Let's Have Some Craic! (No, I'm not a junkie, read on....)
Me and Alex during our walking tour of Dublin!
Yesterday afternoon, Alex, Brandon, Conner and I, had quite the experience getting to Ireland. Our train departed from Florence at 8:55 am and arrived in Milano Centrale at 10:40. From there, we had to catch an hour long bus ride from the train station to the airport in Bergamo, Italy. (Mind you, our flight was departing at 1:30 which meant the door were closing at 1:00 and our bus didn't leave the station until 11:30, so we were all a little anxious that we were possibly going to miss our flight!)
ANDDD on top of that, today and tomorrow in Italy (November 29/30) there are transportation strikes going on, so there would be no outgoing buses, trains OR flights...so basically, if we missed our flight we would have been out of luck!
Once we got to the airport, we had to run around to find the spot where non EU residents have to go to get their passport stamped
and of course, just our luck that some guy was causing a fuss because his luggage was too big and heavy and they were going to fine him almost 100 euro for him to get it on the flight
So, after he held up the line another ten minutes, we finally all got our passports stamped and rushed to the security line!! After getting through security, we finally managed to make it to our gate...and ON TIME! go us!! Naturally, our flight was a little delayed as well, so that was lucky for us!! Our flight went pretty smoothly!
Although, I found it pretty funny that it rains so often in Ireland and yet, as we were leaving Italy, it was down pouring, but by the time we reached Ireland, we had beautiful blue skies and relatively nice weather!
it was so great!
After touching down, we got our bus from the airport into the City Center. After a short pit stop at Burger King...yes, Burger King... we finally got on the right path towards our hostel. Ireland is already so decorated and ready for Christmas, it was beautiful to see all of the lights and the Christmas trees everywhere! We made it to our hostel in great time. Our hostel is literally the most amazing hostel ever! It's so new, modern, inviting, and has so many wonderful things for us to do! After dropping off our stuff and getting settled, we headed out to explore a little of the city! Not too far from our hostel there is this cute little pub where the four of us stopped in for a bit. The boys all got their first Irish Guinness's, which they loved! And I tried a sip of Alex's and have to admit, it was pretty smooth, and good, although I'm just not a beer drinker. After talking and relaxing for a bit and enjoying the nice night, we set out in search for a good restaurant for dinner. Walking along the streets, Dublin was even beautiful at night! Everyone is truly as genuinely kind and helpful as you hear about! We were pointed in the direction of a nice little restaurant just over the bridge from where we were staying. We went there for a wonderful dinner and some hot chocolate! It was such a nice night and a great welcome into Dublin! We didn't stay out too late as we were all exhausted from a long day of traveling!
This morning, we woke, feeling (at least in my opinion), well rested and ready to see more of Dublin!
After getting ready, we headed out to this little place we had passed on the way to our hostel last night, called The Coffee Bean, where they serve traditional Irish Breakfast. Apparently, traditional Irish Breakfast consists of: sausage, bacon, eggs, beans and this thing called pudding, which is really like a rice ball, and toast!
the boys all got the traditional breakfast and I opted for some eggs on a bagel, which was very good! I also got a coffee, and I'm not lying when I say, the mug was the size of my head! We were all full and woken up by the time we left The Coffee Bean and headed back to our Hostel to take the FREE, (yup, I just said FREE) walking tour of Dublin. It was the BEST, most AMAZING tour that I have ever been on in my life! Our tour guide Robbie, was so charismatic, fun, intelligent and engaging and he made the four hour tour a wonderful experience! We got to see so much of Dublin and all of its beauty!
Some of the things we saw:
Dublin Castle
Dubh Linn
Dublin’s Medieval Walls
Viking Remains
Norman Dublin
Georgian Dublin
Christ Church Cathedral
Adam and Eve Church
The National Library
Famous Writers
Temple Bar
U2 – Origins of the rock legend
Trinity College
Leinster House
Chester Beatty Library
St. Stephen’s Green
1916 Easter Rising
After lunch, our very knowledgeable tour guide Robbie sat down with a few of us and gave us a whole history on the IRA, which was so interesting to hear! Although, I will admit, I think I was in a bit of a food coma from all the food and the warmth of the pub! But still, it was so interesting to hear! Especially because he had some first hand accounts from growing up in a very tense area (the north) where a lot of the IRA trouble dwells.
