and just as Jacqueline and I joked about, it is a trip that is preparing us to return to the U.S.
On Thursday after our breakfast we headed out to explore the city. Because we are low on money and because of Jacqueline’s suggestion I decided to try to walk instead of take the bus, but I have to admit I was a little skeptical to how walking would affect my ankles. As we started to walk we realized how close everything was to our hostel. It is such a lively area! Within a few hours we had walked all over.
One of the first places we checked out was Trinity College. Trinity College was built in 1592 and is one of Ireland’s most prestigious universities. It was such a big campus so we only walked through a little bit of it and checked out sites near there.
After we headed to St. Stephen’s Green, it was beautiful. Thankfully we had really nice weather so we were able to enjoy the park. It was definitely nice to sit down for awhile. After a short break we headed to Grafton St. This street is known for the stores, it definitely was very busy. While we were checking out the stores we stopped for a yummy lunch at Eddie Rockets, a fifties style diner. It was great to have a 100% ground beef burger and fries, something I have been missing. : )
Once we were refueled we headed to the Guinness Storehouse. On the way we stopped at St. Valentine´s burial spot, Christ Church Cathedral, St. Patrick’s Cathedral, the Dublin Castle, and walked past several more historical sites (I don’t remember all their names). Even if you don’t drink beer or like Guinness, I definitely recommend visiting the storehouse. It is a really cool building. There are seven floors each with a different purpose. Starting on the lower floors you learn the ancient craft of cask making, how Guinness is brewed, the history of Guinness, the history of Guinness advertisement, and for the final floor you can receive your free pint. I had about half of mine, it’s so strong that it would have taken me awhile to finish a pint! The view from the seventh floor was awesome and we had the perfect weather to see all of the city.
As we headed back to our hostel we went towards the river and walked on the opposite side so we could check out more of the city. To end a long full day we checked out a movie during the night, it was nice to be sitting for awhile. Well, Thursday night in the hostel is something I will always remember, what a great experience to have at a hostel on my last trip (for NOW).
Probably between 2:30 a.m. or 3:00 a.m. I woke up because I heard some noise (besides all the people having a good time in the streets). When I looked up I saw a guy peeing next to the bed on the bunk across from me. The guy who was lying in that bed also woke up. I told him I think he is drunk and sleep walking and he said I know. I asked if we should wake him or something, but then the sleep-walker started to walk to the other side of the room. Finally the guy who’s bed got peed on tried to say something to the sleep-walker guy. The sleep-walker just mumbled and then tried getting into the other guy’s bed and the guy stopped him. Then he tried to get into my bed…I said, “Hey, hey…” and I pushed him away (the other guy was also trying to help me). Finally we turned on the light and this guy’s girlfriend (or friend) woke up and tried saying something to him. He definitely was drunk. She tried explaining to him what he did and he kept saying what are you talking about I have never done anything like that. Finally the hostel receptionist came up to clean the floor and told us if anyone wanted to change rooms we could. I ended up staying in the same room, but had a hard time falling asleep again.
After a crazy night Jacqueline and I woke up a couple hours later than planned. For Friday we had decided we wanted to head to the coast. We took the light rail to Howth, which is a city right on the coast. We just walked to the marine to check out the ocean and the light house. After Howth we went to Malahide to check out the Malahide Castle. It was such a beautiful walk to get to the castle because it was in a huge park, but at times I felt like I was in a huge forest. Even though we had a relaxing day and we were sitting a lot my ankles were really bugging me.
As the evening approached I was tired, but I really wanted to meet up with my friend Dwayne, who I met in Madrid several years ago. I met him at Trinity College and he took me to a big field (I don’t know the name) filled with students. Since there had been such good weather everyone was hanging out in the sun drinking. It was a cool sight to see, it made me want to stay in school forever…hehe…the students were definitely a lot different than the students from SDSU though.
After catching up while sipping on a beer we headed out for dinner. We went to an awesome Mexican restaurant, it has been awhile since I have had Mexican food. It definitely made me excited to go back to California. Once we finished dinner we headed to a few Irish pubs in Temple Bar. I got to drink some more yummy beers, listen to Irish music and chat some more with Dwayne. It was a great time!!! Nights with familiar faces are always fun.
Well, today we had to leave in the afternoon so we only walked around O’Connell St. and Grafton St. again. I definitely feel we got to see a ton, but I would love to come back to Ireland to check out other cities. Even though this is my last trip for the remainder of my time in Europe, it has inspired me to go to other places when I return. Once you start traveling you don’t stop…it’s in your blood.
