My spring break at UCL is five weeks long - yes, FIVE weeks long. So, I spent three amazing weeks traveling Europe, sampling cultures, having the time of my life, taking hundreds of pictures, and cleaning out my wallet all at the same time. Here is a record of my Eurotrip.
On the morning of March 25, I flew out to Dublin, where my friend Carol is studying abroad for the semester. I also thought it would be a good opportunity to connect with my roots, as I am 50% Irish. I took a low-budget airline called “Ryanair” which really outdid itself by selling cigarettes, scratch cards, and several other items that reminded me every five minutes that I was on a low-budget airline. Luckily the flight was only an hour because the blatant lack of interest that everyone was showing the flight attendant advertising these items was becoming painful to watch. When I arrived in Dublin, I got the sense that the Irish natives are a very friendly group of people. The bus drivers were happy to aid me in my search for my friend’s university, and would even tell me when to get off of the bus; and immediately after I got off the bus, an Irish student at the university asked me if I needed directions and walked me to where I needed to go.
I met up with Carol and she showed me around the local area.
That night, we went to a pub in the Temple Bar district called Fitzsimmons. A musician in the bar was playing live music, including several good songs that we happily sang along to.
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| embracing my Irish roots |
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| Temple Bar district |
The next day, Carol showed me around central Dublin. For lunch, I ordered a corned-beef sandwich, which ironically was the worst one I’ve ever had. The sandwich was just a measly slice of corned beef slabbed between two dry slices of Wonder Bread. I know Ireland isn't exactly known for its cuisine, but I really expected more from the one dish that they supposedly specialize in.
We returned to the Temple Bar district again (pubs and the locals inside of them are really the main attractions in Dublin anyways), and entered a pub called The Oliver St. John Gogarty Bar, simply because I liked its name.
A duet was playing happy-go-lucky Irish tunes inside.
We sat for a while, listening to the music and chatting with a few people in the bar who were celebrating a bachelor party. Unfortunately they weren’t Irish, but they hailed from Manchester, which is close enough. We had a good chat and when the topic of Guinness came up, as it often does when in Dublin, I dared one of the guys to chug a Guinness in under 15 seconds - he finished in an impressive 13 seconds. I did not hold my end of the bargain, as I am certain I would vomit if I had to drink a Guinness in under 15 minutes. Even though I have a pretty sizeable Irish background, I can’t admit to liking Guinness, along with other drinks that have the consistency of soup.
My friend and I also enjoyed conversing with another person, about 45 years of age, also celebrating the bachelor party. While talking to a stranger of this age in a pub would normally be very strange, it is completely acceptable to talk to strangers of all ages in the pubs in Ireland. Everyone is just so sociable and friendly. The guy shared his life-story, made some jokes, and showed us pictures of his family. Carol and I were having a pretty good time in the pub, but had to head over to Aviva stadium, where we had tickets to see the Ireland vs. Macedonia soccer game. I pretended that I was a regular sports-goer and obnoxiously cheered throughout the game.
We sat for a while, listening to the music and chatting with a few people in the bar who were celebrating a bachelor party. Unfortunately they weren’t Irish, but they hailed from Manchester, which is close enough. We had a good chat and when the topic of Guinness came up, as it often does when in Dublin, I dared one of the guys to chug a Guinness in under 15 seconds - he finished in an impressive 13 seconds. I did not hold my end of the bargain, as I am certain I would vomit if I had to drink a Guinness in under 15 minutes. Even though I have a pretty sizeable Irish background, I can’t admit to liking Guinness, along with other drinks that have the consistency of soup.
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| Only in Ireland would chugging a Guinness be acceptable. |
My friend and I also enjoyed conversing with another person, about 45 years of age, also celebrating the bachelor party. While talking to a stranger of this age in a pub would normally be very strange, it is completely acceptable to talk to strangers of all ages in the pubs in Ireland. Everyone is just so sociable and friendly. The guy shared his life-story, made some jokes, and showed us pictures of his family. Carol and I were having a pretty good time in the pub, but had to head over to Aviva stadium, where we had tickets to see the Ireland vs. Macedonia soccer game. I pretended that I was a regular sports-goer and obnoxiously cheered throughout the game.
Ireland won!
Some Irish pride in the crowd.
On Sunday, we took a day trip to Howth, a small fisherman’s village just about a half hour outside of Dublin. We packed a gourmet lunch for ourselves - peanut butter spread on a hamburger bun - and went hiking on a trail along the gorgeous cliffs. The views were idyllic - a light house atop a small peninsula in the distance, sailboats floating near the ocean's horizon, and patches of yellow floral shrubs adding touches of color to the wide green fields.
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| Two roads diverged in a wood and we--we took the one most traveled by because it had better sights. |
My sandwich in front of some nice scenery.
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| delicious. |
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| Sitting on a bench dedicated to someone named Seamus. |
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Our bench.
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| This is actually a great representation of the current fashion in Ireland. I have never seen so many men wearing track suits at all hours of the day. |
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