Dublin, Ireland

It is crazy to think that we have reached our last city on World Tour.  To be honest, no one was really in the mood to do much touring while we were in Dublin because we were too busy anticipating the end, most of us excited, the rest dreading going back.  While I have been grateful for the past two weeks, all I can think of is going home.  Thankfully Dublin is awesome so I have been able to enjoy myself the past 3 days.  We have had very little structured time, so that has probably helped quite a bit. 

The first day we arrived in Dublin we had a free afternoon and evening, so we hung around the hotel for a bit and then headed out to a nearby pub for dinner.  The second day we had a morning tour with a guide that gave us a broad overview of Ireland and Dublin’s history and culture.  I ended up shopping the rest of that day and wandering around the pedestrian streets of the city.  I spent way too much money for my budget that day, but one way I can justify it with myself is that I was buying pretty cool ancestry stuff.  My mom has done some intensive research and sent me to Ireland with a couple family names in mind, Miller and Farquar.  I found a cool shop that had a wealth of information regarding Irish ancestry where I was able to purchase a parchment with our family crest and history printed on it.  I also found a neat guide to tracing Irish roots. 

While searching for dinner that night, we stumbled upon the most unique restaurant I have experienced on this trip around the world.  Just off the pedestrian street is a historic church dating back to the 1700s.  It was saved from being torn down and deprogrammed to become a restaurant/ bar/ nightclub.  As we walked into the front doors of the main sanctuary a huge bar dominated my view of the large room.  I then discovered the original organ in place along with a significant amount of the original interior architecture.  I clearly went architecture nerd as soon as I walked in, but I am not even ashamed.  It was that cool!  The food and drinks were great too!

Our last day in Dublin was an independent study day so Dan, Devin, Libby, Hanna, and I decided to spend it at the Guinness Storehouse, the brewery where the famous Guinness beer originated.  I had a wonderfully relaxing morning then left around noon to walk the long trek to Guinness.  It was a fun day, but I have to say that the Heineken experience was so much better!  The best part was drinking a Guinness in the Gravity Bar, the highest point in Dublin.  From there I could see the entire city from above.  We had to hurry back from the Storehouse though because a group farewell dinner was scheduled for 7:00p.m. at the Arlington Hotel Bar. 

Our group had a fantastic dinner along with great entertainment provided by a traditional Irish band, complete with dancers.  The music group awakened my new love for Irish pub music.  After the show our group collectively decided to finish off our world tour with the ultimate Dublin experience.  In search of a pub with enough room to fit us all, we accidentally found the perfect place.  All 24 of us raided the dance floor of a sketchy nightclub in the Temple Bar District of Dublin.  It. Was. Awesome!  And probably the best night of the tour by far!  All of our frustrations, stresses, and annoyances that had built up in the past 102 days just disappeared as we danced for at least two hours straight!  It was definitely a sight to see as we all danced in our world tour attire.  I was rocking a thermal shirt, jeans, and hiking boots in a club in Dublin, and I did not even care because there were 23 other people dressed exactly like me!  It was a heck of an ending to possibly the greatest adventure of my life!