Viaje: Dublin

From December 3rd-10th we had a "puente," or a week off of school. So naturally, Amber and I flew to Dublin, Ireland for a few days.

Many people have asked me why we chose to go to Ireland. I honestly do not have an answer, and I don't even really remember the moment when we decided to book our trip. I think we thought it would be beautiful, green country, which I suppose is a sufficient reason to go there. 

But we were wrong. 

Green country of rolling hills? Oh no--try cold weather and piles of snow ( I don't think we really thought this out--especially because all I brought to Spain with me is a spring jacket). 

However, it turned out to be a fantastic trip. 

Amber and I began our travels at 5:40 A.M. We took a taxi to the train station, and then took to the train to Madrid. Then we took another taxi from the Madrid train station to the Madrid airport. Then we waited an hour while our flight was delayed, and boarded the plane to Dublin. 

Almost.

After a two hour flight, we began to descend for landing. Then, all of a sudden, the plane pulled back up and started to ascend.

It was at this point that I thought "Dang, why the heck are we flying Ryan Air? We're going to die."  

*Note: Ryan Air is a really shady airline agency that has super cheap flights--I mean it. I have seen flights before for less than 5 Euro. But. It is SHADY. Unfortunately, my lack of money pushes me to sacrifice my security and life in general for a weekend in Ireland.)

Then we hear the flight attendant come on the overhead speaker, surely to calm our nerves, and he says "It seems the pilot has decided not to land. I am not sure why, but we will let you know once we find out." Great.

Turns out, the Dublin Airport closed due to a massive snow storm (or so they call it massive--Wisconsin could have handled it!). Therefore, the pilot had to redirect our flight to a charming little town in the middle-of-nowhere-Ireland called Shannon.

oops. Now what?

Being the young adventurists we are, Amber and I kept our cool. And Ryan Air got us a bus (yeah, that's right. Another DANG bus. I almost threw up right then and there) to bring us back to Dublin.

Almost four hours later, we finally arrived at our hostel in snow-covered Dublin at 8 p.m. (that makes for more than 14 hours travel time). Mind you we hadn't eaten all day (except for some really crappy chocolate and CocaCola on the bus) so we were starved. Luckily, our hostel gave us an excellent recommendation for a late and much deserved dinner.

The oldest pub in Dublin

It was exactly what we needed.The weather outside was frightful, but the fire was so delightful (really--there was a fireplace inside the pub). It was a cozy little place with Christmas lights and music with delicious warm food. We had fried brie with cranberry relish and sausage and mash potatoes in a bread bowl. Perfect.

The next day I bundled up in my spring jacket and we went on a tour of the city with Richard, our Irish tour guide.

He trampled around the city with us in the blizzard, telling us about the buildings and the history of Dublin. But I wasn't really listening much. I was too distracted by the snow!

oldest bridge in Dublin

Trinity College

That night we went on a Pub Crawl around the city. Although they are common in Madison, it felt actually sort of strange to me. First of all, the bars in Dublin are larger than the bars in Sevilla as Sevillanos prefer to be outside in the streets (and it also never snows or gets very cold there). Also, Irish people drink a lot more than the Spaniards. Even the sizes of our glasses of beer were a change from what I had grown accustomed to in Sevilla. Don't get me wrong, the Spaniards like to drink. But let's just say they don't "Black out or die" as much as the Irish do (or Madisonians for that matter). Anyway, I will just say that Amber and I had a great time on the pub crawl.

The next day we toured the Guinness Storehouse, which is one of the main attractions in Dublin.  It is more than 4 stories of the history and process of making Guinness beer. It was cool, and my mother and grandmother would have definitely enjoyed themselves. But I just don't care that much about beer. (Besides drinkin' it of course!)

Gettin' ready for my free sample at the end of the tour in the Gravity Bar on top of the Storehouse.
Great view of the entire city!

Huzzah for Dublin!

But enough of all that. Now for what you all really want to see. The food!

Think I could pass for a food critic? Food blogger? Professional eater?

Irish Stew

Fish and Chips

Delicious focaccia bread and dip

Some kind of veggy salad with potato stuffed with meat and cheese

Hot Chocolate

Queen of Tarts
A tiny restaurant that specializes in dessert. Best. Idea. Ever.

Hot chocolate and homemade marshmallows at Queen of Tarts

Brownie and homemade whipped cream at Queen of Tarts

Apple and Blackberry crumble at Queen of Tarts

Fresh Strawberry Smoothie at Queen of Tarts

Check it out! Ohio State in the house!
I was totally wearing my UW-Badger sweatshirt while sitting right next to him.
 He actually turned out to be English. (I don't think he knows the significance of his clothing!)
But I was still real tempted to say "I'm sorry, sir. But can you smell the roses?"

Poached peaches

Bananas Foster Crepe
Dang!

Dublin turned out to be a great change of pace. It is difficult to feel the Christmas spirit in Sevilla while it is still 60 degrees and sunny. But the snow and Christmas lights put us quickly in the mood! It was also nice to sit inside of cozy pubs and enjoy a warm, hearty meal while listening to all of the classic Christmas songs. I love tapas, and am loving wearing a light jacket in December, but it was nice to be reminded of the holiday season we know so well.

Although it did make us feel homesick, we actually enjoyed feeling nostalgic for a few days. It reminded us of what we have to come home to, and made us feel fortunate to have our cozy homes and families waiting for our return.