The Craic Was Mighty

Ireland was wonderful.

I had so much to be Thankful for there. I was especially thankful for the slow pace, vacation like feel of it. So often on these trips we just go go go, which is wonderful, but it was nice to just relax, enjoy the beauty and even read a novel.

However now I'm back in London and classes are over and finals start up tomorrow, so time is something I no longer have on my side. So, this is going to be a quick blog recapping some of the finer points of Dublin:

-Craic. When we checked in to Abigail's Hostel we were told that breakfast was to the left, the tv was in front of us and the crack is here. We stared in confusion/disbelief. Luckily instead of just dismissing it our cute worker behind the desk started to laugh. "No, no not American "crack". It's "craic" it means fun. If you bring any other kind of "crack" back we'll kick you out." We laughed about that for the entire weekend, and we all took up the phrase "The craic is mighty"

-Gogarty's Pub. There comes a time of day, about 5:00, when everything shuts down. Well, almost everything. There is only one thing that stays open-the pub. So, every night was spent with a coke in our hands at the local pub Gogarty's. There they have live Irish music playing and it was fun to just chill and listen. On Thanksgiving they had real football on the tv. I was in heaven for a moment.

-Snow. Our first real experience with snow this season. We woke up Saturday to a winter wonderland and it was so much fun to run around and build a tiny snowman in it.

-Demonstrations. On Saturday there was also a huge demonstration going on. Apparently Ireland's economy is in shambles and everyone is mad at the IMF, etc., etc. Anyways 50,00 people marched around with signs yelling "You say cut backs, we say fight back" It was exciting to see but made getting to the airport a little difficult, and slightly sketch. A story for another time, like when I'm safe and sound at home.

-Castle. So fun to see a real castle here!

-Sea side. No words necessary.

-Ryan Air. Oh my goodness the turbulence was awesome. But seriously, who sells lotto tickets and near pornographic calendars in the middle of a flight. I did love the horn tune that played when we landed however.

-Thanksgiving dinner at Hard Rock. American food never tasted so good.

Overall the trip was a blast and I'm so glad I got to go, relax, and explore somewhere new. The hostel was great, the people were the nicest I've met yet, and I learned that living out of a backpack is doable.