Dublin your money! Part III

Day 3 - Jan. 4:
Getting used to the conversion rate is pretty tough, so we decided to cut costs on eating on the third day. We ate our hostel breakfast, made some PB&J's and grabbed some crisps and put them in Hannah's purse. Then we bought a 24 hour pass for a tour bus that you can hop on and off of. We rode the whole route and used it later to get around the city. The announcer had some awesome dry humor and chuckled to himself while joking about Dublin's Guinness consumption rate.

The entrance the Kilmainham Gaol.

Kilmainham Gaol was haunting. It was a political and criminal prison that held many rebels throughout Ireland's history. It was created when most jails were just one big room and introduced isolation and reform in jails. The cells were tiny and the windows to the outside had bars without glass to prevent disease. This meant the prisoners had to deal with terrible cold and wind. Many of the rebels who weren't executed ended up being major politicians. My camera battery died during the tour and so I have limited pictures from that day. Afterwords, there was a moment of despair when we saw a sign on the bus stop saying a bus wasn't coming due to ice, but it showed up after a minute or so.

Chamber of secrets?

Next, we rode to Jameson Distillery and got into a conversation with a worker who was a Packers fan (small world).  It was really interesting to see how whiskey is made and the tour guide was hilarious. Whiskey's ingredients are just barley, water, and the barrels (which are actually important). Jameson gets used sherry and bourbon barrels which add color, flavor, and prevent the seeping of chemicals from the wood. I was chosen as a taste tester at the end of the tour and tried a taste of Scotch whiskey (Johnny Walker Black), American whiskey (Jack Daniels), and Jameson. I received a diploma verifying my abilities which I will most likely attach to my résumé.

This is the hole used to give prisoners short pieces of rope that they had to unwind to keep working.

We stopped by the Dublin Castle which wasn't much of a spectacle, but had sweet sculptures in the courtyard (Same shape but painted differently. Similar to the Snoopy's in MN). We returned to the hostel and made some very delicious stuffing for dinner (Thanks Greg and Laura!). We went to bed early to wake up for our checkout at 4:30am. I ended up awake up at 2~ when people were coming home from the bar and couldn't sleep much more. My internal clock isn't quite right yet.

Cell block which has been in quite a few films.

One of the most awesome things about Dublin is that every crosswalk has sweet sound effects. It sounds like a laser is fired whenever the light switches to walk. So you hear a PSEWWW and then half second pulses until it switches back. I think it is for people without very good vision but it is great because you don't have to pay attention and can cross when you hear the sound (Plus I like lasers).

The rest of the jail was incredibly old and this was the newest part.

The combination of conversion rate and being a major city made Dublin fairly expensive. However, we are doing our best to keep costs low. We actually just got a 5 euro snack or drink voucher from Ryanair due to the 6 hour delay (They are so generous). We won't get to see much of Glasgow because of the bad weather, but that is the way the cookie crumbles (I wish I had a cookie right now). Just gotta roll with the punches and all that business.

Until next time Dublin.

A Dublin Entendre. Part II

Day 2 - Jan. 3rd:
The second day began with free hostel breakfast (toast, coffee, amazing orange juice) and afterwords I showered. It was a glorious shower and felt like a new beginning. I was human again. There was absolutely no water pressure, but at least it was warm. Next, we walked to Trinity College which was filled with beautiful old buildings and had a cobblestone courtyard. That morning, it was essentially ice with little rock islands to grip on. Eventually a guard kicked us out of the courtyard due to the icy conditions. It is really interesting how they aren't used to snow and ice here (a cultural difference I didn't anticipate). There was even a guard by a set of three stairs to point people towards a ramp. Pretty surreal after the blizzards in Minnesota this winter.

Trinity College

For lunch we met with my second cousin, Megan Sammin. She took us to a crepes shop that she likes on a small street near a pedestrian mall. The food was delicious and the conversation was great. Megan was very kind and it was a fun to have a local opinion on things. I felt quite European sitting on the sidewalk eating crepes although it was fairly cold.

A tower in the courtyard at Trinity.

