Dublin, Ireland

After our final exam on Friday, we were done with International Operations and our 4th class of the year. Since we finished the class two days early, we were able to extend our 8 day break to 12. I had plans to go to Ireland, Portugal, and Spain. Our first stop was Dublin, Ireland for the weekend. After that I would come back to Riva for a few days then head off to Lisbon, Portugal and Granada and Barcelona, Spain.

The beginning of the trip started off with a trip to Orio al Sera Airport in Bergamo, Italy near the outside of Milan. To save money we took regional trains all the way and it took a couple hours to get there but it was definitely worth it in the end. One of the best parts of traveling through Europe is learning how to deal with public transportation in different countries. When I get home I imagine the 4 hour drive to Blacksburg will be nothing. When we got to the airport we were excited to have our first experience on Ryanair for the flight to Dublin. I had heard about Ryanair when I first decided to study abroad. The eurail trains are good enough to get you most places but sometimes a plane is necessary. Ryanair capitalizes on quick flights among countries in Europe by making their flights really cheap. We were able to get a flight to and from Dublin for 50 bucks. My only question was how they are able to operate flights at a profit when charging such low prices. My question was answered very quickly. They try and get you with all kinds of random charges on things that are very easy to overlook. For example, there is a 60 euro charge for not printing out your ticket ahead of time or getting your passport stamped before you go to security. Another thing I noticed was how many seats they fit on the plane compared to normal flights. It was your typical row with 3 seats on each side but it really seemed like there was much less leg room so they could fit a few more rows. Getting on the plane was the craziest spot. We were walking through to get our tickets scanned waiting to get seats signed when we noticed people would literally run to the plan after they were checked through. It was everyman for them self and first come first serve. What a weird experience to see people rushing to pick their seats on the plane. Other money making opportunities came throughout the flight as attendants were constantly walking up and down selling everything from the usual food and drinks to calendars, toiletries, and lottery tickets. Needless to say it was one of the most interesting flights I had ever been on, but it did the job and got us to Dublin on time.

St. Patrick's Cathedral

We arrived in Dublin at night and it was really cool to walk through the streets of the bustling city as everyones Friday night was getting started. After checking in to our hostel we went out to one of the local Irish Pubs down the street and everyone got their first Guinness in Ireland. I'm not normally a big fan but something about being in Dublin made and ice cold Guinness taste amazing. Dublin nightlife was unlike anything else I had ever experienced. There were people from all ages at all the different pubs we went to partying all night. Another weird thing we noticed was that all the locals seemed to like to get in fights...with each other. I saw a man kicking another guy who was on the ground in the stomach over and over. It looked really painful and dangerous until the guy got up and they hugged and started laughing. This also happened a couple times in the pubs when friends would just started pushing and tackling each other until they were broken up, then they would just laugh it off like it was nothing.

Guinness Factory at St. James's Gate

After an interesting night out in Dublin we woke up early the next morning to check out the city. Dublin is famous for it's many historical sights so we had no problem just casually walking around with a few places in mind. Our first stop was St. Patrick's Cathedral. It was enormous with a unique architecture style that fit perfectly in the Irish Capital. My favorite part of the Cathedral was the courtyard that surrounded it. There were people all around relaxing and playing sports in front of one of the most famous Cathedrals in the world. I'm sure it was even cooler inside but there was a Wedding going on and they normally have mass all day on the weekends so we had to settle for outside.

After pouring the 'Perfect Pint'

As we continued to walk around Dublin, I got the feeling of being in a college town. The city had an awesome feel that came from the big stone buildings and people walking everywhere. I also think it had to do with the fact that everyone spoke english. Dublin continued to grow on me as one of my favorite places yet. Our next stop was the #1 tourist attraction in Dublin. The Guinness Storehouse at St. James's Gate. This is the original brewery where Arthur Guinness signed a 9000 year lease in 1759. The line was out the door but luckily we had already bought our tickets in advance online and were able to skip to the front. The Guinness Storehouse is still the main brewery for the company but it has also now been turned into a museum where people can tour 7 levels of history and techniques that have been used by the company. The atrium when you first walk in is designed to look like a glass pint that can hold 14.3 million liters of Guinness. As we went up the floors we learned everything from how to make the beer, to advertising, to actually serving it. One of the highlights was learning how to serve the 'Perfect Pint'. Because Guinness is a dry stout, it takes almost 2 minutes to pour it correctly without overflowing. We each got to pour our own pint and try it after. My favorite part of the tour was the very end. The last stop is on the 7th floor, the Gravity Bar. It is a bar with a complete 360 degree view of the city of Dublin. Once again, to fit with the previous night in Dublin, this bar had a party atmosphere with everyone hanging out and enjoying their complimentary pints of the best beer in Ireland. It was so cool to finish up the tour and be able to see for miles in the city.

Duck Pond in Blacksburg?? Or Dublin

After leaving the Guinness factory, we continued to walk through the main part of Dublin where we saw Trinity College and the Dublin School of Business. Trinity College is amazing because it is an unbelievable building that has housed the school since the 1500's. It is still right in the middle of all the 'action' of the Irish capital. On our walk we also saw Aviva Stadium where Notre Dame stomped Navy earlier in the season. It is usually home to the Irish National football and rugby teams. I really liked the area that Trinity College was in because it is reminded me of a main city drag, but with much more history. Kind of like Times Square in NewYork except with stone buildings and without all the bright lights. We continued to make our way through the city and ended up at Phoenix Park near the outskirts of Dublin. This further confirmed my feeling of being in a college town as it reminded me of being at the Duck Pond in Blacksburg. We ended up just hanging out there for a couple hours relaxing and taking in the scenery.

Irish Breakfast!!

Leaving the park we decided that we were hungry and walked along the River Liffey passing the famous bridges that span it. For my first truly Irish meal we went to Fitzsimons restaurant in Temple Bar, which is a district of Dublin with tons of restaurants, shopping, and bars. Even though they spelled Fitzsimmons wrong, the restaurant ended up being amazing. At my sister's request I got an Irish breakfast and it was AMAZING. It was the first time I had traditional breakfast food in 3 months and the twist of Irish culture made it that much better. Walking around Temple Bar after we ate, we decided that it would be a perfect place to come back for the night.

The next morning we walked around the city for a while with no agenda just taking it all in. We only had a few hours before our flight home so this was the perfect way to finish up in Dublin. Once again I found another amazing city that I can't wait to go back to.