I know that I should be better at speaking Italian than I am now, but the language barrier in Italy is still a daily challenge. Landing in an English-speaking country and going out for our first meal was like a brand-new world for us-- we were absolutely in awe that we could actually READ the menu, and our waiter actually understood what we were saying, and we could talk easily with other people and read street signs without confusion! We probably would have thought our meals were delicious even if we'd eaten them months ago, but digging into a NON-Italian meal was such a novelty- we couldn't stop gushing about all this amazing non-pasta food. Afterwards, we went to an Irish pub (go ahead and add it to my list of favorite things on this planet), drank Guinness and cider, and listened to amazing, hilarious, rowdy Irish musicians play all night. The pictures below are of my friend Kaisa and I enjoying our first Guinness beers, and another of the group with a charming gentleman named Mike Kelly (how perfectly Irish!), who bought us drinks and reassured us that we were making the right decision in regards to our upcoming midterm exams. That night, we slept at our hostel, Paddy's Palace, where we'd been delivered earlier by the bright green bus... the Paddywagon!
The next morning, we didn't let cold, rainy weather stop us from having an amazing day in Dublin! We toured the beautiful Dublin castle, where Ireland still hosts most of its government business, took a tour of the Guinness Storehouse, the museum and factory where the famous (and delicious) Guinness beer is made, and then toured an old prison called Kilmainham Gaol, where tons of Irish rebels were imprisoned and executed for their nationalist political stances during the Irish War of Independence. All the tours were excellent, the chilling stories at the prison were perfect for our hope for spooky stories for a pre-Halloween scare, and after the Guinnes tour, we got a free pint of "the black stuff" in a pub on the top story of the factory that had a 360-degree view of the city!
As if this day wasn't exciting enough, we ended it by going on a "Literary Pub Crawl", which is exactly what it sounds like. Two Irish male actors led an all-ages group around Dublin between four pubs, stopping at historic points to act out parts of famous works of Irish literature! For a Guinness-loving English major of Irish descent, I couldn't have picked a more perfect way to spend a night in Dublin. I always wish my parents be here with me in Europe, but this day was almost too much to bear- they would have loved every minute! After the pub crawl, we continued to (several) other pubs around the crazy 'Temple Bar' neighborhood. We met so many fun people and listened to the greatest music in the world, I wish I could keep reliving this night over and over!
After our big night, we relaxed the next day by taking a one-hour train ride out to a small fishing village called Howth, so we got to see some real Irish greenery and ocean! We ate amazing seafood, saw wild seals by the port, walked through beautiful green grass and early autumn leaves, and lounged around on rocks happily looking at nothing but the open sea. I could be happy on the Emerald Isle forever!
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