Cead mile falte! ~ A Dublin Weekend

So, what does one do with a nice long weekend, a fellow free roommate, and a body full of Irish blood?

Why, one goes to Dublin, of course.

My roommate and I spent this past weekend in Dublin, Ireland!  It was our first weekend trip outside of London, and we had such an amazing time.

We flew into Dublin Airport bright and early on Friday morning, and after making our way to the hostel, enjoyed a full day of sightseeing!  Some of our spots included St. Stephen's Green (a beautiful public park with memorial statues and fountains), the National Gallery, and Temple Bar (the nightlife area of Dublin, with a bunch of cool pubs and restaurants).

Look what I found in Dublin!  Haha :)

Entrance to St. Stephen's Green

This statue was given to Ireland in gratitude for the help they gave to German children following World War II

The National Gallery

The actual Temple Bar that gives the area its namesake

Now after a day full of damp sightseeing and walking, what's a better break than... tea and scones!  We stopped at a little cafe for an authentic afternoon pick-me-up.

My scone, complete with butter and jam, dusted with powdered sugar

Tea will never let you down.

That night my roommate and I also decided to be super cultural and take in an Irish film!  We made our way over to the Irish Film Institute, right in the Temple Bar area, for an evening showing of Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy, starring Gary Oldman and Colin Firth.  I have to say, it was a little confusing to follow (multiple sub-plots and vignettes plus absolute exhaustion from travel-induced lack of sleep is not an ideal combination).  Even though we couldn't always follow along with it, we both agreed that we were glad to have done it!  My roommate is a film major, and I'm communications, so it was interesting for both of us to experience how the Irish cinema differs from that in the U.S., from the content and driving themes right down to the previews and end credits (no one gets up to leave until the credits are done rolling!  We Americans aren't that patient-- roomie and I were "those people" who just booked it out of there).

After the movie we had an authentic Irish pub-style dinner in the Temple Bar area.  After a bit of restaurant shopping and menu scouring, we finally decided on The Oliver St. John Gogarty, and were so happy we did!  Since roomie is a vegetarian, she opted for the vegetarian lasagna with a side of chips, while I had the beef lasagna with a side of chips.  I know, I know, you may be thinking "is lasagna really pub food?" but we knew we were going to have burgers for dinner the next night, and my lasagna had Irish beef.  So it counts.  And we were NOT disppointed-- it was one of the best meals I've eaten during my whole time abroad!  The food was all nice and hot when we were served, the lasagna was generous with meat and cheese, and the chips were probably the best I've ever eaten in any pub.  And on top of it all, fresh brown bread and butter on the side?  Amaaazing!

Oh yeah, and the gelato dessert that followed our pub success wasn't too shabby either.  Can you say Nutella and chocolate chip? :-D

Cuppy and I were quite happy with our gelato.

Day 2 in Dublin started with a free walking tour of the city!  Because our hostel has a partnership with a local tour group, we were able to see a bunch of major sites in the city, with a travel guide, at no cost!  We were two happy student travelers.

The only downside for the day was the non-stop rain.  Our tour guide actually commented that it was the worst tour she had ever given weather-wise, and that we were experiencing very untypical Dublin weather (usually it will rain for twenty minutes or so and then stop.  That day, it was coming down hard, endlessly).  Nevertheless, roomie and I were glad we took the tour-- it was nice to have someone knowledgeable of the area there to give us the historical information, and it was the perfect opportunity to see and learn about the city for free.

Our stops on this tour included the Project Arts Centre (a cultural arts area, much of which is owned by U2.  They actually come to the area every year and give a street concert!), Dublin City Hall (a great stop, since it meant getting inside and out of the rain for a good twenty minutes!), Dublin Palace, and Trinity College.  After the tour ended, my roommate and I stuck around Trinity College to see the Book of Kells (an illuminated [illustrated] manuscript of the four New Testament Gospels)-- it was absolutely beautiful!  The amount of painstaking, detailed attention that must have gone into its creation definitely shows.  No two illustrations are exactly the same, and all the calligraphy and pictures were done by hand.  It is as much a work of art as it is a religious text.

Trinity College

Academic building at Trinity College... Umm, can I transfer here, please??  Haha :-P

We couldn't take pictures inside, but seeing The Book of Kells was so beautiful!  Such a great experience!

One sight that was on my Dublin must-see list was St. Patrick's Cathedral.  My adorable, straight off the boat, brogue-sporting grandfather was named Patrick, and both he and my grandmother came to America from Ireland to start our family's life here.  My heritage is almost completely Irish, so St. Patrick holds a very special place in my heart.  The cathedral was an amazing stop, and we were allowed to take pictures inside!

Beautiful stained glass windows inside St. Patrick's

Preserved tombs inside the cathedral

A portion of one of my favorite quotes from St. Patrick!

St. Patrick himself :)

The outside of the amazing cathedral

After stopping at our hostel for a little while to dry off, roomie and I set out for dinner.  We decided on Gourmet Burger Kitchen, a great little find with both meat and vegetarian selections.  We were both very satisfied with our main dishes, and the chips were great!  Seriously, I don't think I met a chip I didn't like during that whole weekend.  Added bonus-- the Selena Gomez CD that was playing on repeat for the entire duration of our visit.  *So* Irish, I can't get over it.  Well, it was certainly a mulitcultural experience.

Our lovely Dublin weekend closed with dessert at a little creperie right down the block from GBK.  Roomie and I fell in love with Fafies French Creperie!  The interior is so warm and inviting, the service is friendly and didn't rush us at all, and of course-- the crepes were spectacular!  I opted for a dessert crepe with Nutella, and roomie chose a Nutella and banana crepe.

My Nutella crepe, a la mode!

Mid nomming. :)

This was the second Nutella experience for us that day, as we had also enjoyed Nutella toast that morning as part of the free continental breakfast offered by our hostel (seriously, we loved that place.  It was safe, completely student-traveler friendly, and could set you up with a number of tours at discounted rates, like our walking tour.  If you're ever in the market, definitely check out Avalon Hostel in Dublin).  In the wise words of my roommate, "Any day that starts and ends with Nutella is a good day."  You see?!  I knew I liked her :)

The next morning we had to leave bright and early (well, not exactly "bright."  The sun wasn't up yet... so yeah, just early.  *Grumble*) to catch our flight back to London.  Our weekend in Dublin was so amazing, I know I will never forget it!  I can't wait to go back to Ireland and explore more of my family's beautiful homeland.  Sláinte, Dublin!

Our "Wise Old Irish Proverb" posted for the day as we left our hostel!