Bon Voyage: Ireland...Again!

If you've been keeping up with my blog and read Ireland Part 1 and 2 then it should of no surprise that I found a way to come back for a second trip :D

For Easter we had a 3 day weekend, so Meagan and I decided to take off one day of school and make it a 5 day weekend! We flew into Dublin, but unfortunately we weren't able to stay with the O'Connor family again so we hosteled it the whole time. The first night we were in the heart of the city, where all the restaurants and bars were and right next to our favorite pub, the Ol' Dubliner. While we were getting settled in we met these three girls who happened to be from Seattle, Washington just visiting Ireland as a graduation present to themselves. We decided to hit up the pub with them that night before midnight because it was the eve before Good Friday and in Ireland EVERYTHING shuts down at midnight and then opens up again at midnight Friday night. As usual there was a band their playing old Irish folk songs and contemporary music. We had a blast just dancing away, screaming the lyrics along with everyone else at the bar.We started talking to two New Zealanders who were their on vacation too but were actually working in London. I told them that the following week I was going to be in London with my mom, so one of the guys, Rob took my phone and wrote down a whole slew of restaurants, pubs, and places to see while I was there and then included his number so we could hang out sometime if I got the chance. They were so much fun to hang out with, we learned that they had been traveling all over the world for the past year, going to Greece, India, Ireland, France, Germany, Croatia Amsterdam, Italy etc. I was SOoo envious that they got the chance to go to such amazing locations. I wish I lived in Europe so that it would be easy and less expensive to travel to all of these beautiful countries. Europeans are so lucky that it's all centrally located for them.

Anyways, the next day was Good Friday and so most everything was closed but we met up with one of the O'Connor family friends who we met last time we were here, Zee from Bulgaria. We wanted to go see Kilmainham Gaol, which is an old prison in Dublin that they have turned into a museum, however we got there too late and we missed the last tour, so we made our way to the Dublin Castle and the Cross church but because of Good Friday those were both closed as well so we just took pictures from the outside. We got really discouraged that everything was closed so we hung out at a cafe for awhile just chatting, trying to come up with things to do. We finally gave up and headed out to grab some dinner and have a nice quiet night in at our hostel. Thankfully we got a good night sleep because Saturday was a very long day.

We woke up bright and early and headed to the Guinness Factory on Saturday where we got a tour and learned about how Guinness was founded and made and then got a free pint of Guinness once we made it to the top of the viewing deck..again proud moment to finish a Guinness :) We then hurriedly made it back to the center of town to meet up with Eoin and Neill O'Connor who were shopping for their mom's birthday present. They were so lost, they didn't even know where to start but thanks to us, we found them the perfect pair of earrings for her. Afterwards we grabbed some lunch and caught up since the last time we saw them. We decided that we would meet up later that night for some dinner and drinks and board games...our favorite:)

We met up that night at a pub called the Black Sheep where you can bring your own board game and play as you have a drink. Neill showed up with his friend Paraic because Eoin had a birthday party to go to, so we set up their game (Dominion) and set out to kick their booty. It was this really intense card game, where each card held a power or an attack and you tried to attack others while gaining points, it was really confusing but really fun.

Sunday, we got invited to Easter Dinner at the O'Connor family's house, but until then we had some time to kill so we decided to check out the Leprechaun museum in Dublin. Meagan was BEYOND excited since she grew up believing in them all her life. It was a really fun and interactive museum where they had a room full of GIANT furniture that you could climb all over and feel small in. Needless to say we got a lot of pictures:) Then we headed on over to the O'Connor house where their ENTIRE family was. I don't know how they cooked for us all but it was such a blessing to be there, included in the family and sharing a nice meal with everyone. Easter is one of my favorite holidays, for it's religious and family aspect and I was afraid that we would be stuck in a hostel for it. After dinner Meagan and I helped Emer clean up and then we got recruited to play a slew of more card and board games. I don't think we left until 1am :/ No doubt that it was the highlight of our trip.

Monday morning we got a message from Paraic and Neill that they wanted to take us golfing :( and since we had no plans we decided to go. We decided to make it a competition where Neill and I were a team while Meagan and Paraic were another. Incase you don't know, I am a HORRIBLE golfer yet the first 5 or so holes I was doing excellent, maybe that went to my head because, the rest I just bombed :( Neill and I lost but he was such a good sport about it and was encouraging me the whole way even though I was completely embarrassed. That night Paraic took us to his favorite pub, the oldest in Dublin where we tried Irish stew for the first time, it was ABSOLUTELY delicious, we spent the whole rest of the night listening to old folk songs and chatting away.

This trip was completely different from the last trip to Ireland, very laid back and just playing it by ear but it was perfect for Meagan and I. We enjoy the Irish culture and people so much that, that's all we really wanted to do. I hope that I can come back there, or perhaps live there for some period of time in the future...maybe someday as an au pair?? Who knows. But I know this won't be the last time I'll set foot there.