The Luck of the Irish

I can honestly call Ireland one of the most amazing places I have ever visited.  The little bit of this country that I was able to experience is full of vibrant culture and pride in everything they do.  Yes, it rains.  Almost every day.  But honestly, its just rain.  It is pretty common knowledge around the world that Ireland is a rainy country, and because of that, I came prepared.  With a new winter coat, my umbrella and some nice waterproof boots I was ready to face the rain.  And to be perfectly honest, if you are prepared for it, it really doesn't take away from the experience.

     

My trip there started out early.  I spent the night in a hostel in Porto, Portugal and woke up at 4:00am to catch the airport shuttle.  From there I took a flight form Porto to London (Stansted).  I waited the longest 4 hours of my life with no cell phone battery, and from there left for Dublin.   Straightaway after arriving in the town of Bray (Where I have some amazing friends living right now) I got cleaned up and we headed back into Dublin.  I'm not quite sure what it is but Dublin has such an amazing "small town" feel to it.  Just walking down the streets, seeing the pubs painted different colors, and the green trees and flowers at the parks made the town feel so much more unique.  Our first adventure, Temple Bar.

 

My friend Bri's parents were in town for Thanksgiving and so we all decided to go see the Temple Bar Irish Dancing.  I had a nice and filling meal of Goat Cheese Salad, Bangers and Mash, and Cheesecake.  Soon after we enjoyed some pretty cool Irish dancing and some amazing live music.  I think this is one of my favorite parts of Dublin.  While on my trip I didn't have the opportunity (nor did I really care) to go out on the town every night.  But just the pure fact that almost every pub you wander into has live music makes this place so awesome.  After a very nice night of enjoying the live music and dancing we hopped onto the Dart [The train that goes to and from Dublin] and headed home.  After being awake for 20 hours straight, I was pretty tired.  But once I got home I was so glad to still be able to chime in on my family's Thanksgiving celebration back home via Facetime.  It is crazy how technology can make staying in contact so easily.

The next day Bri and Hanna had to go to school (Since it was Friday) so I tagged along with Bri's parents to Powerscourt Gardens and Estates.  This beautiful estate is located only about 10 minutes from Bray in the Irish countryside.  Its just outside a small town called Enniskerry.  I bet almost all of you have heard of the town Enniskerry before, I'll tell you how later! This garden estate was magnificent.  Even though there were fewer flowers and it is fall this place was still a magnificent place to visit.  If you're interested in learning a little History of Powerscourt, Click Here!

The view from the back of the house.  You can see the countryside in the distance! 

Bri's Parents, Michelle and Corey! 

Japanese Gardens

Poswercourt Estate

Pet Cemetery....... 8-|

After a long day of walking around the gardens, Michelle, Cory, and I headed to Enniskerry (About a 5 min walk) and had a nice cup of hot chocolate while waiting for our bus back to Bray.  Once back in Bray we got ready for our Thanksgiving dinner.  Michelle (Bri's Mom) was amazing and brought over ingredients that the girls weren't able to find at the grocery stores in Bray.  Everyone put so much work into making a true Thanksgiving dinner.  That night, some other teachers from the girls' schools came over to experience a true Thanksgiving dinner.  You have no idea how happy I was about this.  I just have to Thank Bri and Hanna for the amazing dinner.  I truly would have been missing home if I didn't get the opportunity to celebrate Thanksgiving.

Almost as good as home .... except no Grandma Edie's Caesar Salad =(

The next day Amanda (Bri's roommate), Bri and I headed into Dublin for the Free City walking tour.  This was, hands down, the best tour I have been on.  I would recommend it 100000 times. The walking tour took us through the city of Dublin, giving us a taste of history, culture, traditions, and what Dublin is like today.  I will give a shout-out to Emer and say you did an amazing job as our tour guide.  I learned more in this 3 hour tour than what i could have ever learned on my own.

