This past Friday, we made our way to Dublin for an eventful 5 day excursion. We actually started by spending one night/day in Glendalough, which is a very tiny town but it is set in an amazingly beautiful rural area. Glendalough is right next to Wicklow National Park, so we were able to spend the day walking around this beautiful place. Some of the highlights were seeing the lake where Braveheart was filmed and then, especially, the lake where PS I Love You was filmed. I'm actually surprised one of us girls didn't fall off the kind of steep cliff we were viewing it from with how giddy and excited we were all acting. I was incredibly excited to get to go to this spot, as I am obsessed with that movie and it's such a beautiful place.
After our little tour of the movie sites, we headed on to Dublin. Unfortunately for all of us Bennies and Johnnies, we were on an incredibly small bus on an unusually warm Irish day and our AC stopped working. While we were miserable and sweaty by the time we found our hostile, it made us all the more excited to be in Dublin. That evening we were just given down time to rest and check out the nightlife. We actually ended up finding the pub where another scene of PS I Love You was filmed, and once again I had a not so tiny freak out about being in the room where Gerard Butler filmed a movie. Unfortunately for us girls he was nowhere to be found, despite what the bouncer at the door said.
Our next day was spent with our theology professor Brother Colman, who took us around medieval Dublin, Trinity College, the National Museum, and the Dublin Castle. These were all amazing sites that my pictures would do better at expressing than my explanations ever could. We also had a jail tour of the famous Gaol, which was one of my favorite parts. It was such an incredible, eery place with so much history. It is also said to be the most haunted place in Dublin, but we didn't have any supernatural encounters. Later in the evening our group decided to hit up the Dublin nightlife again, and we ended up at the famous Temple Bar where we listened to an amazing band and had a great time.
Monday was our free day in Dublin and it was probably the best day of the trip for me. A group of us girls started the day with a tour of the Guinness Storehouse which was absolutely amazing. The building is so unique, with it being shaped like a giant pint glass in the middle, and with all of the displays that were so high-tech and interactive. We learned and saw how Guinness was made, and we learned some history about the founder, Arthur Guinness. It was kind of nice to find out what an amazing man he was, since I had previously had Guinness poured all over me in his honor. We even got to attend and graduate from the Guinness Academy, where we learned how to pour the perfect pint of Guinness. Unfortunately, I haven't been able to make myself like Guinness, but I enjoyed the couple sips I took of it while looking at the amazing 360 degree view of Dublin from the Gravity Bar. After our early afternoon full of Guinness, we then spent the rest of the afternoon shopping in the bustling Dublin shops, and I spent more money than I would like to discuss. But don't worry mom and dad, it was all things I needed for this fall break trip I'm currently on :)
Monday evening was when things really got exciting. Our entire group went to dinner at the Brazen Head, which is Ireland's oldest pub. After dinner we all headed to a showing of the play Houdini at the Gaeity Theatre. We were incredibly excited about this because it sounded like a very interesting show and, most importantly, Evanna Lynch, who played Luna Lovegood in the Harry Potter movies, was one of the stars. The play was absolutely amazing and incredibly entertaining. Afterward we were lingering outside with the desperate hopes that the actors would walk outside, when, thank goodness, Ali had to go to the bathroom. I acknowledge that sounds strange, but you'll soon understand why this was pivotal. I went back into the theatre with her, where a very nice theatre worker showed us to the bathroom. This gave me the idea that I should try to use my American charm to get him to take us backstage.
Unfortunately, despite my best effort, he informed us that he didn't have the authority to go backstage. But then, bless his little heart, he informed us that if we went to the alley around the side of the building we would find the exit that the performers use. Without a moment of hesitation, Ali and I ran outside, grabbed as many of the others as we could, and headed to the sketchy dark alley. It was there that we stood by a dumpster until Luna Lovegood herself came out just like we were told she would! She was seriously the sweetest person I've ever met, and she took the time to sign autographs and take pictures with all of us. I shamelessly had a hardcore groupie moment, and I'm surprised I was able to keep my composure. I have never been that starstruck, and I'm still not over it. After that we were all on Cloud 9 and any plans of going out just kind of went out the window, because, come on, how were we going to top that? Plus I had to get back to wifi ASAP so I could plaster my pictures all over social media and tell everyone I knew. No shame.
The next day we meandered our way back to the Park Lodge, while stopping at some amazing monastic sites and tombs at Newgrange and Knowth. We can never have an excursion without a monastic ruin or a Neolithic tomb or two. :) Our Dublin excursion was seriously such an amazing experience and I wouldn't change a thing. The city is amazing and has so much to offer, and I know that we only scratched the surface of Dublin. But now, because my life is a complete dream and blessing, I'm approaching the airport in Sweden and about to start the greatest fall break anyone could ask for. We have an amazing host family waiting for us in Sweden, thanks to Jenna, and I cannot wait to get there and meet them. I'm sure the next 10 days will be a complete whirlwind, and I can't wait for every minute of it. Wish me and my two lovely travel companions luck as we set out to travel Europe and see what Sweden and Italy have to offer! :)
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