Learning How to Smile (The Dublin Post)

From my dorm room to Dublin:
Walk 15 minutes to the tube station.
10 minute ride on the tube to the train station.
40 minute train ride from the train station to the airport.
1 hour flight from London to Dublin.
30 minute bus ride from the Dublin airport to the city.
16 year walk from... well, at this point, Laura and I have NO IDEA where we are... to Andrew and Annie's places of residence.

BUT, soooooo worth it.

When we arrived, it was raining. Andrew's directions for us consisted of "When you leave the airport hop on the 747 or 748 bus, and when you cross the river, get off the bus and call me." Not the best directions in the world to begin with, but when the bus stopped and turned off without ever crossing a river, Laura and I said... "What???" Thankfully, it wasn't too hard to figure out where we needed to go, and we eventually me up with Annie and Andrew.

On the first day, Annie and Andrew showed us around Dublin. Although it was raining, it was still a ton of fun! We also stopped by a pub that had a ridiculous amount of beers from all over the world. I ended up trying the Oyster Stout (It was recommended to me a while back) which was actually very good! We had a couple of really good meals, and then headed back to Annie's place for Halloween celebration number 1. Laura and I already knew a couple of the other girls there from when they came to London (Andrew had suggested that we meet up, so we did!), but we got to meet a lot of other really cool people that  we saw throughout the weekend. Upon our arrival, I had bought a makeshift costume (A pair of dog ears and tail. I know, weakest. costume. ever. Especially compared to last year), and few other people were all dressed up which made for a fun evening.

Our gracious hosts, showing us around the city.

Sidenote: My beer pong game was ON POINT that night. Annie and I make a great team. Holla.

Day 2: A/A took us to an outdoor market for lunch that had so much good looking food! It was pretty hard to decide what to get, but I finally decided on getting the chicken and jalapeño crepe with a lamb skewer. Delicious. We then made our way to Kilmainham Gaol (pronounced Jail, as in prison) which is famous for housing a lot of Irish rebels from back when Britain controlled the Island. Very cool, and very educational. This was followed by the modern art museum, then a rugby match!

We saw Leinster (A county in Ireland) vs. Edinburgh (A city in Scotland), and the game was so much fun! We weren't exactly sure what was going on the entire time, but it was still AWESOME to watch. These guys make American Football players look like a bunch of pansies. Just as much contact/tackling, if not more, but with no pads whatsoever. Also, they pick each other up and lift them in the air to catch the ball. Hardcore.

Day 3: We got to sleep in, which was INCREDIBLE. I'm pretty sure that while we were there we walked the entire length of Ireland, and this plus the long nights, all the travel, etc was starting to catch up to me. So Andrew and I had a lazy morning, met up with the girls, then went off to the Guinness Storehouse! It was like Willy Wonka's factory. Seriously. So much fun! You got to go around and see exactly how the beer was made, and the history of Guinness. At the end, they taught you how to pour the perfect pint (Its very specific, and you really can taste the difference), and then you got to pour your own! Baller.

Last night, we danced our hearts out. Great club, good music, and fantastic company. Laura and I noticed today that we were actually there for about 3.5 hours, but last night we had no idea that we were there that long because we were having so much fun. 2 hours of sleep later, Laura and I were repeating our journey, only in reverse order to come back to London. I was sad to leave the city and our friends so soon, but I feel like we got a pretty good taste of it. Cheers, Dublin.

After upload and looking through all the pictures, as well as some older pictures of myself, I noticed that lately when I smile in pictures, it seems a lot more genuine, and I just look so much happier. Not that I was ever unhappy before. I think that just goes to show how much fun I'm having here and how happy I really am.

Yay life!