To expand the time crunch, we had tickets to a dance show that night on the other side of Paris. We left for the show at 8:15, made it there by 9, enjoyed some intriguing modern/contemporary dance portraying human interaction (and anyone who has taken Dance 100 with Philip Johnston knows exactly what that's like), and then finally made it home by 11:15. We quickly packed, figured out the travel details for the next day and managed to get a solid 3 hours of sleep before getting up to catch our flight out.
It was Friday, it was unofficial, and it was 5:30 AM. Time to live it up! We made the trek to Beauvais Airport and finally to Dublin, Ireland by 9:30 AM. Clothed in last year's unofficial v-neck, a green scarf, and my newly purchased green flower clip for my hair, we left the airport for our hostel ready to celebrate the joyous occasion of Unofficial St. Patrick's day. We stopped at a grocery store, grabbed some sandwich and pregame materials and then made it the rest of the few blocks to our hostel. Barnacles was great. Not because it was the best hostel, but because it was full of 30 other U of I study abroad students anxious to celebrate with us. So we spent the day in Dublin just as we would have spent it in Champaign. I loved every minute of spending time with my best friends from home coming together in Dublin, Ireland. We laughed, we played games, and we ate fish and chips. Later that night, we went to a pub to have a pint of real Irish Guinness. Afterwards, we went and met up with Cass and her family at a different pub that was playing live music. It was an incredible Unofficial, and even more incredibly, an Unofficial without any naps! So we ended up calling it an early night around midnight since it had been such a busy day.
The next morning some of the girls got up early and headed to their Cliffs of Moher tour. Courtney and I weren't going until Sunday so we slept in till about 9:30, got ready quickly and made it to the Dublin free walking tour by 10:30 along with our friend Barry. The tour was incredibly informative and gave you a really good feel of the city. Our tour guide was only 19 but seemed to know everything about the city and it's people. He made us laugh, tear up, and even made us hopeful for a better future with his stories. The tour lasted about 3 hours and then Courtney, Barry and I grabbed some lunch and headed to the Guinness brewery for our second tour of the day.
The Guinness tour was awesome. It was similar to the Heineken brewery but emphasized different traits in their beer. Has anyone ever noticed that Guinness kind of tastes like and smells like coffee? It was very apparent when we smelled the cooked barley. After the tour, they taught us the proper way to taste a Guinness using each of the 5 senses. At the very end, we made it to the top of the building which has 360 degrees of glass windows and displays an incredible panoramic view of the entire city. It wasn't the most beautiful day out but the sun was trying its hardest to peak out of the clouds and still created a subtle glow over Dublin. We each enjoyed a full pint of Guinness on the top floor and relaxed while gazing out the windows.
After the tour, we headed back to the hostel to freshen up for our second night. We ended up spending most of the night in the hostel kitchen in our massive group of 35 again. We did eventually make it out but Courtney and I didn't stay out long because we had to be up at 6:20 the next morning for our Cliffs of Moher tour.
The next morning came and I was ecstatic. I'm not sure if I've ever been so excited for a day trip. We went to a few scenic places before actually making it to the cliffs. It was nice to see some of the Country of Ireland before making it to the west coast. When we finally made it to the cliffs though, I couldn't believe my eyes. People say a picture is worth a thousands words but no picture or thousand words of mine could ever do that magnificent sight justice. It was absolutely incredible. The sun came out a little after we arrived and beamed down on us from the south west and we ventured along the grassy edges. Of course, we were walking on dangerous paths but that was half the fun. I took numerous pictures from different angles along the cliffs but as they stretch over 5 miles, I barely captured any of them. Mixed among all these pictures of beautiful landscapes, I managed to take a few solo pictures too. It was a day of model posing for everyone! When it was time to leave an hour and a half later, I was sad to leave the cliffs after barely venturing a mile or so along the edge. I finished the rest of the tour in a sleepy daze looking out the window at the Irish countryside. I'm going to make it back there one day and take the time to fully venture across Ireland.
We made it back to Dublin around 7, grabbed more fish and chips for dinner, and then Courtney and I sat in the kitchen of Barnacles for an hour chatting about the weekend, Ireland, life, love, friends, and many other things before meeting up with Barry and his friends from Milan. For Sunday night, we planned to find the pubs Danny recommended as the best in Dublin. We started with O'Donoghue's for some live music and a pint of Guinness. We listened to the music for about a half hour but unfortunately, they stopped playing soon after that. So we finished our beers and Court, Barry and I headed to the next bar on the agenda: Flannery's. Flannery's by far the best bar I went into in Dublin. It was lively, exciting and filled with a young and energetic crowd when we got there around midnight. It turned into a great night simply hanging out in Flannery's in Dublin. There was no need to venture to another bar; the 3 of us found a table, enjoyed a few more Guinness's together, laughed, talked of past and future times in Champaign and stayed until closing time forced us back to our hostels.
The next morning was the start of a wonderful carefree day. Courtney and I woke up, packed up all our stuff and had it stored in the hostel after we checked out. Then we went to shop on Grafton street. We went into a bunch of adorable stores and perused lots of clothing and accessory lines. After a while, we decided to get lunch and go enjoy it back in St. Stephen's Green. We found a sunny spot on one of the huge fountains, sat down and people watched. The sky was perfectly blue, the sun was out and warm, and the pond opposite us was full of seagulls, birds, and swans. The park had perfectly manicured gardens split up by sidewalks, fountains and patches with trees. It was incredibly peaceful but lively at the same time. The entire park was filled with people going for walks, enjoying lunch, or sitting with friends and family.
After we finished our lunch, we moved to an open bench on the other side of the pond and simply sat and enjoyed the scene around us; we watched the birds fly, the ducks swim, the people pass, the trees blow in the light breeze and all the other wonderful things that pass us by on most days but we are too busy to notice. It was incredible.
We noticed that many people passed by eating ice cream. Courtney and I had a new mission. We had our hearts set on some sort of ice cream and ended up wondering the city center till we found a johnny rockets. 1 chocolate malt for me and Courtney got a chocolate shake, please! We brought them back to the park, found a new spot and sat to enjoy the scenery yet again. After I finished mine, I left Courtney to read her book, and I took off for a long walk though the many different areas of the park. When I got back, it was finally time to head to the airport, ending our incredible day of peaceful relaxation.
We picked up our luggage, took a bus to the airport, grabbed a quick bite to eat and finally boarded the plane. It was midnight by the time we made it home. I quickly unpacked, did some homework, and went to sleep after an amazing long weekend in Ireland. Like I said, I will definitely go back one day, but for now I am grateful to be spending the rest of March in Paris.
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