Dublin

After seven hours beside a gentleman who did not bring deodorant in his carry-on luggage, ten hours in a sewage-scented sweatbox of Heathrow overnighters (not that I would complain, having enjoyed a window seat view of London, including the Olympic Stadium, the houses of Parliament, the London Eye and Buckingham Palace backdropped by a deep red sunset), and two noticeably more pleasant hours in an uncrowded Aer Lingus flight, I arrived in Dublin.

Greeted by Arcadia University staff, I waited a further two hours in the airport before we were bussed off to Abbey Court Hostel. I would soon learn that wifi was not to be had in our rooms. It was most functional in the Hammock Room (great relaxation spot, complete with beanbags and ocean sounds played on an old stereo), adjacent to the Rainbow Room and the Shamrock Room, all common areas for the residents of Abbey Court.

The Hammock Room.

Following initial orientation and lunch at Jimmy Chung's Chinese Buffet, the day was free. I walked about the city with my roommates, all fellow Burren students. Our trail was aimless, and led us up and down various alleys and pedestrian streets. Plenty of graffiti and colorful storefronts to be had.

No Worries.

We had all been given a complimentary hop-on/hop-off bus tour card, good for 24 hours. It was still early, but we pushed through with the logic that an early bedtime would be better than sleeping away the afternoon. Sites included St. Patrick's Cathedral, Kilmainham Gaol, the Guinness brewery, the old Jameson Distillery, the dwelling house of Arthur Guinness, Dublin City Gallery, and the oldest pub in Ireland.

St. Patrick's Cathedral.

The Guinness Brewery.

The Dwelling House of Arthur Guinness.

Dublin City Gallery, home to Francis Bacon's studio.

The courtyard of Trinity College.

More orientation meetings would follow in the next few days. On Tuesday we spent the day playing hurling, handball and Gaelic football, following a haphazard introduction to ceili dancing to get us warmed up. Suitably exhausted, we retired to our hostel for a bit and then set out for dinner at O'Neill's on Suffolk Street. Half of the group went for dinner from the carvery, but I was happy with a triple-decker toasted sandwich, which was quite an abundant supper. I can say with confidence that the Guinness is genuinely better in Ireland. 

Thought this chap looked like Harry Potter.

The National University of Ireland Galway students headed out the following morning, and I was left with my fellow Burreners to spend the day in Dublin. We picked up cheap Nokia phones (loaded with Snake) and a few necessities. Around lunchtime we bore witness to a traffic incident involving a taxi and a young woman. A brawl broke out between her companion and the taxi driver, and the status of her health remains a mystery. Back to the hostel after lunch, some hours of people watching from the hostel window (and a lot of waving to bus passengers while I tried to snipe their onboard wifi) and then another early bedtime. We were all off to our homestay weekends the following morning.

Dublin's parting gift.

And so we departed Dublin for Limerick. I was placed with a family on my own, and the other Burren girls were paired off. The van ride was long and scenic, and soon we were out in the country.