Dublin - Sat

Well, it's my first real day here in Dublin. Sorry the last part of my blog from yesterday was kinda short and brief - my battery was dying and I didn't have the UK adapter on me in the lobby. But the hostel I'm staying at is called Jacob's Inn (http://www.isaacs.ie/jacobs_inn/index.html - that's the link to their website if you want to take a look at it.) It was cheap which is why I chose it as well as it is basically a few blocks from the main road in Dublin.

When I checked in last night, they assigned me my bed number - however when i got to my room someone else had put there stuff in that bed. The main desk clerk said that was common so just take an empty bed. So I finally got to sleep in the top of a bunk bed which was interesting! They provide a pillow and a heavy comforter and there's a thin sheet on the mattress - but it was surprisingly warm and comfy. I had to set my phone on vibrate and set that alarm and sleep kinda lying on/holding my phone but it did wake me up this morning! However I was still tired and since I am on vacation I hit snooze a few times!

I ended up getting up around 10:30 and getting ready for the day. I checked downstairs at the main desk to see what I can do with my stuff during the day as this is my first time ever staying in a hostel. They offered me a lock for a locker in the luggage room. Naturally I had to pay a security deposit but the daily fee was really cheap - 1.50 € per day. As with all security deposits, I'll get that back when I return the lock when I check out on monday.

So since it was getting to be lunch time, I first stopped at a semi grocery store/convenience store/deli/coffee shop and bought a tuna wrap and a drink for about 5 €. I then quickly realized that I should've brought my messanger back to just carry random stuff around during the day - when I noticed a camping store that had small day packs for 50% off. So I bought a rather nice one for 10 €. My next major goal was to find a dirt cheap, basic digital camera since I left mine in my room. I realized while trying to fall asleep last night that even if I bought one disposable camera a day and just used that - it would cost about 100 € for the whole trip and I figured i could find a digital camera for around that price and thus be able to take more pictures. I found one for 80€ which doubles as a webcam and had a leather carrying case and a waterproof case included - and since it was the last one the place had they gave it to me for only 70€. This was a great deal, and although it is very basic (only has a digital zoom) it was a rather good camera. I had packed my 1 GB SD card in my laptop bag so I thankfully didn't have to buy another one. I was really glad I got this camera because earlier today when I came back and got online for a bit I uploaded the pics to my computer - and I had taken 360 pictures! I probably won't upload them online till I have a chance to sort through them and everything and that might not be till my trip is over but don't worry - I'll get them up online just give me some time and you can see all that I saw!

Once that was all settled, I started to figure out what I was going to do for the day. I ended up on O'Connelly street which is the main street in Dublin and there was a stop for a City Tour bus which boasted a 24 hr ticket and 23 stops that you can hop-on/hop-off at any time with buses every 10-15 min. So I bought a ticket for that and hopped aboard. It was a double-decker bus but the upper part was packed full so I took a seat next to a woman on the first level. After awhile we started talked as I realized she and the woman in front of her were together and seemed to know a lot about Dublin. The one woman I sat next to ended up being from Wisconson and the other apparently has been living in Ireland for a while. They were incredibly friendly and helped make the tour a good time. We all agreed that since we got on at the 3rd stop of the 23, that it'd be best to take the whole hour and half bus tour and then decide where to get off. The bus driver we had was also great and really knew what he was talking about!

(I realize I'm going to be talking about a lot of places in Dublin and stops and when I get the chance I will upload a picture of the map showing the stops and the different things I visited.)

After that, I decided to get off at Trinity College which is the site of the Book of Kells - an ancient and one of the first recorded texts of the four gospels. However when I got there, I realized it was about 7€ for admission to see a library of old books and one important book... which I deamed wasn't worth the money so I walked down the street a little bit to the main upper priced shopping area. I didn't go into those shops but stopped at the statue of Molly Malone, who is rather famous in Dublin and all of Ireland and perhaps you have all heard the song about here. It was rather a sight to see!

After that, I walked down the street some more to another stop on the City Tour line, that of the house Oscar Wilde was born in and the park next to it which has a monument of him. I went inside the park and took some pictures. The park was amazing! There was the part throughout it but it was so dense and filled in with flaura that it didn't even seem like you were in the city! This whole area is in the Georgian part of Dublin which was interesting in itself. There are a lot of museums around that area but I didn't go to any as they either were closed (The one museum had to close as the staircase collapsed according to our driver!) but also becasue I had other places I wanted to see. When I upload the pics of this area, note that the buildings which nowadays sell for upwards of 6 million euros, have windows that get increasingly smaller as the building rises. This is because when they were built, the Georgian idea was to have the illusion that they were taller, thus the forced perspecitve but aslo there was a glass window tax in Dublin at the time. The more window glass you had, the more tax you paid - so the higher flats were for cheap people who couldn't afford to have large windows!

