Wednesday. Ashleigh and Amanda decided to take me to Dublin, which is in the Republic of Ireland – separate and different from Northern Ireland. Northern Ireland is in the UK (so its currency is the pound), whereas Republic of Ireland – known more commonly just as “Ireland” – is its own separate country (and its currency is the Euro). Nathan, Wally, and Courtney came with too.
We woke up early and drove to Banbridge. We waited for the bus, and when it finally came, we realized we were occupying the very last seats on the bus. As a result, we all sat separately and endured the 2+ hour long bus ride with undying patience.
When we arrived in Dublin, we meandered with little aim.
It was a rather austere and dreary day, very typical of Irish weather. Bits of color, graffiti, and varied garments attempt to counteract the urban gray skies.
Interesting street things:
Amanda was immediately attracted to a store called “The Hemp Company of Dublin.” Lo and behold illicit materials and shady gardening… literally.
Growing weed in the back of the shop? That’s gutsy and probably stupid.
It was around lunchtime and we were getting hungry. We went into the Temple Bar area and hunted around for a place to eat. After several misses, we finally hit a bar that seemed to have pretty decent food.
It was a little sketchy though, and though we settled in quite nicely, we didn’t realize until later that we had ended up in a gay bar.
Clues.
I had a Meditteranean wrap in an Irish bar… good thing it was quite delicious. One note – the Irish grill / toast their burritos! (Tastes quite good, surprisingly)
Afterwards we continued our nomadic walk, our wandering..
Being a tourist.
We visited the University of Dublin.
Below follows an encounter with a creepy old Irish man who is essentially a tourist attraction himself. He has a case of hats and plants slobbery kisses on the cheeks of unknowing female passerbyers:
Also very characteristic of Dublin:
Buskers (A quick reference to the movie Once is needed right now)
Funny foreign salesmen.
The end. Good day.
Post Script: In the wise words of some Black Eyed Peas, “What you gon’ do with all that junk? All that junk inside your trunk?”
