Day 19-20: Dublin

Dublin was awesome. When I started thinking about what to write about, it occurred to me that we did so many things in the span of 36 hours, I wouldn't know where to begin. I guess for the sake of consistency and for my own sake, I'll take you on a tour from the beginning of the trip to the end, highlighting the amazing parts.

Act I
We arrived in Dublin in the early afternoon. Our first course of action was to visit the (amazing) Guinness Storehouse. I am a huge fan of beer, and I've been fortunate enough to visit an array of breweries (I believe 5 or 6 over the last two years). This tour tops them all. Easily. It was like a giant beer museum. Yes, a GIANT Beer museum. Remember Charlie and the Chocolate Factory? This tour should be titled Miguel and the Guinness Factory. Except I don't own a multi-billion dollar factory at the end of the day. The tour was very informative, engaging, and full of beer. My favorite part was the end of course, where we arrived at the 7th floor and saw a 360 view of the City of Dublin while drinking a fresh pint of Guinness.

Act II: 

I was very excited when I found out my long time friend katie (Cait, as she is known in Ireland), was able to meet me out for a night in Dublin. And man, was it a great night. Right off the bat she made it clear that she wanted to show me a true Irish night out. I was definitely not disappointed. We started out with a few drinks at her place and then went to an amazing local pub with live Irish music. I had an amazing conversation about life in Ireland with her friend Lenny, who was an awesome guy. Afterwards we went to a bar/club to meet up with some other friends. This was the highlight of my night. 

I have to say, I am not a good dancer...at all, but by the dancing in the bar, I could be considered Usher. Coming into the night club, I was excited to hear some great electronic music, only to find out that I was in the middle of a seventh grade dance. The guys were standing in a corner, while all the girls stood and moved in another corner. I really wanted to show them how it's done, so I grabbed my friend's hand and started dancing. It was fantastic. I definitely had some stares, and it was worth it. I even talked to the DJ and requested some music to be played. 

Along with this, I met some of Katie's amazing Irish friends, who talked to me about Irish culture, music, education, and politics  (as far as a 4 a.m. conversation goes anyway). I really enjoyed my time with everyone. 

 Bar DJ

Katie and some new friends

Katie and Lenny

Act III

I essentially completed an amazing walking tour of Dublin with my good friend Jessica. We walked kilometers and kilometers and saw some amazing things. Everything from an amazing pub singer to good food, there was something to see and do. I requested a song (Wagon Wheel) from the singer at the pub while drinking some good beer. Dublin has a strong sense of identity, with a deep culture and customs, along with some of the nicest people I've ever collectively encountered. I'll definitely be coming back again!

Chimney Bread

Street Band (One Direction who?)