Cold Feet in Dublin

Last weekend I finally got around to crossing off Dublin from my must-visit bucket list. The trip was planned spontaneously as 3 of my friends and I were sitting at the dinner table one night and said let's go to Dublin in a few weekends! Considering the land of the leperchauns was somewhere I always wanted to visit, I was up for the trip and, before you knew it, we were in Ireland.

We got into Dublin on a Saturday evening and the second we left the airport we tracked down a restaurant since we were all so hungry. Saturday night was very quiet and after we ate dinner we headed back to our hostel to get a good night's rest to be able to explore on Sunday.

Sunday was packed with seeing the city. I'm pretty sure we walked the entire city of Dublin. One thing I was not prepared for was the freezing temperatures. Living in London I think I've become used to being a vampire not seeing the sunlight, so when we looked up the forecast for Dublin and saw that the weather said sunny, I assumed it would be warm - goodness, was I wrong. It was freezing in Dublin. After grabbing breakfast and indulging in some Irish coffees (naturally), I immediately realized only packing a pair of flats for the weekend was a massive mistake. Before our adventures began, we had to stop by an H&M so I could grab a pair of boots to protect my cold feet.

After that slight detour the adventures began. Our first stop was to Trinity College to see the Book of Kels and explore its beautiful old library. The library was as breathtaking as the campus. I honestly had no real interest in viewing the Book of Kels, but since it came with our admission ticket I ended up seeing it and was blown away by the intricate details of the books of Gospel that were illuminated in Ireland in the 800s.

The campus of Trinity College 

Trinity College Library

After Trinity College we headed over to St. Patrick's Cathedral. I could not get over how old this church is (it was built in the early 1000s) and how beautiful it remains after all these years. 

My friend Luke in front of St. Patrick's 

The sight of a well where Saint Patrick would baptize Dubliners

After seeing St. Patrick's, we had a scheduled tour of the Guinness factory. Although it's one of the main attractions in Dublin, I had no massive desire to see it before our trip. However, during our planning, all of my friends really wanted to see it and I realized it could be pretty interesting. While the tour itself was slightly boring for me since I'm not too knowledgable on the process of making beer, the Guinness was amazing. The tour included a free pint of Guinness, which you were taught to pour perfectly, and access to the Gravity Bar, which had a 360 degree view of the city. It ended up being the highlight of my trip.

We were so exhausted after Guinness so we headed to the oldest pub in Dublin, which was right down the road, and grabbed dinner before heading back to our hostel to rest before heading back out to watch the Super Bowl at a pub in downtown Dublin. The pub we went to for dinner, The Brazen Head, dates back to 1198 and had incredible food, fireplaces, and live Irish music. It was exactly what I picture when I think of a traditional Irish pub. For dinner I had an Irish lamb stew that was out-of-this-world amazing. 

Before heading out Monday night, we explored the Dublin Castle and its gardens and St. Stephen's Park, both of which were gorgeous. It was a bit weird to me though that the Dublin Castle, an ancient prison, sat amongst modern buildings in the middle of Dublin. 

St. Stephen's park

I'll be honest, Dublin was not at all what I was expecting. While my idea and expectations of the city may have been a little high after seeing PS I Love You a dozen times and expecting the city to be like the beautiful countryside (you mean Gerard Butler won't actually be singing to me at a pub?), I felt like the city was overly Americanized. 

There were American flags everywhere and most of the restaurants were geared toward American tourists (I can get a bacon cheeseburger at home, thankyouverymuch). It was incredibly disappointing to see a city with so much history and culture of its own brimming with America. While there were pockets of the Dublin I was expecting, the city was too touristy for me and I began to have doubts about traveling throughout Europe. I began to panic and think that everywhere I travel will be overly Americanized and not the full cultural immersion I expect. I also got incredibly homesick for London and found myself ready to leave Dublin the first full day I was there. 

My cold feet in Dublin didn't just come from my lack of proper footwear. I began to have cold feet about traveling Europe in general and leaving London. I've fallen so in love with London that I became hesitant to want to travel elsewhere during my stay here. However, after coming to grasps with reality I remembered that each experience is what I make of it. Even though the city was Americanized and touristy, I still had a great time and am so glad I was able to see a place that has been on my travel list since I can remember. In Dublin I learned that some times the cure for cold feet is to strap on some boots and enjoy each adventure for what it is. 

Lovingly,

Loren