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Happy July 4th from Ireland! I woke up bright and early, put on my stars and stripes tank top, and checked the forecast which showed nothing but beautiful sunshine all day long! Tim, Cheyenne and I headed down to to the city center to check out the Temple Bar Market. There were many tents filled with books, fresh food, and live music. There is no better way to Independence Day than with good food, great music, and awesome people. We tried some fresh Guinness bread and veggie bruschetta before taking a bus to Phoenix Park. This 2,718 acre park beats anything I've see before. There were people riding horses, children rolling down hills, and people laying out in the endless green fields. We explored the park and found the American Ambassadors Residence which was a giant, gorgeous house elegantly decorated with American flags. We think there might have been a celebration going on earlier in the day. Right next to the residence, there was a larger than everyone's life combined, cross. The history behind it is when Pope John Paul II died in Rome in 2005, the people of Dublin built the cross and held a memorial service at this site.
Many thousands of people gathered in tribute, leaving flowers and other tokens of remembrance of him around the cross. We laid under the cross and the beating sun, but only for a bit before we heard a lot of rustling. At the bottom of the hill there were packs of wild deer. They were very friendly and I even got to pet and feed some. Never have I seen so many deer of various sizes and colors all at once. It was an amazing way to wrap up our relaxing holiday (or so I thought). Later in the evening Cheyenne and I decided to go out dancing so I put on my American flag socks to wear under my combat boots. I wasn't about to go out on July 4th without some USA spirit! We had good craic and met many... interesting people. I'll leave it at that.
Once again, I don't think I remember how to sleep in because I woke up extra early and took a bus out to Howth. This outer suburb of Dublin forms the norther edge of the Dublin Bay. I got of the bus on the last stop not really sure where I
was going. Luckily, I found some cliffs and walked along the edge which overlooked the water just as the sun peaked through the clouds. It was absolutely worth every double heartbeat whenever I reminded myself just how far up I was. I hiked for a few hours until I saw some fellow humans and they helped navigate me towards the city center. Howth is a very cute little town with a ton of boat and fish companies. By now you should know me well, enough to guess that I found a market! It was drizzly all day, but that didn't stop me. The most beautiful handcrafted kitchenware and furniture was being sold as well as the most delicious looking vegetables I've seen. However, I restrained from buying everything and hurried through the rain to the bus stop. There, I met the nicest people who happened to be from Arlington, Texas which is practically down the road from where my university is! They are on a European month long trip and we talked about our favorite Dublin spots giving each other different recommendations. I love meeting new people whether it be locals or tourists. Everyone has done and seen a variety of things and one day I'll mark all these things off my list!
I arrived back to UCD in the late afternoon, caught up with my roommates for a bit, and then quickly headed back out to Ranelagh. It's a small suburb right next to the university filled with restaurants, pubs, and small shops. I've heard a lot of good things about it so I decided to check it out for myself. There was definitely a lot of places to go and eat, but I spent most of my time in the Ranelagh park looking at the multitude of statues. Each statue was of a different child who had in some way influenced the town. Eventually, I went back to the apartment andd once I actually sat down on the couch, I realized how hungry I was from being out all day. Caitlyn and I immediately ordered a pizza. This may sound like a boring story BUT WAIT, it gets interesting. We wrote in the notes section of the online order: Please put stuffed crust on our pizza! Also, please write a short story about Daisy the Leprechaun and her lover Fabio. All I have to say is, Pizza Hut came in clutch!!! Not only did they give us free stuffed crust, but they wrote on the inside of the pizza box, "Daisy the leprechaun was hit by a car and died last St. Patrick's Day! Fact! Fabio remarried". Maybe it's because we are young 20 year olds; maybe it's because we were so hungry we were slightly delusional; either way we thought it was hilarious and that pizza was delicious.
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