Dublin, Ireland

I was too tired to care. That would be how I would answer your question if you asked me what my first impressions of Dublin were. Nicole and I had boarded our first train at 7 am that morning -- 3 trains later, a long ferry ride, and a long wait for the public bus we had finally arrived in Dublin at about 11pm that night. This was also the day that my MP3's player decided to go on the brink, excellent timing.

Dublin... um.. yeah... well just think of every Irish pub that you'd been in your entire life and then put them all in one square and call it Temple Bar. The lonely planet guide quotes Dublin as boasting of some 850 pubs... that's just nuts! The pubs, just like they are were you are at this moment are not filled with people -- but rarely any Irish. Granted, we were in the tourist area. The unique thing about the Dublin Pub experience was that there was plenty of Live Irish Music going on.





The first night was a quiet one as you could well imagine. All I wanted when I got to Ireland was some Bailey's... one would think that it would be cheaper here considering, but I was still dishing out a whopping 5 Euro's for a shot, therefore, making it even more expensive than ordering it at a pub at home. Rubbish.

The second night had proved more promising... Nicole and I had agreed to meet up in a pub the next evening. I found myself there first and by the time Nicole had arrived I'd found myself caught up with a group of guys celebrating their birthday wearing pink shirts and having to drink 57 pints each in the span of 3 days. They had stacks of coasters in their pockets to mark the pubs that they'd hit and had used black markers to write on their arms to keep track of each pint consumed. These drunkards had attracted a crowd and provided a great form of entertainment and before we knew it Nicole and I were just standing back and taking in the show and having a great laugh.

We'll never know what became of these very intoxicated birthday boys... as I'd realized that I was old and tired and still sickly... I had to bow down by mid night before I turned into a pumpkin and found comfort in my dorm on my top bunk. Since when did I become all responsible like that??? I left going on about having to get up early to take the train... oh my god, what has become of me???

Speaking of the early morning train... you'lll never guess who I ran into on my way there in the morning. Our old friend Fido Dido! I'd always wondered where he went, as it turns out it seems as though he picked up and made a new home in Ireland... living here inconspicuously amoung the billboards. I just had to snap a photo for old times sake.



Dublin was a small city. A river ran through it and there were plenty of walking bridges. We checked out some museums and a castle or two. My quest while I was in Dublin was to find a new journal -- and if you know me, I'm quite particular about what I'll write in. So my day was spent looking for a journal to keep me sane and with great luck and way too much money later -- I found exactly what I was looking for. That was basically it for me in Dublin. My travels are catching up with me and my body is beginning to revolt. I'm tired, feeling sick most of the time, and am losing motivation... blah.



So, yeah... Dublin. It was alright.