I hopped back onto another bus after the stop for Oscar Wilde, and this driver wasn't as informative as the other one but still I learned new thigns. I decided to head over to the Christ Church Cathedral which was built in the 1400's if I remember correctly. It's a gorgeous cathedral from the outside and the tour guide from before said it was even sinking in parts of the cathedral! I was unable to go inside it as there was a performance going on till 3pm and it was closed til after that was over. So, instead I walked across the street to another church building that was attached to the cathedral by a bridge built later on. This other building had an exhibit called Dublinia which showed life back in the begins of Dublin as well as an exhibit about the vikings who conquered the area. There was a tower in that buidling called St. Michael's tower which I walked up the couple flights of steps to. There was a great view of the city from up there and I took many pictures! Unfortunately by the time I was done going through that museum and exhibit, the cathedral hadn't opened back up. So I dedided I'll make it a stop tomorrow and I walked a few blocks down to St. Patrick's Cathedral.

Outside St. Patrick's cathedral is a cute little park that I walked around and took great pictures of the cathedral itself. There was also special memorials to famous Dublin poets, writers and artists at the one end including George Bernard Shaw, Oscar Wilde, and Jonathan Swift among others (pics will be uploaded!) After this, I headed inside the Cathedral itself. It was gorgous inside! While it is still used for services, there are many plaques and monuments and statues for various people associated with the cathedral and it's history. I took a ton of pics and will upload them and explain them as best I can! What is interesting about St. Patrick's Cathedral is that Jonathan Swift, known for his writings including Guilliver's Travels as well as one of the most famous deans of the cathedral, is buried inside the cathedral with one of his two mistresses beside him!

After this, I hopped onto the bus again for my next stop of the day - the Guinness Storehouse Museum! Dublin is home to the original factory of Arthur Guinness' famous lager. This is one of the most vistied attractions in Dublin and I ended up having to wait in a long line oustide the building in the cold and then inside as well! (It was a gorgeous day but got colder as night came along) While it was an interesting museum and fairly new - it opened in 2000 - it did not compare to the Budweiser factory tours I have been on. While the building it is in used to be part of the brewery, it was renevated and you didn't see anything actually happeneing in the brewing process. It was still interesting to go through and of course I loved the complimentary pint of Guinness that everyone gets at the end! They have a great 360 degree Gravity Bar for the compimentary pints of Guinness and it was cool to see more of Dublin for high up! After that, I realized I had to make sure to catch the last bus on the tour route so I quickly made it through the gift shop.

What ended up happeneing, aside from it getting darker and colder... was the bus that was supposed to show up never came. I was there about 10 min before it was scheduled to arrive and the one couple had told me the bus driver said it normally makes it's last stop about quarter after 6 pm... but by 25 after there was still no bus. I did get the chance to talk to a woman and her daughter about the states and home. They were from Utah but the daughter and her husband had moved to Ireland about 6 months ago. Again, very friendly people that made the day more fun! But anyways, as the Guinness Storehouse was a good walk from the main city centre and the hostel I was staying at, I was trying to figure out how to get back as there was really only either walking or taking a taxi. Thankfully that same couple that told me the bus would come about quarter after was going in the same direction as me and suggested we share the cab fare. It ended up being only 10€ and when I went to pay the man my share of the fare he told me not to worry about it as I needed the money to get to Scotland! (We had talked about what we were doing and things like that before and during the taxi ride) So I graciously thanked him and we went our separate ways. The kindness of strangers is incredible and will really put a smile on your face - I just hope I can offer somethign similar to someone else at some point to pass the kindness on! It was also great to talk to friendly people as well - most people in Ireland have been amazing nice and friendly!

Anyways, I was getting hungry and as it was almost 7pm, I figured I should probably eat something - So I went to McDonalds. Don't get me wrong - I normally wouldn't opt for McDonald's however they had a cheap eurosaver menu and I got a coffee, sandwhich and curly fries for 5.50€. I also hadn't had McDonald's since before I left PA, as the ones in France are incredibly pricey! But after that I walked back to my hostel and got on my computer in my room. Someone else was still claiming the bunk I was assigned so I took another one wiht an outlet plug beside it. Of course, an older gentleman came in later and apparently I was in the bunk he was assigned. However, we resolved things and ended up spending a good hour and half to two hours talking about so many things from politics in the US, to governments, to healthcare, to history, school, music, etc... It was odd because he was wearing a kilt and had an incredibly thick accent and I believe he mentioned he was from another part of Ireland. I actually had trouble talking in English at times - as far as getting the wording correct. Apparently French is becoming more common for my mind to think in, which is a good thing!

But after a while, I ended up heading back out around 10 pm. Being a Saturday night I wanted to exprience the nightlife of Dublin, Ireland! I called my mom and just chatted for a while, as we hadn't talked in a few weeks over the phone, as I was walking around. I walked over to an area of Dublin across the river called Temple Bar which is packed full of pubs, bars, clubs and restaurants - not to mention the ton of people! After walking around just soaking in the ambiance and atmosphere, I finally entered a bar/club called The Capitol which was rather fun. I had another pint of Guinness and just chilled for a bit. I then headed back towards a club I saw while roaming around called The Dragon. I had another pint of Guinness and a shot of Bailey's there and ended up spending about an hour or so dancing on the dance floor. I really enjoyed both clubs a lot and they were so much nicer than any one's I have been in before in Pittsburg. Europe knows how to have amazing clubs with great atmospheres!

After that, I walked back to my hostel and am here typing up this blog. I promise I will upload all the pictures later after I have time to sort through them and everything - I just didn't want to forget anything from today!

Well, I'm off to bed now, as I have a busy day aimed for tomorrow! Hope things are going fine back wiht everyone!