Hello everyone!
Well, I am now in Dublin, Ireland! As a forewarning, these blog entries may be quite long and detailed, more for me (I plan on printing these when I get home), so excuse the wordiness and rambling.
My flight left SFO yesterday around 2pm. It still hadn't quite hit me what I was doing. I've been on many plane rides in my life, so it just felt like I was going to Chicago or meeting up with friends on the East Coast. I'm actually grateful for the times I've had to fly solo or I may have freaked out then and there.
The flight was somewhat uneventful, I was amused by the movie 'Fever Pitch' (seriously better than I thought even though I think Drew Barrymore plays the same character in all her movies) especially being a fanatic of a sports team. I sat next to Australian guy who didn't speak a word to me but seemed to be an expert in dragons (don't ask).
We got into JFK around 11pm local time and my departing gate was right next to my arriving gate, how perfect! Granted, AA is a bit ghetto, but at least I felt relatively safe. They didn't feed us on the plane so I was pretty much starving by the time we landed. I only had $2 in cash and the only thing I could afford was a pack of 6 oreo cookies (the credit card minimum was $10). And that cost me $2.17, good thing I had a quarter in my pocket because I devoured them in about half a second.
The London flight was going to take another 6hrs 20 min (the first leg was 5hrs 30min) but this time it was considered an overnight flight so we got dinner and they turned all the lights down so we could sleep. For once I wished I had a seat in the middle section because the flight wasn't ful and people were able to lay down. Trust me, I was jealous. I nodded off for about an hour at a time. At least they had episodes of CSI playing which greatly helped in passing the time. As well as my fluff magazines (People and US... essential for a long flight). As the flight was closing in, I started getting major butterflies in my stomach. I mean, what the hell was I doing?!?!? I was already exhausted and I still had 6 weeks to go! By myself! I did some breathing exercises though and I was glad to find myself more excited than nervous.
We arrived in London at about 11:30am, there was much traffic at Heathrow but security wasn't as crazy as I thought it might be. I was again feeling quite nervous but actually felt better as I took the shuttle to Terminal 1 because I saw an American boy wearing a New York Rangers hat. I didn't get a chance to talk to him but I caught him smiling at me because I think he saw the Sharks sticker on my Nalgene. Even unspoken camraderie can make one feel more comfortable. I had to check in for my Dublin flight and was smiling as I walked down to the corridor to my flight. I recognized the area from when I went to Ireland the first time, in 2000 for my sister and Keith's wedding. Ah, memories. The flight ended up being delayed for about an hour and a half. During this time, I found out that the plane was going to be full of an Irish Boys Rugby team. It was a lot of fun listening to them talk with their accents and realizing that I was really doing this. I was really going to Ireland!
After the flight, I managed to get down to baggage reclaim (as they call it... it makes sense, doesn't it?) and was extremely relieved to see my backpack pretty much right away. I have this terrible luck with my luggage never making it to the place I am at at the same time. Then I headed over to get some local currency for the bus. When I walked outside, the Airlink was sitting right there so I got on, paid 5€ (that's euros people, haha), and tried to figure out where the hell we were going. I was a little bit paranoid that I got on the wrong one (there's only 2 and they both stop at almost all the same stations.. so really, not a big deal) but as we got closer to the station, we drove right by my hostel. I couldn't believe how smoothly everything went but am eternally grateful to all those sending me good vibes and karma. Awesome.
The desk people were really nice and the hostel is clean, which is all I could ask for. I am staying in a 6 bedroom suite with a private bathroom .. SO AWESOME. I am stoked to have a private bathroom in the room, I was not expecting it. Anyway, there were only two girls in the room when I got there and I said hello to them. Unfortunately, I was exhausted and could feel a headache from lack of sleep approaching. The girls headed out so I laid down and took a 4 hour nap. When I awoke, I was still alone so that gave me a chance to reorganize myself and plan for the next day.