BUTTTTTT, the weirdest thing that I've seen in Ireland...or well, anywhere in the world to be honest
was actually in the bathrooms. I just wanted to go to the bathroom, all innocently and what not.... and I enter the bathroom to open the door of the stall to see...... that it's lit with.... BLACK LIGHTS! have you ever heard of anything like that?! So I overheard a girl asking someone why there were black lights in the bathroom stalls and the woman replied that since that bathroom could be accessed not only through the restaurant, but through another way, they put the black lights in the bathroom to prevent people from doing drugs
APPARENTLY, if you are under black lights you can't see your veins and thus, you can't shoot up coke or heroine or whatever else you would be shooting up in a bathroom stall.... needless to say, it was quite the experience going to the bathroom in a stall lit with black lights...
Also, another interesting thing that our tour guide, Robbie, told us today is that the word "Craic" (Said like Crack) means "FUN". so if you're walking around Ireland and you overhear someone saying "Let's have some craic" don't start thinking that all Irish-men are junkies.... what they REALLY mean is "Le'ts have some fun!"
If you want to read up a little more on some of the things I've mentioned above, check out these links!
This article will give you a little more information on the word "Craic" and how it's used in Ireland
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Craic
This is the tour company had for our AMAZING, FREE guided tour through Dublin today:
http://www.newdublintours.com/daily-tours/new-dublin-free-tour.html
ANDDD on top of that, today and tomorrow in Italy (November 29/30) there are transportation strikes going on, so there would be no outgoing buses, trains OR flights...so basically, if we missed our flight we would have been out of luck!
Once we got to the airport, we had to run around to find the spot where non EU residents have to go to get their passport stamped
and of course, just our luck that some guy was causing a fuss because his luggage was too big and heavy and they were going to fine him almost 100 euro for him to get it on the flight
So, after he held up the line another ten minutes, we finally all got our passports stamped and rushed to the security line!! After getting through security, we finally managed to make it to our gate...and ON TIME! go us!! Naturally, our flight was a little delayed as well, so that was lucky for us!! Our flight went pretty smoothly!
Although, I found it pretty funny that it rains so often in Ireland and yet, as we were leaving Italy, it was down pouring, but by the time we reached Ireland, we had beautiful blue skies and relatively nice weather!
it was so great!
After touching down, we got our bus from the airport into the City Center. After a short pit stop at Burger King...yes, Burger King... we finally got on the right path towards our hostel. Ireland is already so decorated and ready for Christmas, it was beautiful to see all of the lights and the Christmas trees everywhere! We made it to our hostel in great time. Our hostel is literally the most amazing hostel ever! It's so new, modern, inviting, and has so many wonderful things for us to do! After dropping off our stuff and getting settled, we headed out to explore a little of the city! Not too far from our hostel there is this cute little pub where the four of us stopped in for a bit. The boys all got their first Irish Guinness's, which they loved! And I tried a sip of Alex's and have to admit, it was pretty smooth, and good, although I'm just not a beer drinker. After talking and relaxing for a bit and enjoying the nice night, we set out in search for a good restaurant for dinner. Walking along the streets, Dublin was even beautiful at night! Everyone is truly as genuinely kind and helpful as you hear about! We were pointed in the direction of a nice little restaurant just over the bridge from where we were staying. We went there for a wonderful dinner and some hot chocolate! It was such a nice night and a great welcome into Dublin! We didn't stay out too late as we were all exhausted from a long day of traveling!
This morning, we woke, feeling (at least in my opinion), well rested and ready to see more of Dublin!
After getting ready, we headed out to this little place we had passed on the way to our hostel last night, called The Coffee Bean, where they serve traditional Irish Breakfast. Apparently, traditional Irish Breakfast consists of: sausage, bacon, eggs, beans and this thing called pudding, which is really like a rice ball, and toast!
the boys all got the traditional breakfast and I opted for some eggs on a bagel, which was very good! I also got a coffee, and I'm not lying when I say, the mug was the size of my head! We were all full and woken up by the time we left The Coffee Bean and headed back to our Hostel to take the FREE, (yup, I just said FREE) walking tour of Dublin. It was the BEST, most AMAZING tour that I have ever been on in my life! Our tour guide Robbie, was so charismatic, fun, intelligent and engaging and he made the four hour tour a wonderful experience! We got to see so much of Dublin and all of its beauty!
