Dublin is, in one word, surprising. It's nothing like I imagined. And since I don't remember anything at all from my first trip there almost five years ago, it was like a brand new experience. It was busy and crowded but lined with wonderful Georgian buildings and monuments and gardens. We knew absolutely nothing when we first got there and we eventually had to get a map from a souvenir shop but the buildings took your breath away. Plus, the weather could not have been better for early January. It was cold but there wasn't a single cloud in the sky. (Above is a picture of the Customs House--one of the first buildings we passed).
Our first stop was Trinity College and when we set foot inside the square I think it really hit me that I was in Europe. Cobblestone streets, giant Georgian buildings, columns, a
nd statues everywhere! I couldn't imagine people actually attending school there, yet, there were college kids walking around as if everything was normal. Sometimes I didn't feel like I was in Ireland at all but instead somewhere on the continent. I mean, look at that picture (<---)! That's Romanesque! How the hell did it end up in Ireland?! The next few pictures are of Trinity College. Feel free to stare in awe of its awesomeness. 
f
Now, The Book of Kells was definitely on the list of things to see...but upon finding out that it cost 9 euro to just get inside the building...we changed our minds. We opted for just getting a photo of the sign instead.
Also, the campus was so green it almost looked yellow.
Without any help from a map, we stumbled on Grafton Street after we left Trinity College. Basically Grafton Street is street only for pedestrians and is a part of the major shopping district in Dublin. Being part of the major shopping district, Grafton Street attracts tons of street performers, independent sale stalls, and probably most importantly, tons of people. Most of my pictures from this part of my adventure were taken looking at the sun--so I apologize for the lack of scenery. All the same, they're pretty sweet photographs.
Yes--This man is a street performer. He was the best one I've seen so far. But I also think he might have been wearing a Richard Nixon mask.
Across the street from Grafton Street, is Saint Stephen's Green which is this gorgeous park in downtown Dublin. One thing I've noticed about Ireland so far is that there is not shortage of parks. It seems almost every village/town/city has one. 
At the entrance of the park is a beautiful pond with ducks and swans. (Don't feed them though, the birds get close and it starts to become a little spooky).
Across the bridge was a giant green where kids could play ball and families could have picnics. It was pretty quiet the day we went but that probably has something to do with the freezing temperatures.
After Saint Stephen's Green we wandered around trying to find Dublin Castle and since I was the navigator I'll be the first to say that we failed miserably. But we did manage to stumble across Saint Patrick's Cathedral. At first, we had no idea what it was but upon closer inspection of the map we eventually figured it out. Still--the cathedral is massive, even from a distance it's sheer size is intimidating. When you get closer the intracacy of the whole building is too great for me to even try describing.
And then, from the distance, we could make out another tall steeple and we thought "why not go and check it out." It's a good thing we did because as we got closer we saw that it wasn't just one steeple but two. Two gigantic buildings connected by a bridge. We had wandered all the way to the Medieval/Viking part of town.
We never did find our way to Dublin Castle. With a lot of walking and good company I got to see some of the coolest parts of Ireland's capitol. And even though the past few days have been rough, it's trips like the one I took Saturday that make it worthwhile.
I suppose I should talk a little bit about myself (and not all my trips) for my family's sake. I've been doing pretty well. The jet lag didn't last nearly as long as I thought it would which was a good sign but living in a single apartment in another country can be really isolating. I woke up the first few days sort of down because I've been so used to being around people 24/7. And since my roommates are hermits and never show their faces, it's been sort of lonely living in the apartment. I'm really lucky though that I have a ton of friends to come over and keep me company.
Time differences make it really hard to communicate with family members and so that's sort of a pain but I've been trying to make an effort to call every day. What makes it even more difficult is the internet and phone systems over here. Phones are incredibly hard to figure out just because all the girls over here have a pay as you go plan and "topping up" (or getting more minutes) is a total hassel. Plus, you have to deal with rude cashiers from Spain. The internet is slow (at best) and if you wait too long to do something it'll sign you out and then you have to restart it all over again. But that's the least of my worries.
Classes over here are really different from classes back in Indiana. Lectures are full of well over 100 people and because the professor never knows you, a lot of people don't even bother going. Homework isn't very common but it's not uncommon to get assigned 2 essays a semester and an exam for one class. Weekends in South Bend are spent going to parties and hanging out with friends while over here, students head home almost every weekend and the weekdays are spent at the pubs and nightclubs.
Also, just a quick observation: I have never seen so many gingers in my entire life! I am overwhelmed by their numbers. I have seen at least five gingers in all of my classes. It's madness! It definitely gives me a greater appreciation of redheads back in the states.
