The Emerald Isle (pt. 1)

4 exchange students. 1 week off school.  Sounds like an adventure waiting to happen..  It was such an epic 4 days that I can't fit it all into one post. So, stay tuned for part 2, and maybe even part 3   :)

It all starts with the planning stages: "So.. where do you guys wanna go?"

^  Goodbye Scotland... Hello Ireland  ^

(for any future Europe travelers - keep Ryanair in mind. Return ticket to Dublin: $64)

Touch down in sunny Dublin! Once again, we lucked out with the weather but it was very chilly - the blue skies are deceiving. 
^ We wandered down O'Connell Street and saw the 120m 'Spire of Dublin' (we learned later that it was a millenium project that was finished in 2003, lol - fail.) We also said hello to Daniel O'Connell himself. ^

After walking over the lovely River Liffey, we bumped into..

Less than 2 hours after stepping off the plane, we heard those magical words: "Top o' the mornin' to ya!"  

Loving Ireland already <3

At Trinity College - about to walk under the infamous arch (according to the students, if you walk under it you won't graduate). We didn't want to take the risk, so we took our pictures and went around it... like all the other students. >

What is this doing here??

In the afternoon, we took advantage of another free walking tour (as did many other traveling university students).  We began by learning about Dublin Castle and Christ Church Cathedral - hows that for an educational afternoon, mom and dad!

^ Then on to see Dubh Linn gardens with neat Celtic designs in the grass.

Here we are making ourselves at home in a typical viking house displayed in the cobble stones! I'm either sitting on a couch or the toilet... I can't remember.

Strolling down the streets of Temple Bar - an area of the city with lots of pubs and restaurants. We re-visited the actual Temple Bar on the right, but more on this later.

Ha'penny bridge spanning the River Liffey! (people used to have to pay half a penny to cross it - such a creative name)

We ended the tour looking at a memorial for the Great Famine (1845-52).  Our tour guide told us that English courts prevented financial relief from charities exceeding 1000 pounds and ships of food from other countries from reaching people in Ireland because Queen Victoria had only sent 2000 pounds herself - more than a million people died to spare her reputation..

On a lighter note... we went back to check out Temple Bar for the evening:

Enjoying our first 'glasses' (1/2 pints) of Guinness at the oldest pub in Dublin while making a couple of new Irish friends.  We stayed until 2 am singing oldies songs with the locals and the wonderful band. Such a great night - probably my favourite part of the trip.

After a sound sleep at the hostel and a complementary breakfast, we were ready for day 2.  We had a lovely stroll through St. Stephen's Green in the morning while humming Beetles tunes from the night before.

When we got downtown, there just HAPPENED to be a marathon and we just HAPPENED to walk by in time to see the winner cross the finish line (left). Totally random, but awesome.  We stayed for a bit and cheered on the Irish runners :) Woohoo!

Still not sure which way to look... who knew crossing the street would be so difficult??

At first I thought it was funny that at every crosswalk 'look right/ left' was written on the pavement, but after seeing all the one way streets and numerous turning lanes, I'll admit I started taking these signs a little more seriously.

Picking up postcards, t-shirts, and other gifts at Carroll's - the huge Irish gift shop that we spent wayyy too much time in.  

Getting my Christmas shopping done in October: check.

Trying to even out the load after a day and a half of walking around Dublin.

We were on our way out of the city but we still had one more stop to make...

To be continued :)