Sunday was Easter Sunday. I went for a run in the park and jumped on Facebook. Beverley had sent me a message wondering if I wanted to hang out. The family was out for Easter, and she was looking for some company. Of course I was game!
She came into town, and we decided to find a restaurant that was open. We went in the direction of the pub, hoping to eat burgers on Easter Sunday. The last time we went on a Sunday, the pub wasn’t open. But it wouldn’t hurt for us to check it out.
It was open! And full. I guess a lot of people eat burgers on Easter?
After dinner, we decided to eat chocolate and watch our favorite movie: The Princess Frog. We walked to the café we frequent after Italian lessons, and it was open too! It was turning into a very good night. During our tea outings, we had noticed that the café had a very large tub in it’s middle full of assorted chocolates. Bev and I went to the tub and picked through the chocolates, unsure of what each was and mainly picking out which ones looked pretty or not.
After getting enough chocolate to quench our craving, we headed back to my apartment. Cozying up with Prince Naveen and Tiana, we munched away at our chocolate. We had the lights off, so we could only guess to what each chocolate was. We did a pretty good job, considering that I enjoyed every piece I ate! When we finished the movie, Beverley asked if I wanted to come back to Colledara with her. She had driven the car, so I said, “Sure! I want to experience your driving!” They celebrate Easter Monday over here, so we didn’t have Italian lessons and I didn’t have class the next day.
I threw essentials in my backpack, and we headed out to the car. The next day, Danila comes down to Beverley’s room saying that the family was leaving in 30 minutes to go to her mother’s house. “Oh, hello!” she said to me.
“Hi!” I said, kind of embarrassed. I wasn’t sure if it was okay that I had spent the night. But she was very nice, and told Bev to bring me to her mother’s house.
So, after wetting my curly hair to give it a little more shape, we climbed into the car with Lidio (Danila’s husband) and their son Jama. Once we got to the grandmother’s house, I was introduced to everyone. I met the grandmother, grandfather, Danila’s sister and her husband, their daughter, and Danila’s brother. In total, there were 11 of us around the dining room table. We had a delicious lunch, and afterwards the family was asking me all about America and Arkansas. We Google Earth-ed Rogers and Conway and I showed them my house and my University.
Google Earth is legit.
Beverley and I wanted to go to the mall, but Lidio thought it might be closed because of the holiday. I can’t get used to this Easter Monday holiday thing.
Lidio was headed into town anyways, so he said he could drop Beverley and me off at my apartment. She and I decided to look into finding a bus out to the mall. We forgot that since it was a holiday, the ticket offices would be closed. Oh well. Come to find out, my Internet had run out of time since it was a new month. So we went to the store, got it reloaded, and just sat and talked until Lidio came to pick Beverley up. I was leaving for Dublin the next day and wouldn’t see her until the next Sunday, so we said our goodbyes and I started packing.
I had to catch a 5:00AM bus to Rome, so I went to bed relatively early. Again, I didn’t sleep very well because I freaked myself out about sleeping through my alarm. The next morning, I grabbed my bag, once again donned my big red coat, and walked to the Piazza Garibaldi to catch a bus. I slept on the way to Rome, and made it to Ciampino airport in one piece.
The flight was only 2 ½ hours long, so I read some of my Women’s History textbook on the flight. I love looking out plane windows when flying. I watched as the tiny isle of Ireland came into view, beneath heavy cloud cover. Go figure, overcast in Ireland. I had planned for wet and cold, thank goodness.
Once we had landed and I picked up my bag from the baggage claim, I bought a baguette for lunch because I was starving. I walked around the airport for about 20 minutes trying to find someone to ask about buses. I finally just went to the U.S. Airways info booth and asked them about finding a bus. When in doubt, I always go to the airline from my country.
They told me to take bus 747, and it would take me straight to the city center. My hotel, apparently, was smack-dab in the city center, so that was going to work out perfectly. I find the bus ask if it was going to O’Connell Street. The driver said he was, but I could save about 4 Euro by taking the bus right in front of him. Yes, it would take longer, but I wasn’t in any kind of rush. I thanked him and paid for a ticket on the other bus.
What was the best part about my first 30 minutes in Ireland? I could UNDERSTAND what people were saying! It was so nice to be in an English-speaking country again!
I sat in the back of the bus watching the grey skies, thinking about how I already loved Ireland simply because of the English-speaking fact. I was wondering how I would know when we got to the city center, and how close my hotel actually was.
We kept driving, and kept driving. I had no idea what I was looking for. We stopped for quite a few minutes on this big long street, and I just stayed in the bus waiting for a big central square or something. When the bus started again and continued down the street, I saw Cassidy’s Hotel pass literally 10 feet beyond where we started going.
I should have gotten off at that stop!
Luckily the bus stopped a little farther down the street, so I grabbed my bag and started making my way back up the street. They weren’t kidding when they said this hotel was in the center. It’s surrounded by everything!
As I walked, this scruffy-looking guy came up to me and asked how I was doing. “Fine…” I told him. Are you kidding me? Literally 5 seconds after I have put my foot down on O’Connell street, I’ve already attracted a creeper. Story of my life.
He started telling me a sob story about how his brother had gotten in a car wreck the night before and was in the hospital, but he needed money to stay. Thus, this guy was trying to raise money for him. I told him I was very sorry, but I couldn’t give him money. I do feel bad for those people. They could honestly be telling the truth. But I couldn’t be sure, so I wasn’t going to give him anything.
I checked into my hotel, and my room was wonderful. Big, comfy bed with fluffy pillows. Flat screen TV. A kettle and coffee and tea provided with white and brown sugar. I opened up my bag to start unpacking and saw the one thing that could ruin my afternoon.
