 |
| Happy St. Patrick's Day! |
Thursday was the most hectic day ever. We took the Megabus to Edinburgh then flew to Dublin. The bus was suppose to go from Aberdeen to the Edinburgh airport. When I booked it, Megabus did not tell me that we had to take three different buses to get to our final destination including a public transport bus in Edinburgh. Our first bus dropped us off in Dundee and from there we took another bus. The driver did not warn us that the bus's final stop was in Edinburgh's city centre and not at the airport. We rode the bus all the way into town and when we got off I asked the bus driver if we were at the airport (dumb question since we were obviously in the middle of downtown). He looked at my like I was a dumb American and told me that he yelled 30 minutes ago and asked the bus if anyone needed to get off at the airport stop. Of course we didn't hear him and I still swear that he didnt scream anything. So instead of arriving at the airport at 1:55, we arrived in the city centre at 1:55. Thank God the bus driver was nice and got us on another bus for free that would drop us off at the right place. We arrived at the bus station we stopped at earlier and didnt't get off at at 2:30 (mind that our plane was suppose to depart at 3:30. And of course at this point I was freaking out thinking we weren't going to get on the plane). Another bus came five minutes later and took us to the airport. That bus took another 20 minutes and we finally arrived at the airport at 2:55. We ran to security, asked a family that didn't speak English if we could cut in line but they said no, got through security, SPRINTED to our gate and arrived at 3:05 just in time for us to get in line and board the plane. No one in the Edinburgh airport even checked our I.D.s or passports so the security was very reassuring. But we made it!! Wow what a crazy two hours but the trip was definitely worth it. We took a taxi to Globetrotters which was the hostel we stayed at. I was a little nervous staying in a hostel but it was extremely nice. We got upgraded to our own private room so it was basically like staying in a hotel but we had to share a bathroom with other guests. The hostel was full of Americans. It was weird seeing Americans again because there aren't a lot in Aberdeen. I have only met one other American besides team America that I came to Scotland with. It actually made me really grateful that Aberdeen isn't a touristy town. That night we went to the Temple Bar area which is full of pubs and clubs. Kristen and I went to the actual Temple Bar and listened to live music. It was three guys playing the guitar and singing a mix of Irish and American music. They were really good and even nice to look at ha. When we were walking back home, Kristen and I decided that we wanted to get some food before heading back. We walked into Burger King and saw Eric sitting alone eating a burger from BK. Crazy right? Who would have thought that in this huge city we would find Eric in BK?? Lucky for him though because he would have gotten lost and never would have found his way back to our hostel.
Friday was rainy just like Aberdeen. I tried to read my broken wet map but that didn't really work out. The map was from the Hostel and didn't have all the street names on it. We took a wrong turn initially which automatically made us lost for the rest of the day. We walked around aimlessly for a long time until we came across a really pretty cathedral. Dublin really had some amazing churches and it made me feel really proud to be a Christian. After the church, we walked around more in the rain. I got splashed on when a car ran over a puddle. You would think this only happens in movies but it happened to me in real life. We went on a tour of the Guinness Storehouse. It was seven stories of the history of the beer and when you got to the 7th floor they gave you a free Guinness. It was my first Guinness and surprisingly enough I enjoyed it! I was worried about how dark it is but it is delicious. The bartender even put a three leaf clover in the foam! After the tour we took another tour of Dublin castle. It was pretty cool that the castle is still in use today. The new President will be inaugurated in November in one of the rooms we toured. My favorite part however was after the tour we decided to play tag in the courtyard of the castle. It was so much fun! On the way back home we found a shake shop. You could get any kind of candy bar or other sweets mixed up in your shake. I got a chocolate chip cookie shake and it was delicious. This day kind of made me think that even though you don't plan stuff and your map gets ruined you will still run into fun things to do with your friends. It was a very successful day. At night we stayed in the lobby of the hostel for a little and met more Americans. We went out with all of our new friends back to Temple Bar.
On Saturday we met up with our new American friends Jamie and Summer who are currently studying abroad in Seville. We walked to Trinity College. Then we got a horse drawn carriage and got a tour of the city! I felt like Cinderella! It was great! The horse, named Charity, tried to eat my umbrellas though. After getting off the horse, we went to St. Stephen's Square. I thought it was going to be a park but instead it was a huge shopping area. We found a burrito shop and I was in heaven! I love Mexican!! There was a spoon playing man sitting outside the bizarre. Unfortunately he was put out of music by blaring pop music. After lunch we tried to find our way to St. Patrick's Cathedral. Of course we couldn't find it. I asked an old man how to get there and he just had us follow him. I secretly think he was a leprechaun! He was such a jolly man, humming Irish songs, and yelling at the top of his lungs when he talked to me in his Irish accent. He was the first person I met that was originally from Dublin and on our walk he told me how much the city has changed and grew since he was growing up. St. Patrick's Cathedral was gorgeous. I couldn't believe how beautiful it was with stained glass windows, old battered flags, and a grand alter.
On Sunday we got up early to pack our bags and get on the DART train to Howth, Ireland. It was about a 20 minute train ride to this harbor village. Kristen and I did some research before going to Dublin and found out that you could see seals in the Harbor so we decided to try to find them. Howth was really cold with freeing wind but that is what we are used to in Aberdeen. We walked all around the Harbor and couldn't find any seals. We started heading back to the train station for our train that was going to leave in the next ten minutes but I saw a bunch of people crowded around by the water. I started running full speed ahead to figure out what they were looking at. When I saw it was a bunch of seals I screamed "SEALS!!!" to the other and they started running. Again we didnt have enough time so we had to book it to the seals. I don't ever remember seeing seals in the wild and not in the zoo! We could only stay and watch them for about five mintues before heading back to the train station. They were so adorable and looked like dogs treading water in the sea. It again was a successful trip! Right before we left Dublin, Kristen and I went to a souvenir shop and bought an Irish flag. We decided we are going to get flags from every country we visit so we can hang them in our rooms next year at school.
I am now back in my room in Aberdeen so you know I made it back safely. The trip home was a lot less eventful than the trip there. Dublin was a lot of fun and I suggest if you have the chance to definitely visit it.
Cheers
More pictures will be uploaded to facebook
 |
| Guinness with a shamrock on top! |
 |
| My new best friend Charity. He was trying to be sneaky. |
 |
| St. Patrick's Cathedral |
No comments:
Post a Comment