Written in Dublin, Ireland on October 2, 2010.
The feel is a lot like home, like Boston, in some parts. The city is large enough, but has a smaller feel. Like Boston, you can pretty much walk anywhere (though this is not advisable during certain hours of the night). Stayed at the Harding Hotel, which is close to everything; the Temple Bar District, St. Patrick's Cathedral (Naomh Padraig) and lots of great shopping places. Noteworthy visits included St. Stephen's Park (which did, in fact, make an appearance in Leap Year...which is not real life by the way. Also, the Guinness Factory is worth a visit if you don't think you'll be back to the city, at least to see the panoramic view of the entire city, which is beautiful on a clear day. Heed this advice...go to the top first to get your "free" pint of the dark stuff before you do the tour, you'll avoid the crowds and be able to get a nice seat by the windows of the bar. The Temple Bar District was something I didn't get to fully experience, but it's supposed to hold the oldest bar in Ireland.
One thing I've noticed about life here is that people aren't necessarily concerned about time or heavy planning. I felt like I was a "go-with-the-flow" type of person before I came here. Now I've really seen the light, for lack of a better term! More like things are beginning to click in my mind. Why rush? Why plan out every second of your life when almost nothing goes as planned anyway? Obviously, some things require planning, but there's no need to plan every event that happens. You can't plan for allll the awesome-ness life has in store!
The unexpected is almost always better anyway. A friend here is really helping me figure this out. Whether it's good, bad, or anything, everything happens for a reason.I can already feel the difference in myself, I can't wait to see how I change and grow.
I've begun taking the Irish language but haven't yet gotten it to stick, so we'll see how this goes!
Here are some pics from My trip to Dublin!:
Guinness Is Good For You.
View of the City from the Sky Bar in the factory.
Bulmers...brewed in Tipperary, loved in my heart.
Dublinia, medieval Dublin.
An alley off Grafton St. (the main street in the city center)
Irish band playing on Grafton St.
Michaela in St. Stephen's Park!