Some of the things we saw:
Dublin Castle
Dubh Linn
Dublin’s Medieval Walls
Viking Remains
Norman Dublin
Georgian Dublin
Christ Church Cathedral
Adam and Eve Church
The National Library
Famous Writers
Temple Bar
U2 – Origins of the rock legend
Trinity College
Leinster House
Chester Beatty Library
St. Stephen’s Green
1916 Easter Rising
It was sooo awesome!! and in the middle of the tour, we stopped at this nice little cafe to warm up! They had over TWENTY different types of hot chocolate!!! And more teas than you could imagine! I got the Dark Chocolate hot chocolate, Alex got the caramel hot chocolate and Conner got the mint hot chocolate! Brandon was a bore and didn't get one! (but we still love him anyway!)
After the tour, which ended up taking up so much more of the day than we anticipated (IN A GREAT WAY!) they actually took us to a little pub where you could get a REAL traditional meal for only 10 euro with a drink included! I felt compelled to try the Fish and Chips (partly because it was one of the only vegetarian options, and partly because England and Ireland are pretty well known for their fish and chips) and it was pretty good! The chips were really french fries, which I devoured since I haven't had them in months!
After the tour, which ended up taking up so much more of the day than we anticipated (IN A GREAT WAY!) they actually took us to a little pub where you could get a REAL traditional meal for only 10 euro with a drink included! I felt compelled to try the Fish and Chips (partly because it was one of the only vegetarian options, and partly because England and Ireland are pretty well known for their fish and chips) and it was pretty good! The chips were really french fries, which I devoured since I haven't had them in months!
After lunch, our very knowledgeable tour guide Robbie sat down with a few of us and gave us a whole history on the IRA, which was so interesting to hear! Although, I will admit, I think I was in a bit of a food coma from all the food and the warmth of the pub! But still, it was so interesting to hear! Especially because he had some first hand accounts from growing up in a very tense area (the north) where a lot of the IRA trouble dwells.
BUTTTTTT, the weirdest thing that I've seen in Ireland...or well, anywhere in the world to be honest
was actually in the bathrooms. I just wanted to go to the bathroom, all innocently and what not.... and I enter the bathroom to open the door of the stall to see...... that it's lit with.... BLACK LIGHTS! have you ever heard of anything like that?! So I overheard a girl asking someone why there were black lights in the bathroom stalls and the woman replied that since that bathroom could be accessed not only through the restaurant, but through another way, they put the black lights in the bathroom to prevent people from doing drugs
APPARENTLY, if you are under black lights you can't see your veins and thus, you can't shoot up coke or heroine or whatever else you would be shooting up in a bathroom stall.... needless to say, it was quite the experience going to the bathroom in a stall lit with black lights...
Also, another interesting thing that our tour guide, Robbie, told us today is that the word "Craic" (Said like Crack) means "FUN". so if you're walking around Ireland and you overhear someone saying "Let's have some craic" don't start thinking that all Irish-men are junkies.... what they REALLY mean is "Le'ts have some fun!"
Anyway, that's all my tired mind of mine can come up with for now! I hope that you all are warm and cozy reading this because I think my toes are still defrosting!
Also, before you all go to bed tonight, say a little prayer that this beautiful weather holds up for the rest of our stay here in Ireland, because so far, we've been lucky and I'm loving it!!!
15 days until I'm home and back in the states! I can't believe this experience is so close to being done. I'm truly so blessed to be able to have had all of these amazing experiences and to see all of the wonderful things and meet all the kind people that I have. I will forever remember how this whole experience has changed my life.
Have a wonderful, wonderful Thursday everyone!
Sending my love and warm thoughts back to all of you who are taking the time to read my blog!
Tomorrow morning, it's 5:30 am wake up call! Alex, Brandon, Conner and I are headed to Galway, where we will see the Cliffs of Moher!! I'm so, so very excited!
I probably won't be able to update you all on my Irish adventures until I'm back in Florence on Sunday, so until then, stay safe, healthy, happy and have a wonderful weekend!
If you want to read up a little more on some of the things I've mentioned above, check out these links!
This article will give you a little more information on the word "Craic" and how it's used in Ireland
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Craic
This is the tour company had for our AMAZING, FREE guided tour through Dublin today:
http://www.newdublintours.com/daily-tours/new-dublin-free-tour.html
Some further reading on the IRA
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irish_Republican_Army
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