For the week of Spring Break, Massi and I went on an adventure to the land of the Irish and the Scottish. Our stories in each place are completely different, although the one thing that brings them together are their pretty awesome accents. We started the journey in the charming city of Dublin, Ireland. We couch surfed with a French girl who lived in the outskirts of the city. Although we had to sleep on the floor (which is much more difficult than you actually realize) in a freezing house, we were so incredibly grateful that we found somebody who was nice enough to take us in the DAY before we left for our trip. Our first night in Dublin, we went out venturing for good food to eat, and came across a Chinese Buffet for only 9 euros a plate. Needless to say, we went a little crazy.
Our first night in an adventure. We made do with making homemade pillows by stuffing a bunch of clothes in shirts, and survived hypothermia with lots and lots of body warmth!
The next day, after going to bed at four am, we accidentally woke up late in the afternoon and then just ended up starting the day slowly. We started with a walk down the river by our host's house, which just so happened to be filled with swans! Then, we casually walked around downtown and the main churches, wanting to get an overall feel of the city.
For lunch, we found a burrito place in the middle of the town. FINALLY, this California girl was reunited a true fat ass burrito that I've been missing too much this entire year. And poor Massi, who has been away from them for far too long, got his fix as well. Let's just say that a mouthgasm is an understatement for the both of us.
Right outside of the burrito place, there's a statue dedicated to James Joyce! He's an extremely famous Irish writer, and a literary genius in general. Every reason to take a picture :)
Walking around the city made me adore Irish people. I had heard the stories of my friends who told me that when they walked around with their maps, the Irish would always come up to them asking if they could help with where they needed to go. I decided to try this out as well, and I kept my map open walking around when we were looking for certain landmarks. Sure enough, shortly after having it opened and looking confused, a nice Irish man came up to us and helped us with where to go! The rumors are true...they really are such kind and welcoming people :)
We were so excited that there are Costa Coffee Shops in Ireland, because we absolutely loved it in England. I think the only thing we forgot is how ridiculously pricey it is! But we still stopped for a hot chocolate and chai tea :)
As the sun came down, we headed over to the river and walked along the bridges, admiring the beautiful view. A river always adds the perfect touch to a city, no matter where you're at. :)
That night, we wanted to go to a traditional pub for dinner and eat a typical Irish meal. We were suggested by a local to go to a place called O'Niels. It ended up being an awesome place with plenty of food, people, decorations, and live music. It gave us the true Irish feel! We ate cabbage and mashed potatoes with other vegetables and chicken wrapped in bacon, all covered in gravy. Not the most healthy meal for you, but delicious indeed :)
Live music played throughout the night, and they were awesome! We really enjoyed listening to their covers of songs, and even some of their originals as well.
Towards the end of the night, they played one of mine and Massi's favorite songs of the moment, Ho Hey by the Lumineers! We were stoked to hear it live. It was perfect. We sung our hearts out and shared an infinite unforgettable moment :)
That night, we went to bed at a reasonable time so that we were able to get up the next morning and enjoy a full day roaming throughout the city. Our first stop was St. Patrick's Church, which you all should know of! I suppose it made up for not getting to celebrate St. Patty's day this year :) The church is so simple and grey, but that's what makes it beautiful at the same time. I loved the pointy architecture and the garden that sits right in front of the church, making the dark grey color stand out much more.
We headed over to a famous breakfast place in Dublin, called Queen of Tarts. We didn't really have enough money to splurge and get a full out breakfast, but we shared one of their berry crumbles and it was to die for. If only we weren't broke....
We took a walk around the other side of the river, and came across this gem. The Poet's Corner! Decorated beautifully on the outside with quotes from some of Ireland's most treasured authors.
We finally came across Grafton Street, which we discovered was the most famous touristy street. It wasn't hard to notice that; it's full of restaurants, stores, and live music! Definitely the cutest street in Dublin, I would say :)
Massi has a problem with fast food when we're abroad. I decided to continue to get pictures of him indulging in the luxurious culinary arts of McDonald's.
We came up on Stephen's Green, a beautiful park located near the center of town and at the end of Grafton Street. It was so green and beautiful with plenty of ponds and birds. It's truly a beautiful little escape from the busyness of the city surrounding it!
Notice Massi checking his watch...as his was doing frequently like an obsessive Italian boy...waiting for the soccer game to start. Which we had to search throughout the center to find a bar playing the game that night. The usual.
We found a nice little place under a tree and laid out for a while to bask in the sunlight....with that I mean to catch the little rays of warmth that it gives off since Ireland is still freezing balls in April.
Took a little adventure inside the mall...still broke as jokes. But it was pretty inside anyways :)
Luxurious culinary arts number two: Burger King
The exhaustion of traveling...falling asleep inside of a fast food place. Classy.
Annnnddd Massimo is mature and knows that it's a great idea to play with ketchup packets.
The famous statue of Molly Malone!
Wound up in the Temple Bar district to look for the soccer game. Loved walking through this area of town...so many Irish pubs and delicious food. Where the nightlife comes alive!
We finally found a nice little pub that was playing Massi's game on the big screen...so we got some Guiness and spent our last night crazy Italian obsessive soccer fan style :)
We went back after the game because we had to wake up at 3 am to get ready and leave, since our flight was at 6:30! Waking up that early was like death. We got all of our stuff ready and trucked with our luggage 40 minutes across Dublin to get to the bus stop, where we waited another 20 minutes and finally got a bus to the airport! It was exhausting and horrible...but we can't complain- we had just had a wonderful trip in Dublin! It was so much of an experience, and I would love to go back and travel in other parts of Ireland and see more of what it has to offer, like the beautiful landscapes.
Little did we know, we were heading to our new most favorite place traveled in Europe to have the most wonderful experience that we could ask for. But that's another story...to be written about shortly :)
No comments:
Post a Comment