In Dublin's Fair City

I recognise that this posting is very late, but I'm lazy, and busy, and mostly lazy. This post is in fact, a procrastination method against writing my final essay. So here it is: my Dublin trip.

Dublin is supposed to be a very rainy city, so of course, it was sunny and lovely while I was there. There were moments throughout the rain where it would rain, but it wasn't a bother, and never lasted long. 'All four seasons in a day' our tour guide Kiel (pronounce Kyle) said multiple times.

I stayed at the Four Courts Hostel. The lift was broken so I got to walk up three long, winding steps of stairs to the third floor.

We were in a 12 bed room with the most obnoxious North American girls in Dublin. They went out every night and loudly came stumbling in around 3AM, giggling and whispering so loudly they may as well have been talking.
The night before we were due to leave, in fact, they woke me up at 3AM (one of them toting a drunk guy into her bed--thank God they were both so drunk they just passed out). We were supposed to wake up at 5AM to catch the shuttle to the airport, so I just stayed up the two hours until my alarm went off.

The days were fairly busy.
The first day I went on a four hour (free!) walking tour of Dublin. I got to see all the main sites and learned a lot of Ireland's sad (and sometimes embarrassing) history.

My favorite place was probably Trinity College. It had a beautiful campus and the most immensely gorgeous library I've ever seen. (George Lucas liked it so much he had it completely copied for Star Wars episode II)
Library:

Trinity College

Some of the impressive folks that attended Trinity are Bram Stoker (Dracula) and Oscar Wilde (The Importance of Being Earnest)


Also on the tour, we got to see the statue of Molly Malone, from the famous Irish song which I will now post the lyrics to:



In Dublin's Fair City
Where the girls are so pretty
I first set my eyes on sweet Molly Malone
As she wheel'd her wheel barrow
Through streets broad and narrow
Crying cockles and mussels alive, alive o!

Chorus
Alive, alive o!, alive, alive o!
Crying cockles and mussels alive, alive o!

She was a fishmonger
But sure 'twas no wonder
For so were her father and mother before
And they each wheel'd their barrow
Through streets broad and narrow
Crying cockles and mussels alive, alive o!

Chorus

She died of a fever
And no one could save her
And that was the end of sweet Molly Malone
But her ghost wheels her barrow
Through streets broad and narrow
Crying cockles and mussels alive, alive o!

Chorus

^ Molly ^


There was also just a lot of beautiful buildings.

For dinner I ate a legit Irish pub called O'Neil's. I split a fish and chips platter with Sarah.

Inside O'Neil's

I'm always so immensely surprised when I see Cuban stuff in countries so far from Latin America

Dublin also, apparently, loves President Obama. They were stoked that he came to visit.

Dublin's Answer to Fun Dip:

conclusion: good, but not as good as legit Fun Dip.

My second day I went to the Writer's Museum in Dublin.

My favorite writer 'quote' is the one Oscar Wilde supposedly said to a customs agent: 'I have nothing declare except my genius.'


Over the River

The rest of the day I spent in museums, wandering, having a general good time and buying gifts for family members.
I was really excited to find a flat cap with a shamrock on it, as it was the first thing I have ever in my life seen that I thought my grandfather would like as a gift. I spent a probably foolish amount of money on a mickey mouse shirt for my 2 year old sister from Dublin's Disney store, but I showed it to her when I skyped and her excitement confirmed that it was a worthy purchase.


I had amazing gelato, Snickers the first day, and something magical called Dark Forest the last day, which had some kind of awesome fruit that I do not know of.

I'm not saying I'm insanely in love with Snickers gelato, but I will say that if there was the last cup of Snicker's gelato about to fall off a cliff, and a human child about to fall off another cliff, and I could only save one...I'd have to think about it.



After our escapades in Dublin, it was back to the airport and home to Leeds.

Oddly enough, Leeds really has become home. I love this city, I love the people (who, of course, now that the semester's nearly over have actually begun talking to me) and I LOVE the Cupcakes shop. Lol.
I'll really miss England, I'll be home in less than two months. It seems to be coming too soon.




(I apologise for any grammar/spelling errors, I am really tired and will come back and revise when I next need to procrastinate.)
BREAKING NEWS: my flatmate's friends won't stop knocking on our door at all hours of the day! Won't miss THAT!