dublin!

Just got back from the most fantastic trip to Dublin. Sey, Anna, Connie and I got up super early (3:30 AM) to catch our cheap flight at 6:50 on Ryannair on Friday. We didn't realize that the airport was about an hour away, but we still made it in plenty of time. After about a two hour flight, we landed in Ireland! I can't tell you how surreal it has been to travel to all of these beautiful places. Our first point of order was to find ourselves a traditional Irish breakfast. We went to this awesome place called Bewleys where we got just that! It was so good- as soon as I figure out how to post pictures of it I will! After Bewleys we decided to explore Dublin. We went to the historical Dublin Post Office and then caught a bus to the Guinness Factory. Learning about how beer is made is actually really interesting. It's a lot more scientific than I thought! We got to taste a free Guinness with our tour and I have to say that stuff is just not for me. I couldn't even finish the complimentary small glass. It's very bitter but I guess I can see how some people like it. The actual Guinness factory itself is in the shape of a glass of beer, with a huge panoramic view of Dublin at the top. We sat up there for about an hour just enjoying the beauty of it. After the Guinness factory, we ate at the most delicious little cafe. They are obsessed with goat cheese here, which makes me super happy so I got a goat cheese, pesto, and red pepper sandwich and it was SO good. After eating we toured the Dublin Castle and a few pretty churches. It was honestly such a relief to be in a country where people spoke English simply for the fact that we had an easier time asking for directions. I was actually surprised to find out that people in Ireland still speak Gaelic. It was printed on many of their signs and was really cool to see. For dinner, we headed to a traditional Irish pub, which was also delicious. Dublin definitely has quite the pub scene, and we were lucky enough to get to hang out in the one where they filmed PS I Love You (with Gerard Butler and Hillary Swank). We were looking to go to a pub that wasn't very tourist-y and this one fit the bill perfectly. After the pub, we headed back to our hostel. This was my first experience staying in a hostel, and I have to say that I was really impressed. The people were really friendly, and there was always some added amenities for guests. One night they made free sangria for everyone, and then on Saturday they offered a completely free guided tour of the seaside city of Howth (more on that later). There was also free wi-fi and internet for only 1 euro. It was overall a really clean, friendly, and helpful experience. On Saturday we woke up and went on the guided tour of Howth. We had considered taking a relatively expensive bus tour to Galway or the Cliffs of Moher, but it would have cost us the entire day and around 50 Euro. This trip we took simply for 4.40 Euro (the train fare) and it was worth that 100 times over. The city of Howth is this beautiful Irish seaside city. When we arrived, we got to see all of these seals that hang out in the harbor, which was breathtaking and really cool. The seals will stare right at you! After hanging out with the seals and doing a tour of the harbor, we started a walking trip to the cliffs. It was about a 30 minute hike, but once we saw the view, it was completely worth it. The cliffs were some of the most beautiful things I have ever seen in my life. They overlooked the ocean and were just these gigantic structures with beautiful grass and wildflowers growing everywhere. The houses on the way up were also beautiful- one even belonged to the poet Yeats and one point! I'm really trying to figure out how to post pictures because I just can't even express how beautiful this experience was. Anna, Sey, Connie and I just sat up on the cliffs for about 2-3 hours just staring at the sea and reading Irish folklore. It was such a calming, wonderful experience. Once we started to get a little too cold, we started the long hike down. By the time we got back to the main part of Howth, we were famished. We ate at this wonderful seafood restuarant right on the pier and it was seriously the best food I've had since I've been here. I got this delicious seafood chowder and salad with crostini, goat cheese, and raspberries. We sat in the restuarant for a good 2 hours just talking, resting, and warming up. I think that has definitely been my most favorite day abroad so far. Around 5 we took the train back into Dublin (I promptly fell asleep). We were going to meet up with some of our friends who are on the British Isles study abroad trip who are staying at Trinity College and one who is studying in Limerick, Ireland. They ended up arriving around 8 PM so while we waited we ate a quick dinner. It was so so good to see some familiar faces from home and just catch up. We stayed at Trinity College that night with them, and got up super early for our flight back to Brussels. Overall, Dublin was such a wonderful experience and I can only hope that each weekend travel will be as easy and fun as that!