After lunch, we walked to the Dublin Spire, which is fairly new and 120 meters tall. It was pretty sweet because tall things are cool. Then we took a bus to the Guinness Storehouse and took the tour. It was super interesting and ended with a "free" pint at the Gravity bar which is the highest bar in Dublin and gives a 360 degree view of the city. The whole building has glass in the shape of a pint glass and the bar is the head of the beer. It would hold something like 14.3 million pints and apparently Ireland drinks that much Guinness in 2.5 weeks.

It is weird to see green grass in January.

From there we wandered to find Kilmainham Gaol but ended up off a block and went the next day. However, we did find an Emo petrol station. We tried our best to cheer it up.

 I cannot jump the distance, you'll have to toss me. (Gaelic looks like Dwarvish)

We snagged a pizza and some apples and went back to eat supper. One thing that is really nice about Ireland is that although they have a 20+% tax, it is included in prices, which makes for easier/quicker payment. That night we ate while watching the Arsenal v. West Ham United game. It is so nice to have football games on all the time.

Interesante.

I ran into my first dilemma that evening when my card wouldn't work at an ATM. I couldn't really call home or the help line as I have no phone and so I borrowed my friend hannah's phone to make a one minute call ($2) to leave a message for my mom.

So many churches.

Later, we went down to Gogarty's and then the Temple Bar that night for live Irish music and had a pint. I got to chat with a father, son and daughter from Spain in Temple Bar after they noticed I could understand them talking about Spanish football. It was really nice and the brother recommended an area in Madrid for me to visit. To top off the night, the ATM worked at the bar and I got enough money out to make it through the rest of Dublin.

Photo Binge:

The River Liffey

¿Por quuuuéeeeeeeeeeeee?

My goodness, my Guinness.

If your bangs cover your eyes you get 10 cents off!

Final Dublin post coming soon.

Dublin your pleasure, Dublin your fun. - Part I

Wooooooooooooooo. My flight from Dublin to Glasgow has been delayed 5~ hours! However, I found free internet (In an airport!?), so I have time to type up a bit of my Dublin experience. I really loved it and hope that I can make it back to Ireland and get into the countryside a bit more. Hopefully when it is a bit more warm and green.

Day 1 - Jan. 2nd:
I arrived in Dublin International at 10:25am (4:25pm CST) having gotten about 3~ hours of sleep on the plane. Over Newfoundland we hit some pretty intense turbulence that lasted about 2 hours with a few moments of calm. Having only flown twice before, I wasn't very excited. At one point, the pilot told the crew to sit down and buckle in and I became even less happy. The plane felt like it was moving a ridiculous amount and I kept thinking about the "Lost" plane crash scene and how I didn't want to be marooned in Canada (at least the healthcare would be better).

When we landed in Dublin, there was a slight dusting of about 1 inch of snow. We were delayed an hour and a half because usually snow doesn't accumulate here. As a Minnesotan, I had a hard time understanding how slight ice and snow could cause such a major city to shut down, but they just don't have plow and salt distribution systems. After going through immigration and waiting anxiously for my checked luggage, I walked into arrivals to see my friend Hannah Crippen who is studying in Nottingham, England for the year. It was great to see a familiar face as I stepped into a foreign country.

Christ Church

I used my first euros to grab a bus to the city centre (Thanks Fien!). It's a crazy feeling being in a new place without any idea of where you are and no cell phone or means of communication. Scary, yet somewhat liberating. We got off on the bus and used the printed directions to make our way across icy cobblestones and found our hostel fairly easily. The girl at the desk was from Argentina and kept referring to me as "Mr. Anderson" in the Agent Smith voice from The Matrix. We had a dispute over room fees which led to a 20 minute Kung-Fu battle ending with my triumphant acquisition of the room key (I wish this sentence was true). She told us that we had to wait an hour to check in, so we rented some luggage storage and went to find food.

The bridge between Christ Church and Dublinia.

We went to Quay's in the Temple Bar district and had a burgers, chips, and a Guinness (When in Dublin…). The food was good and I learned that it is common to dip chips (fries) in gravy here, which isn't actually half bad. I had been told the Guinness is better here and it's true, it is smoother tasting. We checked in and moved our things into our room on the 3rd floor. It was a 20 person room (mixed gender) and was subdivided into 5 smaller 4 person coves. There were keycards to get into the hostel and then the rooms, so that helped with not worrying about theft.

Excellent Viking beard.

