Oh Ireland

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Jordan, Kara, Brittany, and I kicked off our spring break with a four day stay in Ireland from Friday night until Tuesday night. I was admittedly a little concerned about our trip because we hadn't started planning out the crucial details until our departure was looming and we still didn't have anywhere to stay Friday night when we got on the plane at Gatwick and flew to Dublin. I typically like to have a general plan, especially in a country and city that none of us had ever been to before, but the trip turned out to be a lot of fun.

Friday night consisted of us taking the air coach from Dublin airport to O'Connell street and then walking around the Temple Bar area looking for a hostel or hotel to stay in. It wasn't a very productive search, mostly because all of the accommodations were packed with 6 Nations Rugby fans who were there for the Ireland v Wales match the next day. We shared our flight over with a bunch of thoroughly intoxicated rugby fans who serenaded all of the passengers with "I believe I can fly" as the plane took off. So we walked around asking at lots of hostels with no luck before we went into a little dinner and sat down for some food. Brittany eventually asked a table full of middle aged Irish men nearby if they knew of anywhere for us to stay. One of them was an off-duty policeman named Jeff. He got on his cell phone and called around to hotels, he seemed genuinely concerned for us and tried to persuade one hostel to make room for us. He eventually found us two rooms at Jury's Hotel/Inn, and even though they were pretty expensive, I for one, was extremely happy to have somewhere to sleep.

On Saturday, we went to the Guinness factory to go through the exhibit/"tour" which led you through the process of making the black stuff. The tour ended in the bar on the 7th floor with a pint. I really enjoyed the bar because it was circular and all of the walls were glass so you could look out over Dublin. After the factory, we set off in search of our next hotel which Casy helped Jordan and I book before we left. Casy was just as concerned about our lack of accommodation as Jordan and I were even though she wasn't coming on the trip, so she spoke to a woman at the Brackencourt Hotel and gave her my name and card number to reserve a room for what we were told was 33 euro/person for the night. In Dublin, we found Bridge Street (where we thought the hotel was) but realized that it was the wrong Bridge Street and that the one that we were looking for was actually in Balbriggen, about a 30-40 minute bus ride from City Centre. We asked numerous people how to get there before we actually found the elusive 13A bus, and their only comment was something along the lines of, "Balbriggen?...Why, that's almost out in the country!" We eventually found the bus stop and then arrived at the Brackencourt. When we walked in, I immediately thought that it was a very nice hotel and was surprised that it was so inexpensive. When I talked to the woman at reception (the same woman we spoke to on the phone), she didn't have my name or anything and looked a little distressed that four exhausted young women were standing in front of her claiming to have a family room booked for that night. She asked if I had been given a rate and when I said 33 euros per person, she and the man standing behind the desk with her widened their eyes and he shook his head slightly. Then she looked up from rummaging through papers and said, "Oh yes, I remember speaking with you." She ended up giving us an enormous three bed room (two twins and a queen) with a sitting area for the price that I had gotten on the phone, but there must have been a miscommunication because I don't think that was the correct price. When we came back in from a trip to the store later in the evening, she very sweetly said, "Is your room alright?" And of course it was much more than alright and more than I had expected. I'm not sure if the other girls realized how lucky we were to have a place to stay-yet again. In any case, we went across the street to a local pub that night and had a nice time before getting some much needed sleep.

The next morning, we checked out and decided to wander around Balbriggen a little bit. It was a rather charming little town and a marked change of pace from either London or Dublin. The previous day on our way into town, we had caught glimpses of the sea from the bus windows, so we set off to find a beach. It wasn't a far walk at all and I danced down the steps to the beach. We just sat for a little while next to the water until we struck up a conversation with a young man walking his small dog on the beach. Around this time, the clouds, which had already been moving quickly, started sprinkling on us, so this man walked with us to the top of the street and pointed us in the right direction of the bus that would take us back to the city.

