family reunion minus one

Friday, we woke up early, got in the car, and drove five hours to Dublin. Again, my mom was a trooper and Ryan and I slept a lot…

We met my dad in Dublin on Friday after we got into town and checked into the Augustine Apartments south of Liffey. It’s where I will be staying when my program starts on Monday. The apartments are pretty great, in a quiet part of the city but less than a ten minute walk to the Temple Bar District.

So, we got into Dublin, everyone took a nap, and then we headed to the famed Temple Bar District. It’s such an awesome part of the town. It’s cobble-stoned roads and these bars just lining the roads. Each one is just full of people, tourists and locals alike. I have never seen just a happening area in any city. It’s not too, too crowded, but just a ton of interesting people and things to see. There are street musicians everywhere; we even saw a fire-breather. We had dinner and visited a few pubs and enjoyed good, old Irish hospitality. It was nice to be with my dad as well, although we all missed Spencer. He was in Virginia doing a mission trip so was unable to join us.

We also visited a bar called Purty Kitchen. Now, this was about as opposite to a traditional Irish pub as you can get. It was a night club, four floors with a different bar on each floor, including a roof garden. There was disco balls and strobe lights, little seating areas, and all these indoor balconies overlooking other areas of the bar. We loved it, but wasn’t our scene. Ryan and I could have stayed though…

Saturday was our day to explore Dublin. We woke up a little late, but wandered to the Temple Bar District, had a traditional Irish breakfast. We then went to Trinity College, an old university in the heart of the city. We viewed the Book of Kells, the oldest book in the world apparently. It was gorgeous, everything is choreographed ridiculously, with only three words per page.

We then headed to Dublin Castle, a Irish building still being used today. It was built by the Vikings in the sixth century, and was since partially destroyed and rebuilt in a palace style. We went on a great tour (it was actually a really good tour, and I feel like I don’t say that often)

We grabbed some quick lunch and headed to the real Irish monument, the Guinness Factory. It was like getting ready to go on the Wily Wonka factory tour for adults. The brewery is huge, and has quite a unique smell. The building is just amazing. It’s hard to describe; it’s so ridiculous. Seven floors of high vaulted ceilings, the building is built to represent a pint glass, with the Gravity Bar at the top floor. It’s more of a museum with a self-guided tour then an actual tour of the brewery. They explain the entire process of creating the beer, with a waterfall running through it, a giant barrel you go into to understand how barrels were made, and a tasting sample bar. The Gravity Bar is by far the best part of the whole museum though. It’s all glass, with a 360-degree view of Dublin. You can see the entire city. It was very crowded, but you get a complimentary pint of Guinness to enjoy in the leather seats overlooking the city.

We then hit up a family favorite- Mulligan’s Pub. An extremely traditional pub, we got a few pints, then headed to O’Hara’s, another pub with live music. We stayed there for a few hours, then headed home along Temple Bar District. It was another happening night, getting me more and more excited for the program to start!

My parents and brother leave Sunday to head back to the States and I will remain here for four more weeks. My internship starts on Monday and the rest of the kids will get here tomorrow. I’m a little nervous since I don’t know anyone else on the program, but I’m more excited I think.

Sorry for the super long entries! I promise once I start a normal day-to-day schedule it won’t be as long!