Random things I learned on my walking tour:
1. The Irish are very proud of their pubs.  Live music and drinking = Irish pride.
2. The great potato famine of Ireland was actually preventable.  The country actually exported enough potatoes to feed their population 4 times.
3. During the great potato famine, the population of Ireland went from 8 million to 4 million people.  Today the population of Ireland is 4.5 million.
4. St. Patrick was actually first in Ireland as a captured slave from Wales.  After escaping with the help of signs from God, he joined the church in Wales and became a bishop.  He was then told to travel back to Ireland to convert them to Catholicism.  Instead of doing the traditional method, St. Patrick actually decided to go to each ruler of the kingdoms in Ireland.  If he converted the rulers, then the people would convert as well. This method had never been used in spreading religion before.
5. P.S. I Love You was filmed in Dublin and many surrounding areas.
6. The most well preserved viking remains had been uncovered while constructing the new city hall.  Since archeologists came in to carefully uncover these ruins, it delayed the building of the city hall.  The city sued the archeologists for delaying their building and won.  The city bulldozed the historical site.  Now only a few artifacts are on display in the Dublin museum.  There is also a layout of a Viking home set into the sidewalk along the City Hall.
7. Christ Church Cathedral in Ireland was once used as a brothel.
8. Temple Bar district was originally going to be turned into a large bus station.  While planning the construction, the buildings were rented out to shops and pubs.  The streets turned into such a rich cultural area that they cancelled the construction plans.
9. At Trinity College, they have a program that if you pass your exams in all subject areas with a C or higher, you can receive a Masters and PHD degree for free.  But apparently, its not as easy as it sounds.
10. Throughout history the Irish have consistently gone through many recessions and expansions.  Because of this, Emer told us the current economic situation isn't as surprising as what the rest of Europe is making it out to be, because the Irish are used to hard times.
11. The most recent purchase of the Irish government during a expansion of wealth in the country was the Spire in Dublin.
12. Ireland has their own language called Gaelic.
13. And much much more!

And now for some pictures!

The only "castle" part of the Dublin Castle.  

Dubh Linn Gardens - Basically a fancy helicopter pad.  

I know this doesn't look that exciting, but these are the steps filmed in P.S. I Love You.  After the pub scene where she's crying in the street.  

Temple Bar District

The layout of the typical viking home.  Two beds inside, each sleeps about 10 vikings.  Pretty standard. 

Trinity College.  

Trinity College

National Library/ National Museum.  If you have any type of Irish roots you can go into the National Library and they will help you look up your heritage for free! 

After our tour we walked around town and enjoyed the beautiful Christmas lights displayed in the city streets.  We did a little souvenir shopping and Christmas shopping and headed back to the dart to take us home.

Sunday was my last day in Ireland.  It had been a busy couple of days.  The girls decided to take me to a local sight in Bray, Bray Head.  Bray Head is a large mount that is part of the Wicklow Mountain Range.  It separates Bray from its neighboring town of Greystones.  The views were gorgeous.  It was quite the hike to the top, but so worth it.  A local on the way up told us it's so clear we could see not only Wales, but also Northern Ireland from the top.  (Wales the country, not Whales the animals people!)  After taking in this spectacular view, we headed back down the mountain, had a supper of fish and chips and had a relaxing night watching P.S. I Love You.

That, is what we climbed. 

The Ladies of Upper Dargle Road, Bray.  

I did it! 

If you look very closely, you can see Wales! 

The reason I mention this movie is because after watching the movie that night, we realized we had traveled to almost all of the places mentioned in the movie! Enniskerry is where Gerry's family lives, Bray Head is a part of the Wicklow mountains, and Dun Laoghaire is a town we drove through on the Dart.  On our walking tour we also saw a large staircase called the 40 steps.

Overall I have to say Ireland is a country rich of culture.  Every native person I met and talked to were so welcoming and wanted to share a little bit about their Irish upbringings.  And yes, I know...... Erin means "Ireland" in Gaelic, I had about 5 people tell me!