One of my best friends came in to spend the holidays with me and we had an epic time together. Jen and I went to Barat together, and we graduated from the same program, though Jen was more on the design end of things. She flew in on Christmas Eve and we stayed in and made some food together. Had a bit of wine and generally just relaxed on Christmas Day. I made some chilli (which I am getting REALLY good at. The trick is to add Guinness to it. No joke.) On St. Stephen's Day, which was the 26th, we went out to my favorite drinking area, Temple Bar. Temple Bar is an entire AREA of shops, pubs, restaurants, etc, but there is one particular pub calle THE Temple Bar. Strangley enough, my buddy Craig was already there, so we joined forces and had a blast.
Jen and me
Jen and me
Here's Jen outside of The Temple Bar
Craig and I tried jigging to some "trad" music (short for Traditional Irish music).
We couldn't stop laughing because we looked so ridiculous and awesome.
The next day Jen and I did a bit of a walking and sigh-seeing tour through Dublin. The first stop was at Trinity College, and I had to say hello to my bike. Yes, I own that sweet purple Jeep Cherokee Laredo Mountain Bike. Bam.
We walked up toward Medeival Dublin (Dublinia) and came across Christ Church Cathedral, which never ceases to amaze. Anytime I pass it I am awestruck. There is also a smaller chapel there which I find amazing. It's got this beautiful tower that I can't stop staring at.
We made our way finally to the Guinness brewery. On a warm day, you can smell it ferment. Here's Jen outside the actual St. James Gate. I gotta tell ya, I love Guinness.
After our tour of Guinness, we made out way back down to City Centre and I had to catch a picture of Trinity. I feel so lucky to be a student here. It's just wonderful.
These lights are along Grafton Street which is a hub for shoppers. This is Happy Christmas in Irish.
A few days later, Jen and Moira and I took a day trip to Dun Laoghaire (pronounced Dun Leary). It's a really lovely town on the sea. We took some crazy videos which I'll post later and we had a really really great day.
Moira, Jen, and me
The next day, Jen and I were bound for Glendalough (pronounced GLENdalock) where some monastic ruins are. It's located up in the Dublin mountains and it's only 30 miles south of Dublin. This is Ireland at the end of December, and I can't wait to see it in the spring and summer. It's really amazing. These arches and many gravestones are from around 495 AD. St. Kevin came out here for some solitude and he built a monestary in the mountains.
Absolutely amazing.
The moisture was so thick up there that everything was covered in water and moss. I became obsessed with this tree with a million water droplets on it. These pictures don't do it justice, but it really did look like a million diamonds had been glued to the tree.
Clouds in the valley
Here's the view of the monstic city from the other side of the river
Another ancient ruin
Jen and I spent New Years Eve back in Temple Bar, except this time we went to Gogarty's pub. It's a 3 level pub with live music 7 nights a week, and it is HOPPIN. Once again, we ran into Craig. Here's everyone toasting each other for something random.
Craig and I were VIP that night so we got to go behind the bar and take a picture with Frank, the best bartended in the world.
It has been a really amazing week, and the adventure continues. Jen flew out early morning of the first, and I was sad to see her go. It was so special to have here here to share the holidays and Dublin with me. Really amazing. I am so lucky, and my life is so blessed. I don't know how I got here, but I am thankful everyday for this opportunity and adventure.
I hope everyone had wonderful holidays. I've been thinking about you all.
Much Love from Dublin.
