16th March-20th March

It is better to spend money like there's no tomorrow than to spend tonight like there's no money! Irish toast

I flew to Dublin via Ryanair. I have been getting really excited about Ireland. I had a feeling I was going to fall in love with this country. As I got into town around 11pm, Conor (a friend of Feranmi's) met up with me along with his flatmate, Brian. They took me to this place called Palace Bar (a real, non-touristy bar) and we had a pint. Brian wanted to go to a club afterwards, and I wasn't feeling that tired so I decided to go with him. Conor was really nice enough to in taking my bag in order to allow Brian and I to go directly to the club.

Brian wanted to go this place called Copper's (it is actually called Copper Face Jacks, but everyone calls in Copper's), however there was a really long line up to get in. Even though Saint-Patrick's day was tomorrow, everyone partied the night before since Saint-Patrick's day is a national holiday. We then decided to try this place across the street called D2. This place had a pre-queue for the actual queue. The best part was that there was no queue. UK and Ireland are known for line-ups. After standing in line for 20 minutes, I got fed up, and we just decided to go grab something to eat near the apartment. The moment we stepped into the late-night fast food place, these girls started making fun of me because they thought I was American. They were being really condescending and rude, and i didn't even know them! That really put a downer on my first impression of Ireland. What a night!

The next morning, I went to see the big Saint-Patrick's day parade that was walking distance from the apartment. On my way back from the parade, Conor invited me to a hurling and Gaelic football game. The apartment was right next to Croke Park, which is the official stadium for the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA). The games were not just any games; they were the County finals. Our seats were really great seats, and during the two games, I asked Conor many questions in order to understand the rules of these games. Hurling is a lot like Lacrosse and Field Hockey. The object of the game is to either get the ball (which looks like a baseball) into the goal or over the goal between the two posts (like in American football). The object of Gaelic football is quite similar, however, there is a soccer ball, and it is more like a mix of soccer and rugby.

After the first game, Conor and I went to go eat something. We met up with a friend of his (name Deedra), and she brought along two of her friends (Shevon and Anne-Marie) as well as a friend that was just visiting (I forgot his name, but he was Turkish). Deedra, Shevon and Anne-Marie were all redhead, so they will now be known as "the redheads".

After the game, we all went for a pint at a pub close by. We then decided to go eat, where I met a few other people; notably two girls (one American, and one Aussie) who both spoke Spanish because they were studying in Spain). Supper was really expensive, however I really wasn't keeping track of my spending (which would prove to be a very bad idea later on). At this point, I was feeling really tipsy (I had been drinking non-stop since the games at Croke Park). After supper, we went to this grungy place to have more beer. When I asked for a beer from the barmaid, she told me that it was 5:50 euros. Jokingly, I told her to "shut up", and she took the beer away from me. When I eventually told her that I was just kidding, she rolled her eyes and told me that she really had a laugh (sarcastically). I wasn't used to this, and was upset that tips in the UK and Ireland were included in the price. Bartenders do not have to be polite to the customers because they are not working for tips. This put another downer on my impression of Ireland.

Afterwards, we ended up partying all night at this club (forgot the name). Everyone was pretty much drunk. Conor was a really funny guy drunk. I was glad that I got to know him in that light early on; I found that it was a good way to break the ice right away. Brian was also really funny because he wanted to pick up, and have me as his wingman. The only problem was that his way of picking up a girl was to just grab her hand and twirl her around. Brian is normally a shy guy, but when he drinks, he can be very funny.

The next morning was pretty weird because I got up with pictures in my camera that I did not remember taking. In general, I really had a fun night (even though the music was not my type), however most of the night was a blur. Throughout the week, when I would walk around Dublin, I would have flashes of that Saint-Patrick's day night when I saw a place that I recognized…

The next day, I just walked around the city. I had to take a picture of Ireland's unofficial emblem, Molly Malone, who is based on the song by the same name of a beautiful fishmonger who plied her trade on the streets of Dublin, but who died young, of a fever. I also strolled around Saint-Stephen's green, and went inside the National Museum of Ireland before making my way back home. I did not go out that night because I was still pretty tired from the night before. Surprisingly, no hangover, though.

