Welcome to Dublin!

November 13th

Today I would be traveling to Dublin, Ireland for the weekend with four other friends from my program.  I got up at 9:00 and after a quick breakfast and final decision what to pack, I said goodbye to Heiko and started walking toward the bus station on the opposite side of the city.  I still hadn't bought my bus ticket and I was a little worried that I was saving it to the last minute (Alsa's, the Spanish bus company, website had been acting really weird).  I met my friend Athena on the corner of Plaza del Toros by the bull fighting stadium and we made it quickly to the bus station.

We had no problem buying our tickets. A t the station we met up with Erika, Yessie, Blake and another girl from our program, Corinne and her friend Kerry who coincidentally had booked the same flights.  

We were flying Ryanair, my favorite sketchy airline, and in order to fly to Dublin we had to take an hour and a half bus ride to the large southern city of Málaga.  Málaga was beautiful and sunny and we joked that why we would want to leave the perfect weather to go freeze in Dublin.  We walked around the large plaza before heading in the direction of the airport.  There was a train station in the same building and we caught a train that took us directly to the airport.  We were already having a good time and I knew it was going to be great trip as I was traveling with a fun group.

Arriving 2 hours before our flight, we checked into Ryanair and went through the security without any problems.  While waiting in line,  there was a man trying to smash his suitcase into the small Ryanair luggage box that determines whether you have to pay more (I only had my bookbag as Ryanair charges significantly more to check in baggage).  Our flight boarded at 3:30 and we all got seats next to each other on the back of the plane.  I had good intentions of doing some homework, but I realized it was futile, what with the limited space and the fun conversation going on around me.  Up in the air, the sun was an incredible red halo against the ink-black sky.

In regards to housing, Blake and I would be staying with my friend Joe from UCSD at his on-campus apartment.  The girls' couch surfing fell through and were prepared to get a hostel.  The Ryanair flight was good and the landing wasn't nearly as bouncing as the previous flights I had been on.  Greeted with a blast of cold air as we disembarked the plane, we were welcomed to Dublin.  I had come prepared and the weather and temperature wasn't as bad as I had expected. 

Traveling with only a carry on makes leaving the airport really easy.  I was excited to get a stamp in my passport as normally travel between EU countries doesn't even require customs to look at your passport.  As we decided what to do, I got a map from the tourist office and talked to Joe who old me to take the bus from the airport four about 40 minutes, all the way to University Center Dublin (UCD).  The girls decided to go to the same hostel that Corrine and Kerry were staying at and after looking at the map we chose a point on Temple Bar street and agreed to meet up at 9:30pm.

The bus from the airport outside of the city center to Joe's apartment was pleasant as we got to see a lot of the city.  When we arrived on campus, I called Joe and he came out to meet us.  We took a zig-zag route through campus back to his apartment.  The apartment was nice and a little reminiscent of UCSD.  He had two couches that he recommended would be better if we just took off the pillows and put them on the floor as mattresses.  He didn't have any blankets and Blake and I hadn't brought any.  Joe's first semester ends in a couple of weeks and he was in the middle of studying for finals so he wouldn't be able to come out with us tonight.  He showed us what bus to take into the city and what was the easiest way to get to Temple Bar.

UCD is about an hour walking from the city center or a 15 minute bus ride.  Dublin was beautifully lit up as we took the double-decker bus into the center of the city.  We were both starving and although we wanted to maximize our consumption of traditional "pub grub" we stopped at a pizza restaurant to split a large pizza.  We walked up toward the river and found the girls waiting at the corner drinking some Irish coffee.

Although a hub for tourists, Temple Bar is the main area in Dublin for pubs and nightlife.  We decided to try the "Temple Bar" bar on Temple Bar street.  Entering the pub with its dark wood walls and red and gold paint, it was cool to be in "the original" style bar that all other ones seemed to have been copied from.  Of course, we christened our trip to Dublin with a pint of Guinness from the tap.  There was a live band playing traditional Irish music and we got tables right in front.  A lot of people were dancing and clapping their hands.  We had a good time being part of the crowd.

From Temple Bar we wandered around until we ended up on George's Street where we went to a great pub called "The Globe."  Ireland has normal bars and "late" bars.  Late bars are almost like discotheques without the cover as they have dance floors and are open to around 3:00am.

We hung out until closing.  The girls walked back together to their hostel and Blake and I took a cab back to UCD.  In his thick Irish accent, the driver kept repeating our questions or answers with an "Oh really, so you're a student."

We tried getting back to Joe's apartment on our own and ended up getting really lost.  We ran into a group of 60 or so students for who were sleeping outside huddled together in sleeping bags for "homeless awareness week."  We started talking to them and they told us how to be truly Irish in regards to drinking a Guinness.  "In gulps without twirling the glass so you can see how many gulps it took you to drink it."  I felt bad to call Joe at 3:30 in the morning, but he got up and found us.  

I fell asleep quicker than I thought, considering I was freezing without any blankets. I wore my beanie, curled up in my jacket, and put my sweater on my feet.