dublin! [day one]

so, we got off the plane, hopped on a bus, dropped off our bags at the hotel, and headed out to the city! phew. it's been a crazy day. we went to trinity college and looked at the book of kells and the long room. the book of kells is a very old copy of the bible written and illustrated by monks way back when. it is sort of incredible; something out of the intro to a disney movie or some other sort of fairy tail. and the long room is, well, a long room. a long, magical room. it's filled with books and books and books. ancient, amazing books. it literally took my breath away, walking into that room. we weren't allowed to take pictures, which broke my heart a little bit, but i got some post cards. after that we went to get some euros and some lunch and headed back to the hotel.

walking through the city

dublin city halltrinity college

the harding hotel: home sweet home for the next two days

and the church across the street

anecdote: when we went off for money and food, we broke up into little groups. hallie, brittany, and i grabbed some pizza and hot dogs (also known as "sausage in a pastry") and ate in a little courtyard next to city hall. when we got back to the hotel to check in, hallie went to get her room assignment and the lady at the desk said, "here is your key, we'll save the other two for the other girls...you'll be rooming with alli and brittany." wait, what? we were the other girls! it was so, so random. you know that scene in parent trap, when those two girls help hallie get her bag out of the duffle pile, and the three of them are hanging out, and then the camp lady yells "hallie--arapaho!" and the two other girls go "that's what i am!" and they all room together happily ever after? it was the biggest coincidence ever, and it was exactly like that!

room mates & our room

so we got to our room, and i took a much needed shower. it was luke warm, but glorious nonetheless. then four of us--me, katie, hallie, and miguel--went out to see some more of the city. we be-bopped around and found some cool land marks and a castle. the buildings here are so neat. new buildings mixed with old ones in the mish-mash of bricks and architecture. there is a river dividing the city, and each bridge is different and unique. it's great. i love walking around somewhere knowing how much history there is behind it, knowing that thousands of year ago someone else was walking along these cobblestone roads too.

walking across the river liffey

the spire of dublin

cool buildings & cute pubsa lovely little park with a lovely little castle wall

after an hour or two of walking, we were all ready to rest our feet. i rested more than my feet. i took a nap, and it was wonderful. now we're getting ready to go out to dinner. until then, isle be seeing you...