It's hard getting into the swing of things over here. What you expect would move fast, moves slow; and what you would expect to move slow, moves fast. It's a completely different lifestyle than what I'm used to back home. While it's all very new and exciting it sort of throws me off sometimes. Still, I'm willing to learn and experience new things and so I can't wait until I finally do get in the swing of things because at least then I won't feel so overwhelmed.
Next on the agenda: LONDON!
nd statues everywhere! I couldn't imagine people actually attending school there, yet, there were college kids walking around as if everything was normal. Sometimes I didn't feel like I was in Ireland at all but instead somewhere on the continent. I mean, look at that picture (<---)! That's Romanesque! How the hell did it end up in Ireland?! The next few pictures are of Trinity College. Feel free to stare in awe of its awesomeness. 
f
Now, The Book of Kells was definitely on the list of things to see...but upon finding out that it cost 9 euro to just get inside the building...we changed our minds. We opted for just getting a photo of the sign instead.
Also, the campus was so green it almost looked yellow.
Without any help from a map, we stumbled on Grafton Street after we left Trinity College. Basically Grafton Street is street only for pedestrians and is a part of the major shopping district in Dublin. Being part of the major shopping district, Grafton Street attracts tons of street performers, independent sale stalls, and probably most importantly, tons of people. Most of my pictures from this part of my adventure were taken looking at the sun--so I apologize for the lack of scenery. All the same, they're pretty sweet photographs.
Yes--This man is a street performer. He was the best one I've seen so far. But I also think he might have been wearing a Richard Nixon mask.
Across the street from Grafton Street, is Saint Stephen's Green which is this gorgeous park in downtown Dublin. One thing I've noticed about Ireland so far is that there is not shortage of parks. It seems almost every village/town/city has one. 
At the entrance of the park is a beautiful pond with ducks and swans. (Don't feed them though, the birds get close and it starts to become a little spooky).
Across the bridge was a giant green where kids could play ball and families could have picnics. It was pretty quiet the day we went but that probably has something to do with the freezing temperatures.
After Saint Stephen's Green we wandered around trying to find Dublin Castle and since I was the navigator I'll be the first to say that we failed miserably. But we did manage to stumble across Saint Patrick's Cathedral. At first, we had no idea what it was but upon closer inspection of the map we eventually figured it out. Still--the cathedral is massive, even from a distance it's sheer size is intimidating. When you get closer the intracacy of the whole building is too great for me to even try describing.
And then, from the distance, we could make out another tall steeple and we thought "why not go and check it out." It's a good thing we did because as we got closer we saw that it wasn't just one steeple but two. Two gigantic buildings connected by a bridge. We had wandered all the way to the Medieval/Viking part of town.
We never did find our way to Dublin Castle. With a lot of walking and good company I got to see some of the coolest parts of Ireland's capitol. And even though the past few days have been rough, it's trips like the one I took Saturday that make it worthwhile.
I suppose I should talk a little bit about myself (and not all my trips) for my family's sake. I've been doing pretty well. The jet lag didn't last nearly as long as I thought it would which was a good sign but living in a single apartment in another country can be really isolating. I woke up the first few days sort of down because I've been so used to being around people 24/7. And since my roommates are hermits and never show their faces, it's been sort of lonely living in the apartment. I'm really lucky though that I have a ton of friends to come over and keep me company.
Time differences make it really hard to communicate with family members and so that's sort of a pain but I've been trying to make an effort to call every day. What makes it even more difficult is the internet and phone systems over here. Phones are incredibly hard to figure out just because all the girls over here have a pay as you go plan and "topping up" (or getting more minutes) is a total hassel. Plus, you have to deal with rude cashiers from Spain. The internet is slow (at best) and if you wait too long to do something it'll sign you out and then you have to restart it all over again. But that's the least of my worries.
Classes over here are really different from classes back in Indiana. Lectures are full of well over 100 people and because the professor never knows you, a lot of people don't even bother going. Homework isn't very common but it's not uncommon to get assigned 2 essays a semester and an exam for one class. Weekends in South Bend are spent going to parties and hanging out with friends while over here, students head home almost every weekend and the weekdays are spent at the pubs and nightclubs.
Also, just a quick observation: I have never seen so many gingers in my entire life! I am overwhelmed by their numbers. I have seen at least five gingers in all of my classes. It's madness! It definitely gives me a greater appreciation of redheads back in the states.
It's hard getting into the swing of things over here. What you expect would move fast, moves slow; and what you would expect to move slow, moves fast. It's a completely different lifestyle than what I'm used to back home. While it's all very new and exciting it sort of throws me off sometimes. Still, I'm willing to learn and experience new things and so I can't wait until I finally do get in the swing of things because at least then I won't feel so overwhelmed.
Next on the agenda: LONDON!
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