Two Weekends of Updates!

As always, another 2 weekends have flown by here, and I don't know where the time has gone.

Last weekend was one of my favorite weekends in Dublin. On Saturday morning, our apartment woke up and decided to go exploring some areas and attractions of Dublin we had yet to see. We heard of a market called Cow Lane Market, and so we set off to find it. Once we got there, we saw that it was a great little clothing/jewelry/accessories market, and we each ended up getting really cute dresses. Afterwards, we left and decided to walk through Temple Bar en route to our next destination... which ended up being our best idea all day. In Temple Bar there is an amazing fresh foods market on Saturday afternoons, and we were just in time! There were vendors and carts selling everything from fancy olive oil and cheeses, to crepes and fajitas. Of course, even though we'd already eaten lunch, we all had to get a little something. Meaghan and I had awesome crepes, and Allie got a really good spicy vegetarian ... something, I'm not sure what, but it was good. We also sampled a lot, like some really good homemade chutney sauces and apples. Needless to say, we will definitely be heading there on a Saturday in the near future.

On Sunday we woke up early to visit Powerscourt. Powerscourt is a large estate outside of Bray (which is outside of Dublin), and our friend Kaiti told us it had a great waterfall and beautiful gardens. We caught a DART to Bray, and then a bus to Powerscourt, where we walked up a huuuge hill to get to the estates. The views there were unbelieveable. There's a really pretty gold course right on the property, and all you can see are mountains to the other side. Once we were in the manor/mansion, we got our first glimpses of the gardens, which are like nothing I've ever seen before. The gardens are just full of the greenest grass, and the landscaping is really cool. We forked over the 7 euro entrance fee, and plopped down on the garden stairs to eat our packed sandwiches and "crisps". Afterwards we explored the gardens for awhile, and pictures really can't do justice to the views there. By the time it just about started to rain, we were ready to begin the walk back to the bus stop. Unfortunately we found out the bus wasn't coming for about an hour, so a few of us had a pint in the pub next door while we waited for the bus. After a 30 minute bus ride, 40 minute DART, and 30 minute walk, we were all home and exhausted.

Our last week of classes was full of activities. On top of regular classes, it was Fresher's Week, which is kiiiindof like Orientation Week at Elon with an organization fair, and performers, and food... except not as organized and classes had already started. On tuesday after class, Meaghan and Allie and I went to the comedian's show, which was a lot of fun. It was especially funny when Meaghan got pegged as being an American by one of the comics, and they made fun of a lot of the other audience members too. They were all hilarious, and it was a great way to spend a rainy afternoon (one of the few truly gloomy days we've had here!). 

On Wednesday there was a Freshers BBQ dinner a few blocks from DBS, and for only 2 euro (for the dinner) we all decided it was worthwhile. Little did we know that the BBQ was at a huge (and swanky!) outdoor beer garden/pub... and that it was being held on 2 euro drink night. For the record, 2 euro drinks in Dublin are UNHEARD OF. Typically pints are at least 4-5 euro, and mixed drinks are even more expensive. So we got to the dinner around 5pm, and ended up staying until 2am, eating burgers and fries, sampling different pints, and just having a good time with all the people there, and then afterwards some of us went to Mezza for a late night chip buttie. It was definitely one of my favorite nights in Dublin.

On Saturday we woke up bright and early (not kidding, 6am... woof) to catch a bus to Cork for an overnight trip there. The Cork weekend shall be known as the weekend where everything cost more than we expected it to, but I guess for some things it was a learning experience. Unfortunately the ticket windows weren't open at the ungodly hour we arrived at the station, so we ended up not being able to use our discount coupons. But we hopped on the bus, and were at Cork around noon. Cork is a really pretty city, that actually looks a lot like Dublin. There is a river that runs through the center of the city, and two of the main roads line the river. On one side of Cork there is a large hill, that half of the city is built onto, which is definitely different than Dublin, which is entirely flat. Climbing the hill to get to different sights, though, gave us great views of the city and the surrounding area. We laid in a small park in the city center for a little while, and then did a walking tour to see a few churches and a butter museum. Yes, we went to a butter museum in Cork, and it was actually really interesting to see how much of an impact the butter-making industry has had on the local and national economies of Ireland. After watching a 30 minute video about butter and cheese-making, we were all starving, so we headed back to the hostel to freshen up, and then out to dinner.