Shortly after, a girl from the Czech Republic arrived. Her name was Petra and she was just staying overnight before heading to Belfast today. We debated going out but we were both super tired from our journeys so we just chatted instead. I am incredibly impressed with how Europeans know so many languages. Petra is studying in Germany so she can speak Czech, German, and English, all relatively fluently.
The German girls returned slightly before 1am (the pubs close at 12 M-W) and I got to chat with them a bit before we all went to bed. They were also leaving this morning to go back home. I felt really comfortable in my room and apparently the girls did too because they just left their stuff wherever. I didn't because I'm paranoid (thanks Je) but it was interesting to see. I think Ireland for the most part is pretty safe but I can't let my guard down because the rest of my trip won't be so.
I still hadn't caught up on my sleep so going to bed at 12:30am wasn't a problem especially since I wanted to be up by 8:30am this morning. I said goodbye to my roommates and headed downstairs for my free breakfast. I hadn't eaten dinner last night and my stomach wasn't too happy with just a muffin and orange juice. I think it was used to not eating so I pretty much had to force the muffin down.
It was raining pretty hard when I left the hostel. You'd think in a country like Ireland, it would easier to find a umbrella. NOT SO. I wandered for a little bit, got a bit lost, then found my way south of the Liffey (the busier side... on the other side of the Liffey River... hence the name). I had to walk around for quite a bit before I found a cheesy gift shop that sold umbrellas. Probably would have been smarter to buy one before now but, hey what can ya do? I was pretty soaked before I bought it though, serious drowned rat look. I layered though so it wasn't too bad, although all I had was my black hoodie so it was pretty soaked. Let me tell you though, I was pretty stoked once I had that umbrella, it's like the day got 5 times better.
I wandered over to Grafton St as I didn't really have any plans today except to book my ticket to Glasgow, Scotland. I figured I just wanted to get to know the city better and if I got a chance to see the sights that would be great. Otherwise, I just wanted to get comfortable in the city. I somehow ended up at Stephen's Greene Shopping Center where I stopped for some coffee and a sandwich because I knew I needed protein. Plus it would give me a chance to sort of dry off in the process.
Shortly after that, I started my walk over to Trinity College so I could book my ticket to Scotland. On the way there, I crossed the street and had the unfortunate timing to get to the other side just as a car hit a giant puddle that SOAKED me. It must have been pretty funny to see, but let me tell you, it felt like a bucket of water just got dumped on me. I just kept walking though because what else can you do?? I had to laugh at myself though because how typical it was to happen to me. I couldn't go back to the hostel to change though because rooms are closed from 11am - 4pm. All I could do was grin and bear it! At least I made it to the college and once I booked my ticket at the STA office (actually it was an agent affiliated with STA), I felt much better. Since I was there, I decided to stay and see the Book of Kells which is one of the oldest books in existence. It's 4 books of the New Testament written in Latin with these really beautiful color illustrations. The best part of the tour though was seeing the Long Room which houses some of the oldest books in Ireland. According to the Library Act of 1801, Ireland gets a free copy of every book published in the UK for free, even after independence. I love books so this was an awesome oppurtunity to see some old ones. There were also some incredibly marble busts of historical figures.
I wandered a bit more as I tried to find an internet cafe. The specific one I was looking for ended up being closed but I found a different one and here I am. It's been quite a morning already but I'm stoked to be here. I love Dublin even though I haven't ventured out at night yet. It's a great city with a great vibe, pretty mellow for being a major city. There's a number of fun shopping neighborhoods and there are a ton of tourists (particularly Italians for some reason.. and I heard a bunch of Americans at Trinity). I haven't quite met anyone yet but maybe that will change within the next few days. It would be nice to have someone here with me but I'm still having a grand time by myself just exploring. The rain and the wind (and being solo) have made it a bit of a challenge to take pictures but I'll still try my best.
Hope all is well in the States! It's time for me to book my Scotland hostel and eat something. Cheers!
Lesson of last night: Don't go to bed with your hair wet because it will look crazy when you wake up.
Lesson of today: Don't stand next to a large puddle where a car can splash you.
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