Dublin does it again!

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Hey there! So yes indeed, Dublin has done it again! My friend Erin and I did a "touristy" weekend (about time right?) and had a great time venturing around the city. Dublin really does have a lot to offer boy. So, on Saturday morning we caught the bus into Dublin and then immediately hopped onto the tour bus. Dublin is really cool because it has a few different tour buses that are "hop on hop off" which is a really great idea, beause whenever you feel like getting off at an attraction...you can! And the buses come by that same stop every ten minutes, so it really worked out. Anyway, so we first rode the bus for the full route to see what we were really interested in and then got off St. Patrick's Cathedral. This is the church where St. Patrick is said to have converted many people to Christianity. It is also the largest cathedral in Ireland. I wouldn't say it was the most impressive, but the history behind it was really fascinating. So, I must tell you that we were not the most fortunate of travellers on Saturday. Somehow, we don't know how, it came close to closing time. We seriously have no idea where time went, so after stopping for some delicious Japanese food, we only had an hour to spare. Riding by Trinity College we decided to make our last stop at the legendary Book of Kells. And wow...was it impressive! Absolutely beautiful this book, and the exhibit just as much so. Unfortunately you're not allowed to take pictures, so I have nothing to share but it truly was breathtaking. The skilled artwork and patience that went into producing these four gospels was just amazing and definitely something I will never forget seeing.

Getting back on the bus for the final round, we decided to keep the fun going and meet our buddy Brennen at our favorite microbrewery called The Porterhouse. We had some great laughs, delicious food and met some real characters. Oh, I forgot to mention that Saturday was also the day of the Ireland vs. Scotland rugby match...so there were mass kilts and definitely some rowdy fans. So, we happened to meet a couple of these folks and had quite the time.

Moving onto Sunday, this was truly the day to remember. We got up a little earlier today so we could really make the most of the tour (since we didn't do the greatest job yesterday). We began the day with the National Gallery which contains over 7000 paintings! I was in absolute heaven!!! There was every kind of painting imaginable and had a good selection of renaissance art, which I was very excited about and a couple rooms completely dedicated to Marion art as well. So, as you can guess Erin and I spent the good chunk of the day amidst these beautiful creations. We also spent a little time with our buddy Oscar Wilde in this really pretty park. Along the fence tons of artists were selling their creations as well, which was really neat to see. So, halfway through our day we knew the one place we simply had to go to....yep, you guessed it - the Guinnes Factory! Can I say amazing??? This place was just the coolest place I've ever been to. It was seriously like an amusement park with all kinds of things going on and so many things to read and learn about the art of guinness brewing. And the place was massive! Five stories high, each story with its own theme and then on the top you're rewarded with the Gravity Bar which gives you a panaromic view of Dublin and of course you're free pint of freshly brewed Guinness. To anyone who hasn't been to this place before...GO!!! Go now! I'm serious, this place was just too cool. Well, that's about it for my weekend! Talk to you all later!

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