My conditioner had exploded ALL over my clothes. Wonderful.
I washed some socks and my shirt in the sink, letting it air out. It was already late afternoon, so I decided to do a little exploring of the city. I would do a more extensive tour of the city tomorrow. Dublin was beautiful. And I could actually eavesdrop on conversations here.
Did I mention how much LOVE that they spoke English?
I went to be early that night, EXHAUSTED from being up since 4AM that day, and wanting to go running the next morning.
I worked out in the gym the next morning, took a shower, and headed out to find the tourist information office. Well, whadaya know?! It’s right next to my hotel! I went inside and asked the ladies about the two different bus companies that ran tours around the cities. They said they were essentially the same, but one had a live guide and the other was headphone based. I got the ticket for the red one, only because it was a red double-decker like those buses in London.
There was a bus sitting right outside fixing to start its tour. I hopped on and climbed to the top to get a good view. The tour guide was hilarious, and, even though it was a hop-on/hop-off style, I stayed on just to listen to him. I figured I could always ride again if I wanted to see something. We drove through downtown Dublin, headed through the Guiness Empire, made our way to the biggest park in Ireland, I got to wave to the U.S. Ambassador’s house, and then we passed by the biggest military barracks in the world. An hour and a half later, we stopped right outside the tourist office where we started.
I decided to get off and get some lunch. I said thank you to the tour guide as I was fixing to get off the bus and told him it was absolutely wonderful. He said, “Why you are very welcome. And I must say, you are the most beautiful woman I have ever seen. I hope you are going into modeling or something!”
I thanked him, smiled, and said, “Actually, public relations.” He said, “Well, you should be.”
I think that was one of the nicest compliments I have ever received. But the prettiest woman he has EVER seen? He has to be lying…
I headed out to get some lunch. I had looked at the restaurant listings when I was in my hotel, and I found a Mexican restaurant! Yes, there was only one. But I was bound and determined to find it. So I walked that direction, imagining the taste of enchiladas and salsa and trying not to drool.
I finally made it there and ordered my enchiladas. When then food came out, it was pretty good. Granted, it wasn’t even close to competing with the wonderful Mexican food I am use to back home, but it was Mexican nonetheless. I enjoyed every moment of it.
After paying, I explored the other side of Dublin for a little bit. I went into a tourist shop looking for a cheap T-Shirt. I had a hard time picking between a dark green shirt with “Ireland” across the front and one that said Irish Pub Crawl. It was a really cute design, but I couldn’t really see myself wearing a Pub Crawl T-Shirt. So I picked the other one. I walked out of the store, turned the corner and stopped dead in my tracks. I couldn’t believe my eyes.
Right in front of me was a Starbucks.
The only reason I didn’t break into a full sprint to get to Starbucks was for fear of knocking someone over. So I picked up the pace and powerwalked to the home of my treasured Frappacino.
I got inside, and ordered my usual: Caramel Frappacino, cream no coffee, extra caramel in the cup. That first sip was absolute heaven. I don’t know how long it had been since I had Starbucks, but I could feel myself floating.
I carried my new T-Shirt and tiny piece of heaven as I walked around the town. I headed back to my hotel room, deposited my new purchases and relaxed to watch a couple TV shows on my computer. I went back to the tourist information booth to ask about getting a ticket to the Irish House Party. It was a traditional Irish dinner complete with folk song and fairytales. Unfortunately, they were full for the next two nights. And those were the only 2 nights I had left.
It actually worked out for the best though. The Irish House Party was pretty far from the center, meaning I would have to pay for a cab to bring me back in. They recommend a restaurant with a free Irish step show that would be just as authentic.
I walked down to the hotel that housed the restaurant and got a reservation for that night. Then I did some exploring of Dublin’s shopping area. In America, I am used to big shopping malls being entities within themselves. In Dublin, it is not so. Their shopping malls are hidden underneath seemingly separate buildings.
I walked into one store expecting to walk to the back, turn around, and walk back out the front. Imagine my surprise when I discovered that there was an entire MALL hidden behind that store. I walked around, and found a cute zebra towel with a fuschia border for only 5 Euro. I was going to be going to the beach, and I couldn’t take my bath towel with me all the time. So I reasoned that this was a significant investment in my future. Plus, it was WAY too cute to ignore.
I also found one of my favorite shops ever: The Body Shop. I bought a new perfume that I had been aching to buy before I left for Europe, but never got around to it. It was a better deal to get the combo pack with lotion/perfume/bath gel. So I was set. And beyond excited to have my new favorite scent now along for my European vacation.
Later that night, I headed back out to the restaurant to eat dinner and watch the step show. When I showed up, however, they didn’t have my reservation. No problem. The nice manager got me a table, right at the front of the stage. I couldn’t ask for a better seat.
I had traditional Irish vegetables, salmon-something, and goat’s cheese as a starter. Everything tasted great, except the goat’s cheese. Far too strong for my taste. For my main course I got a stew with this bread covering it. I don’t remember the exact name, but it was DELICIOUS. To wrap it all up, I had chocolate cheesecake for dessert. The entire time I was eating, a band was playing traditional Irish jigs and reels. Following them came the steppers. They were very talented.
The tall red head really got into it. And the other guy was super cute. The girls were normal. You can tell I was more interested in the boys. But there were only 2 of them. Of course they stuck out!
The band came back out after the dancers finished, but it was late, and I was full and sleepy. I walked back to my hotel, watched a couple more TV shows, and rolled over onto the incredibly soft pillows. Despite my conditioner covering my clothing with a great-smelling, oily yellow paste and my failure to find a leprechaun for my 48 hours in Ireland, I had had a very good time so far. Dublin Days 1 & 2: Success!
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