I think I speak for everyone when I say I was happy to see that restaurant prices in Cork were definitely cheaper than restaurants in Dublin. Aside from when DBS has taken us out to dinner, we really haven't eaten dinner at any restaurants in Dublin. We chose a restaurant in Cork called "Amicus", recommended to us by a woman from the butter museum. It was really nice inside, and I had delicious seafood pasta with salmon, mussels, and some white fish I couldn't place. After we finished, we decided to head to a pub to watch the World Cup Qualifier between Italy and Ireland. We found a quaint little pub near our hostel, each had a pint, and enjoyed the game. It was so close! And Ireland ALMOST had it, until Italy tied up the game in the last few minutes. The atmosphere was great, and the night was a lot of fun. Hopefully I'll get to see more matches this week, even just at a pub, which will definitely be exciting to do in Dublin since Croake Park (where the matches are played) is right in the city. After the match we called it a night since we were all exhausted, and still had more touring to do on Sunday.

We headed to Blarney on Sunday, to kiss the famous Blarney Stone, and to do some shopping at the Blarney Woolen Mills. Although bus prices and admission to Blarney Castle were a lot, it was really cool to see the inside of the castle and read all the tidbits about famous people who have kissed the stone to receive its magical gift of eloquence. The top of the castle had a beautiful panorama of the surrounding towns and countryside, too. And also at the top of the castle was the stone. Although my Mom told me not to actually kiss it ("People pee on it when they're drunk, Car, just pretend!"), of course I had to actually do it. And so far, I'm still alive... though I'm not sure how the magic of eloquence is working for me :) After doing a little more touring around the grounds, Allie, Casey, and I broke off from Meaghan and Teri because we were starving and wanted to grab some lunch in town.

Let me just say that if you have never had a full irish breakfast, it is a MUST DO. At a cute little bistro in Blarney, we each ordered the full irish breakfast, and it was a 9 euro well spent. The meal is: coffee or tea, 2 pieces of toast, 2 sausages, 2 slices of "bacon" (more like ham because of the way it's cooked), an egg, black pudding (a little bigger than a silver dollar-sized nugget of I-don't-even-know-what... but it was good), white pudding (same thing... but maybe turkey sausage? delicious), baked beans of some sort, sauteed mushrooms, and homefries. And we ATE IT ALL. Disclaimer: probably don't attempt to eat the entire thing unless you either A) don't plan on eating for 10+ hours afterwards (like us), or B) have the stomach capacity of Kobayaski (the hot dog champ). Let me tell you, despite the fact that I was mad that morning our hostel didn't have breakfast, my spirits made a complete turnaround after that awesome breakfast. 

After breakfast we went to the Blarney Woolen Mills, a large indoor shopping center with every piece of irish memorabilia you could ever hope to collect. Yellow skull cap with viking horns on top of it? Yep. Tall leprechaun hat with a red attached beard? Got it. Sweaters and scarves of every knit and fabric you can dream of? It's there. And, I was really excited to finally find the perfect rugby shirt. I've been wanting a long-sleeved rugby polo ever since we got here, and I finally found the perfect one. I also got a beautiful little clover necklace-- also a major souvenir I've been wanting to take back to the states. With full stomachs and empty wallets we headed home from Blarney to Cork, and Cork to Dublin, arriving back to the apartments around 9pm.

It has certainly been a busy and adventurous few weeks, and nothing is slowing in the coming weeks. On thursday, Allie, Kaiti, Anna, and I are off to Brussels, Belgium for a weekend of waffles and beer (kidding parents, we will also be diligent tourists and hit up anything Fodor's tells us is cool). The weekend after, our whole "family" (Allie, Ally, Kelsey, Meaghan, Anna, and I) are going to Madrid, and the weekend after that I'm visiting Lianna and Kate in Firenze (Florence, Italy). 

With the halfway point of this semester rapidly approaching, I don't even want to think about all that I still have left to do and see here, but I'm definitely trying to do it all. Also, check out all the pictures I've posted in the entry below, of my last few weeks here! 

Cheers!