Friday morning, I went on a free walking tour (by the same company as Edinburgh). It lasted three hours and we went to Dublin Castle as well as many other relevant monuments. After the tour, I went to Trinity College, Ireland's oldest University and visited the Old Library. This Library housed the Book of Kells, which is an illuminated manuscript in Latin transcribed by Celtic monks in the 6th century, containing the four Gospels of the New Testament together with various prefatory texts and tables.

After having supper in the city center, I went to a pub-crawl organized by the same people as the free walking tour. They offered unlimited beer for 30 minutes and free drinks in every pub we were going on. As you can imagine, it was a recipe for disaster or a very good night, whichever way you see it. Early in the night I met this girl from Manchester named Claire. She is a veterinarian that worked in Australia for a while, but is now going to Birmingham to find a job there. I also met these two Scots wearing kilts named David and Stu. They were really fun guys (and were the ones that came up with the brilliant idea to stash the free beer so that we had more for later). Again, like Saint-Paddy's day: crazy night, but don't know where I went except for the last place, Purty Kitchen which had amazing music (from the 90s).

The next morning, I decided to go to the National Art Museum and the Yeats Exhibition. I really liked learning about the life of WB Yeats. He was a 20th century Irish poet and dramatist who was one of the founders of the Abbey Theatre. One of my favorite poems from his collection is "He Wishes For the Cloths of Heaven":

Had I the heavens' embroidered cloths,
Enwrought with golden and silver light,
The blue and the dim and the dark cloths
Of night and light and the half-light,
I would spread the cloths under your feet:
But I, being poor, have only my dreams;
I have spread my dreams under your feet;
Tread softly because you tread on my dreams.

What was also very fascinating was his love life. In 1889, Yeats met Maud Gonne, a 23-year-old who was visiting his father. Although he tried to win her heart, he was never really able to. Throughout his life, he had many love affairs, but was always so infatuated with Gonne and never really got over her. This caused him to have loveless marriages. One comment that was made in one of the videos that I saw in the exhibition was that enjoyed being miserable and infatuated with her and just loved loving her. He knew that she was the one, and that he was not going to be happy if he did not have her. I found this very interesting and sad since she did not feel the same way, and ended up marrying and having kids with someone else. It reminded me of instances in my life where I had a tendency to be like this, and although I have not felt this intensely about someone yet, I wondered if I would ever become like this if the girl I was crazy about did not feel the same way.

After the Museum, I met up with Claire who was visiting Trinity College. We had lunch together and said our goodbyes since she had a plane to catch back to Manchester. I ended up going back home to find out that Conor had tickets to the Scotland-Ireland Six Nations game. This was going to be an intense rugby game!

The stadium in Croke Park was packed! There were more than 80 000 people. Ireland was playing really poorly, but there was a lot of encouragement from the fans. Down below, next to the field, loyal fans were banging on drums at like a marching army going to war. In the distance, you would hear a bagpipe player encouraging the opposing team. There were a lot of emotions in the air because Ireland and Scotland have a long history of rivalry with rugby. Near the end of the game, Ireland ties it, 17-17. You could hear the Irish fans chanting a song (Conor, what was the name of the song?). This was not your typical sport song; this was a soft melody. Finally with five minutes left, Scotland scores: 20-17. A shocking blow, because Ireland was so sure they would win.

That night, the streets were not as crazy. You would only see your occasional Scots boasting their win. Conor and I went out to Copper's that night. Copper's was a really fun bar/club with three floors and many places to dance, drink, smoke or just have a fun conversation with someone. Conor and I met all kinds of people from around Ireland that night. A fun, but quiet night, we got home pretty early. After checking my bank account, it turned out that I had spent 500 USD in four days! From now on, I was going to have to find ways to save money if I did not want to be in debt by the end of this trip…