After getting all checked out of my hostel and walking the good 4 miles walk to my hotel I checked my luggage. As I was getting my tag a woman saw my toe tag (the affectionate name us TNT'ers call our shoe tag with all of our emergency info on it in case we die on the course) and asked about a few places she should go. I told her to just join me and I would take her around. That is the amazing thing about TNT you have "friends" from all over that you have never met. There is this common bond between people because we are in something together.

So anyways we set off and headed out to Merrion Square Park. It was stunningly beautiful. What I would imagine what Central park looks like. Trees that had their fall colors on lined the streets. We saw a horse and buggy and got a ride through the park while our driver told us the story and this history behind. It was a lot of fun. After that we walked down to Grafton Street which is the shopping district. Alot of the store fronts were stuff that we could get back home but the street vendors where amazing. I found a ring that I had told myself years ago after seeing it on my favorite show that if I ever made it to Ireland I would buy it myself. I was looking at a mans cart and he was asking about the marathon and there it was. It was a moment for sure I picked it up and told him about it and he gave it to me. Said he would be honored to be the maker of one of my dreams. How amazing is that. So now I have a ring that 5 years ago was only a passing thought and what is even better the Gem in the center of it is purple which for those of you who don't know is the main color of TNT, I believe I was meant to be there. We walked around for a while and then headed back to our hotel. We had some great convos and it was a cool experience to share with a fellow TNT'er.

When I got back to my room I was nervous about meeting my roommate. I was just hoping she would be cool. But when I got back to the room I had a note from her. I could tell she was going to be a sweetie so I wasn't worried. I headed back out to go find a internet cafe so that I could plan my day trip to Cork so I could go kiss the Blarney Stone. Something everyone has to do before they die. I booked all my tickets. It is a tram to the Dublin train stations. A Train to Cork and a bus to Blarney. lol. For never have used public transportation I was pretty good at it and surprised myself. It was cool to be away from everything I know and yet still finding my way and getting what I need. You realize how strong you really are and how you really can do anything you put your mind to. I am a firm believer that traveling anywhere tests you as a person and through traveling you get to know yourself so much better than you can even imagine. Back home I would of called my mom or a friend who had done this trip before to make sure I did it all right and to ask about a million question. But here in Ireland I don't have that comfort and I had to trust and rely on myself. Something I don't think I do enough but I need to start. Anyways I digress big time.

My tram left at 7am and I needed to be there 20 mins early so since I had to get up early I went back to my hotel and jumped in my nice private shower! Something I haven't had since I left home. I stood there and just let the hot water hit me and relaxed. As much fun as I had going into the hostels and meeting so many amazing people part of you to be a safe traveler can't let your guard down. And that means not taking longer showers because all of your stuff is sitting in the room you share with 10-12 other people. It was nice to be able to finally breath! I got ready for bed and still hadn't seen my roommate. I was hoping she was ok but I figured she was just out enjoying the night. I passed out at about 8pm and then thanks to my body clock still being off I woke up and was wide awake. I watched some TV and wrote in my journal. A entry of things I have leaned by traveling. A lot of them are really funny and I will post them in a diffrent blog.

At about 3am right when I was about to turn the lights back off and enjoy some sleep. My roommate walks in and I was happy to see that she was a young beutiful girl close to my age! We introduced are self and hit it off. I could already tell I was going to adore this girl. Soon after she came in there was a knock on our door and it was another teammate named Jared and boy was he drunk. We had an amazing time talking and having some really deep convos about life, love and being all dark and twisty inside. We all ended up passing out soon after and I had to laugh. Here were these people I had just met and they knew more about me than most of my friends. But that's just what happens when you travel, it is something I noticed from AUS you can break down your own walls. There are no pre conived notions of you and what you are suppose to act like. It is just you and that's all you can be. This is just another one of the many reasons I love to travel.

At 6am my wake up came on and it scared the hell out of my roommate(s) :) Jared.... lol. And In 30 mins after some tea I was off to Cork. But that I will save that for the next entry.....

Untill tomorrow!