Our hostel was right next to Christ Church (beautiful) which was connected to another older church building which housed Dublinia, a museum of viking and medieval history. The Viking part was pretty cool and there were hilarious models of people from that period. After paying, a shifty character (similar to a sketchier Barty Crouch Jr.) told us to follow him and quickly walked towards the back of the museum. My tourist sense started tingling and I started getting nervous. He led us to the back to a staircase and I paused and asked about the exhibits on the main floor. He told us that you start in the basement and a less scary lady appeared and agreed, so we went down stairs to Vikingland (but I bet he has the dark mark).

Intensely creepy mannequin at Dublinia

Afterwords we went into Christ Church which was beautiful and holds the tomb of Strongbow (Excellent name). That night we went to a Spar (little grocery store) and got ingredients for a feast of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and some cheese and onion crisps (chips). We also munched on Babybell cheese wheels which were awesome. We spent the night in the hostel common room and watched a football match (Soccer). All in all, it was a good first day in Dublin. I was a bit jetlagged throughout the day, but mostly functional. I apologize for the length of these posts, but I will be in the airport another 4~ hours and need to occupy myself.

Inside of Christ Church.

Bonus Picture:

This guy was in the Viking exhibit in Dublinia and he kept making groaning sounds.

I guess moss doesn't make good toilet paper.

More to come soooooooooon.

El principio

Well I am currently sitting in the Chicago O'Hare airport and waiting for my flight at 8:35pm to Dublin. It was pushed back an hour and a half because there is snow in Ireland and they aren't as tough as the midwest. I arrive in Dublin in the morning and meet my friend Hannah Crippen and I am hoping that this delay doesn't complicate things too terribly.

I got on as a stand by on a flight from MSP to Chicago and have been here since 1:00 pm. I am getting a little bit anxious to get on the flight and I hope that I will be able to sleep well. I exchanged dollars for euros and pounds and it was incredibly painful to see how little I got back.

I haven't planned a whole lot for what to do tomorrow, but I have a guidebook that should serve as a good start. I am grateful that so far things have gone fairly smoothly. The plane ride from Minneapolis was pretty decent and I got in plenty of Sky Mall scanning. I was really tempted to get the $400 Lord of the Rings chess set or the $100 telepathy obstacle course (Maybe for Christmas). The best part of the international terminal is that I am surrounded by people from all over the world, speaking a ton of different languages. As a language nerd, I really enjoy it (Especially Spanish speakers).

Thoughts by Sean.

• They keep announcing peoples names and nearly all of them are O'something or something-igan. 
• My right foot is asleep and doing that uncomfortable tingly waking process.
• It is incredibly bizarre to know that I will be moving at 500mph above the Atlantic whilst I sleep tonight.
•  I just imagined myself doing that without the plane, just sleep-flying. Like sky-luging. Neat.
•  I am really excited to do a jig. In Ireland. I know you all will be there dancing in spirit.
•   I wish that the repetitive public service announcements in the airport would have excited voices or be sung in a little ditty. 
• Have you gathered how bored I am yet? 
• I would take a picture of the terminal to show you how thrilling it is, but I think people would be weirded out.
• If there was no one here to yell at me, I would sprint on the moving walkways so that I could achieve maximum speed. However, reality would strike pretty quickly when I hit the end of it. 
• Money belts are convenient. It makes me think there should be a new design and subsequent renaissance of the fanny pack.
•  I think some of the TSA security workers just need a hug.
• Almonds are dangerously delicious.
•  In Minneapolis, this little boy was super excited every time a plane took off. I wish life was still that simple.
• I think I saw a family that was moving to Ireland while I was checking in today. Either that or they just wear way too many clothes.
•  It would be nice if streamers and confetti shot out of the plane when you landed safely. To celebrate science. 
• I would like it if the stewards/stewardesses would stand in the tunnel to the plane while you ran through it and received dual high-fives like a sports team. (Pilot chest bump at the end)
• Abu Dhabi. Say it. Real places shouldn't have such hilarious names. (Looked it up: It means father of gazelle. Fitting)

I apologize for the length and lack of focus in this post. It was my maiden voyage of blogging and I have yet learned to steer or have a destination in mind. Well I am going to go walk around a bit. I will blog again when I can (rhyme).

Paz,

    Sean

P.S. This may or may not be the dawning of the age of Aquarius.