Scott and I woke up early and boarded a bus to Dublin. We stopped again in Limerick. DIRTIEST BATHROOM EVER! I walked in looking for a stall. There were 4: two of which did not have a seat, one had half a seat, and the one I chose was nasty. I came out hoping to be hepatitis free. We got into Dublin at 3pm and I was hobbling around with my pack on. We went to a burger joint to eat. We watched part of a gaelic football match with Dublin and Kilkenny. Kilkenny was kicking butt. Scott and I walked to a statue, and decided I would wait there and he could run back and get bus info to the airport. We were looking to catch a bus to the airport at about 4 am. Scott returned and we wandered around the streets of Dublin. The host at the hostel that Scott went to get info, gave us lots of ideas for touring the town. We went to Trinity college from O'connell street to Westmoreland. We passed some professional street performers and an obvious tourist area. We arrived at Trinity college and walked through the big gates.
We walked around to find the bookstore. In the book store there is a museum which contains the oldest bound book in the world; the book of Kells. It was a very nice display and the book was incredible.
We then left through the hall of the oldest books at the university. This room was very impressive, and I am dissapointed we couldn't have explored more. As we stepped back into the bookstore we were told it was closing time and had to exit. This became a theme in Dublin.
We left the college and walked to St. Stephen's's Green. We walked through the beautiful park and then tried to walk to St. Patrick's Cathedral.
It began to rain right before we arrived. We stopped in the entry way, and the woman watching the doors asked us if we were staying for the service. We both said no, as the choir rushed through the rain into the cathedral. We started to walk around the corner, and it began to pour hard. I told Scott, maybe we should sit through a service. He agreed. We went back and the choir had begun. We went in for an evensong. We tried to walk quietly to the back, but our shoes squeaked quite loudly. At the end, the guard told us that we had made her day with our squeaky shoes. When ever I am in a cathedral, all I want is a large choir to sing. It was a very beautiful moment. We sat and stood through the 45 minute service. As the choir sang in Latin, Scott and I sat in silent reverence exploring the archetecture and statues with our eyes. At the end of the service we were able to look around for a brief while. We then were asked to leave as the building was closing. We exited to the garden behind, where St. Patrick baptized his followers. We decided to see the other cathedral, the Church of Ireland cathedral, it was closed. Castle of Dublin, closed. Most of the tourist shops were closed and we decided to find some Bangers and mash. We found a small restaurant called Gruel. It reminded me very much of a small restaurant that would be in Portland. The food was phenomenal. We then walked around looking for souveniers. We found a couple shops that were open. I bought a knock-off Irish soccer jersey. We then closed that place down. We walked and found the statue of Molly Malone
and decided to find a pub. We walked around the temple bar area, and were dissapointed by how touristy they were. We decided to wander across the river. We walked (I hobbled) down the street and found a nice bar with candles on the walls. It was the cheapest pint in town. The best thing about Ireland is that Guiness is the cheapest pint there is. Harps is 40 euro cent more. When the dark beer is cheapest,... I am happiest. It was funny to watch the rich Irishmen drink Budwieser from the bottle thinking they were posh.
After a pint, we decided to find a band. We walked back the route we came and found an upstairs bar with a band. It was the first non-traditional band we saw in Ireland. The lead singer specialized in American Folk and Blues. They played many songs, some originals, some by Bob Dylan, Jerry Garcia, etc. It was awesome. We again, closed the place down. We wandered to another bar, had a pint, closed it down. We were then directed from each door to another to try and find an open pub. We finally found a night club that was open. Downstairs there were blacklights and a DJ. The crowd was very diverse. It was the people who loved electronica and dressing up, tourists looking for the last open bar, and locals who were looking for the last open bar. We stayed there until about 3. We were walking out and had a girl comment about how good lookin' the tourists were. I gave her a kiss on her cheek for her birthday. We then were walking back toward the bus stop and met a group of teachers from DC looking for the party to continue. We all commented about how sad it was that all the bars had closed. Scott and I waited for the bus and finally rode to the airport.
In the airport, Scott boarded early, I tried to get my boarding pass, but they wouldn't let me get it untill 3 hours before my flight. I flew out at 10. We talked for a bit then Scott went through his gate at around 5. I paced the airport for a few hours trying to stay awake and ate something from every vendor. I finally did take a photo as the morning sun came up. I flew out and slept well on the airplane. Ireland was incredible and I would go back in a second.
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