Dublin

Its been long enough, time to update you all about Dublin. David and I landed at the airport in the late afternoon and departed the plane for customs. While I breezed right through, the Irish customs police apparently thought David was the next Osama because they interrogated the hell out of him. They asked him where he was staying, with who (and tried to call them), how much money he had and how much he could take out. Apparently the guy soon realized that David is about as terrorizing as Willy, and they let him through. We first met Kevin just outside immigration. I didn't really know what to expect at first, but the true Kevin certainly surpassed my expectations. Going on 70+, this grey-haired old priest (frock and all) shuffled up to us and briskly led us to the car. I think it took him about 2 or three days to remember my name, otherwise calling me 'you.' For everyone who claims I mumble and speak too fast, you clearly never met Kevin. Over the course of 5 days or so, I MAYBE understood about half the things he said, and the rest of the time I just nodded and smiled. After driving to his house in Ballybrack (about 25 min from the downtown), we had a lovely dinner (read: real food) cooked by Kevin's wife Jenny, and then proceeded to head into town. We found the Stag's Head Pub, had our first pint of the black stuff, and walked around for a while before heading back to meet Kevin and his friend for a pint in nearby Monkstown.

The next day David and I headed back into Dublin where we walked around Trinity College (greenest grass I've ever seen) and visited Christchurch Cathedral. In the crypt below the Cathedral, they had a display of a mummified cat and mouse that found their way into the organ pipes. Pretty fucking creepy. Also, a word of warning: NEVER eat bangers and mash. It's pretty much the most disgusting meal every. That evening we took a tour of the Guinness factory which was pretty awesome. We got to the top of the factory, which was a bar with 360 degree floor-to-ceiling windows just in time for a beautiful sunset and view of Dublin. We ended our night drinking pints around the Temple Bar area and stumbled home via train.

We had a later start the following morning, opting to nurse our soreness from the night before. When we finally got into town, we headed to an 18th century prison called Kilmainham Gaol (far walk). The prison used to house Irish revolutionaries throughout the centuries but is now a well preserved and interesting museum/relic. Reminded me a bit of Shawshank...We then headed over to the Jameson Distillery for some good ol' Irish whiskey. Although the tour was a joke, David and I volunteered and were rewarded with a few shots of whiskey from various parts of the world. With a nice warm buzz, we left the distillery for the nearest pub and watched a Heineken Cup rugby match (Munster vs. the Sale Sharks). It was fun to be in such an intense atmosphere for the game and I enjoyed trying to teach David the rules and what the hell was going on.

Saturday, David and I set out for Kilkenny (Cork and the Blarney stone were much to far away to make the trip practical). Kilkenny is a beautiful medieval town about 2 hours southwest of Dublin. However, when we got there, we were greeted with massive wind gusts and rain. Our umbrella snapped before we left the bus station. We had to make do with makeshift ponchos made out of TJ Maxx garment bags. Needless to say we got some glares. We spent the day walking around the town visiting various churches and other sites. All in all, I enjoyed the town (except for the Castle, which we couldn't tour) and we caught the bus back to Dublin that evening.

Sunday was my last day in Ireland and I enjoyed it in true style. We had a nice lunch with Kevin, Jenny, their daughter and Jenny's sister. I packed up my things and David and I went to the Four Courts Hostel (pretty good place, check it out if you are going to Dublin), dropped off our bags and started drinking. With pints costing about 5 euro, we decided to be thrifty and drank a small bottle of cheap vodka in one of the sketchiest alleys ever. Once finished, we continued going to various pubs. Alas, around 10pm or so, we parted ways and I went back to the hostel and crashed. My flight for Prague was at 7 am the next morning and I wasn't looking forward to getting up at 4 am.

While I loved Ireland, I was getting ancy to get to Prague and start my program and from the moment I landed, Praha did not disappoint...

If you want to see some pictures of David and I in Ireland, go to my Flickr page. The address is:
Ireland Photos
This is a much easier way for me to share my pictures instead of posting only a few here. Enjoy