Top of the mornin' to ya! The week following Abroadfest the tristate area decided to pick up once again and venture off to the land of green for St. Patty's Day weekend. We arrived much later than everyone else, so upon arriving at our hotel Kristina, Stacey and I threw down our bags and headed to the famous Temple Bar to meet up with our friends. We were disappointed to learn they had started on the Guinness a little too early and were trying to head back just as we got there. We followed the crowd and returned to the hotel that my pledge class as well as a few of the boys were staying at. We hung out in the hotel's bar for a bit and didn't fight it when they all decided to call it a early night. We were tired from our travels and figured a good night's sleep never hurt anyone.
Rise and shine, it was time to drink some Guinness. While a group of the girls decided to head to brunch, a few of us set out to the Guinness Factory. It was essentially Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory for drunk people, with a surprising twist of educational facts. The seven floors encompassed a variety of things. To be completely honest, we skimmed the facts and ingredients floors and moved on up to the taste testing and self-pouring floors. On the taste testing floor they gave us a small shot of the beer and then taught us the proper way to drink a Guinness beer - elbow up! This taste testing is followed by the chance to fill up your own glass of beer, only after being taught how to of course. I poured my first, and probably last, glass of Guinness and then I (along with every other person who has ever poured there) got a certificate proclaiming my perfect pouring skills. Aren't you proud mom and dad?! After taking an insane amount of pictures with our beers and certificates, we headed up to the top floor. The top floor is a bar which has huge glass windows that allow you to see over the whole city. Had it been a nice day out I assume it would have been amazing to look at.
After grabbing some souvenirs on our way out we headed to Temple Bar yet again. We bar hopped between here and another bar that I can't recall the name of at the moment. At the nameless bar, you could also go up to the rooftop which was also pretty cool. The combination of American music, my friends and drunk Irish people made for an excellent ending to a great day.
With the days being much bigger than the nights, we again got a pretty good nights sleep (despite the 2 single beds for 3 people dilemma) and woke up refreshed the next morning. We decided to use our time wisely and visit the castle, St. Patrick's Cathedral, and Trinity College campus before diving into some more Guinness. All of the sites were interesting and pretty to see and I'm definitely happy I saw more than just the inside of a bar on my trip. Nonetheless, after a self-guided tour and a good meal, we headed back to the Temple Bar area.
Temple Bar is an actual bar, but it's also the name of the area where everyone (tourists and super friendly Irish people) go to drink and hang out. The beautiful weather and pool of green clothing made none of us want to ever go inside. We hung out on the streets of the area until Sahm decided to go missing for an hour, phoneless, causing us to head back to the hotel prematurely, only to find him sitting on the couch of our hotel lobby with a "I know you're gonna kill me and I'm sorry" face. You can use your imaginations to play out that conversation between him and Beatty.
Saturday was another relaxing night, and we woke up the next morning with some time to kill before we left. We finally got to go to Elephant and Castle for brunch. Best wings ever. I probably could have finished the entire thing myself, but luckily I had some friends to share with to save me from a self-induced wing coma. I also had a delicious club sandwich, but it was nothing to brag about. After brunch we bought some more souvenirs for friends and family and returned to our hotel. I think the end of this trip was the only time thus far I wasn't ready to go back to Prague yet. I loved everything about the atmosphere of Dublin. Maybe it's because my favorite color is green, or maybe it was the welcoming personalities of the Irish people, but whatever it was, I was definitely disappointed to say goodbye to it. Who knows, maybe the luck of the Irish will bring me back one day.
Rise and shine, it was time to drink some Guinness. While a group of the girls decided to head to brunch, a few of us set out to the Guinness Factory. It was essentially Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory for drunk people, with a surprising twist of educational facts. The seven floors encompassed a variety of things. To be completely honest, we skimmed the facts and ingredients floors and moved on up to the taste testing and self-pouring floors. On the taste testing floor they gave us a small shot of the beer and then taught us the proper way to drink a Guinness beer - elbow up! This taste testing is followed by the chance to fill up your own glass of beer, only after being taught how to of course. I poured my first, and probably last, glass of Guinness and then I (along with every other person who has ever poured there) got a certificate proclaiming my perfect pouring skills. Aren't you proud mom and dad?! After taking an insane amount of pictures with our beers and certificates, we headed up to the top floor. The top floor is a bar which has huge glass windows that allow you to see over the whole city. Had it been a nice day out I assume it would have been amazing to look at.
After grabbing some souvenirs on our way out we headed to Temple Bar yet again. We bar hopped between here and another bar that I can't recall the name of at the moment. At the nameless bar, you could also go up to the rooftop which was also pretty cool. The combination of American music, my friends and drunk Irish people made for an excellent ending to a great day.
With the days being much bigger than the nights, we again got a pretty good nights sleep (despite the 2 single beds for 3 people dilemma) and woke up refreshed the next morning. We decided to use our time wisely and visit the castle, St. Patrick's Cathedral, and Trinity College campus before diving into some more Guinness. All of the sites were interesting and pretty to see and I'm definitely happy I saw more than just the inside of a bar on my trip. Nonetheless, after a self-guided tour and a good meal, we headed back to the Temple Bar area.
Temple Bar is an actual bar, but it's also the name of the area where everyone (tourists and super friendly Irish people) go to drink and hang out. The beautiful weather and pool of green clothing made none of us want to ever go inside. We hung out on the streets of the area until Sahm decided to go missing for an hour, phoneless, causing us to head back to the hotel prematurely, only to find him sitting on the couch of our hotel lobby with a "I know you're gonna kill me and I'm sorry" face. You can use your imaginations to play out that conversation between him and Beatty.
Saturday was another relaxing night, and we woke up the next morning with some time to kill before we left. We finally got to go to Elephant and Castle for brunch. Best wings ever. I probably could have finished the entire thing myself, but luckily I had some friends to share with to save me from a self-induced wing coma. I also had a delicious club sandwich, but it was nothing to brag about. After brunch we bought some more souvenirs for friends and family and returned to our hotel. I think the end of this trip was the only time thus far I wasn't ready to go back to Prague yet. I loved everything about the atmosphere of Dublin. Maybe it's because my favorite color is green, or maybe it was the welcoming personalities of the Irish people, but whatever it was, I was definitely disappointed to say goodbye to it. Who knows, maybe the luck of the Irish will bring me back one day.