We found our hostel easily and were happy to find that the conditions were quite adequate and it was literally right next to the Knightsbridge pub. I heard singing from the window of our room, so we went over there and found two young Irish guys playing guitars and singing Irish songs in the huge pub. Later on, we took in some Irish dancing and jigged around a little bit ourselves after the performance was over. The atmosphere was great; there were young and old people, most with pints in their hands, just enjoying themselves and socializing. Later, we made our way downstairs where there was more dancing and danced for a couple of hours. This was probably my favorite night in Dublin just because I loved the music and everyone celebrating together. I wish that the videos that I took were of a better quality, but at least I caught a little bit of it.

The next day, Jordan and I went on a Wild Wicklow day trip on a bus. I'm so happy that we picked up the brochure at the hostel and decided to go because I think that I would have felt that my trip to Ireland wasn't complete if I hadn't gotten out of Dublin and seen some of the surrounding landscapes. The tour started out along the coast; we saw the James Joyce Tower and walked next to Dublin Bay before driving through a town where some big names like Bono live. We eventually wound our way up into the mountains, where it was snowing! The views were beautiful, and while I was worried that the snow might keep us from getting to see Guinness lake and some of the views from the higher elevations, Bill got us there. Bill was an interesting character, an older Irish man who flirted with just about every girl on the tour, but he was very knowledgeable and nice. Jordan and I found it difficult to contain our excitement when we learned that we were going through the area where parts of P.S. I Love You were filmed. Although, I unfortunately didn't see any Gerard Butler-esque figures walking along the road, I had a wonderful time. At the top of one of the peaks, we got out of the bus and made our way to a point to look down on Lough Tay (I believe it's also known as Guinness Lake). Absolutely breathtaking. It was quite an ordeal to get over to the edge to look down though because there was slippery snow and very strong gusts of wind. After getting back on the bus, we went to Glendalough (sp?) and to a monastery founded by St. Kevin there. Bill shared some historical information and then we wandered along a path that went beside two lakes before boarding the bus and setting off to get some pub food. The walk was lovely; there were no fewer than four little waterfalls coming down the rocks and through the dripping ferns to our left.

After the tour, we made our way to our final hostel (why we didn't just book one hostel for the entire time, I'm not sure, but it made for some excitement), and reconvened with Kara and Brittany. We had a quiet night in to recover from our adventures from the day and then checked out in the morning. On our last morning in Ireland, we went to a street market and then got Mexican food (we wanted Mexican food in Ireland), before catching the bus to Dublin airport. While we were waiting for our bus, I struck up a conversation with an older Irish man waiting for his bus and huddling in the doorway with us out of the wind. It would probably be more accurate to say that he struck up a conversation with me. He started talking about the architecture of the building across from us and continued to talk about what we'd done in Dublin, presidential candidates when he found out we were American, and then asked if anyone had officially welcomed us to Ireland yet. I was a little confused, but when I said no, he proceeded to welcome us in Gaelic. I wish that I could remember the phrase, but in English I know that part of it was something along the lines of 100,000 welcomes or something like that. He also told me that Bing Crosby sings it in some song and that I should look it up. I will have to do that. When his bus came, he shook my hand and I thanked him for chatting with us. It was a really pleasant conversation and made me appreciate even more how friendly the Irish people that we met were. While I had dreaded a disorganized mess of a trip, it turned into a great experience.

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Photos

First night
Kara, Brittany, and Jordan standing next to the river. This is the beginning of the night; my enthusiasm for taking pictures and our expressions got worse as we continued to have no luck finding a place to stay.

Yay, we have a hotel!
Jordan drinking some tea in the morning

Long way down
Me looking into a barrel at the Guinness factory

Comments

[Danielle]

ahhh sounds like so much fun kimbe. i always wanted to go to ireland. looks like its really prettty. and thats wayy cool about p.s. i love you. oh! nice red headband in those pics :]] haha <33Daniellieo p.s. i love you =D