Erin Went Braugh

If you can't tell by my flaming red hair, love of St. Patrick's Day, and the amount of potatoes I eat, I've got some Irish blood flowing through my veins. Pair that with the fact that my name literally means "the emerald isle" (aka Ireland), and you might be able to guess that I was INCREDIBLY EXCITED for Dublin. So much so that a small part of the back of my brain was worried I had hyped myself up too much. But don't worry...I wasn't at all disappointed. Dublin has officially claimed a very special place in my heart.

Our first day we went right to the center of the city to take a tour of Dublin Castle. Building of the castle started in 1204, under orders of King John, and over the years it has served as a royal residence, parliament, and military garrison. After the 1916 Easter Revolution, the men who were arrested were kept as prisoners in the castle before being executed. Now it's used for the presidential inauguration and official State visits. I thought it was strange that the chapel is used for presidential inaugurations, but I guess separation of church and state doesn't have to be so strict in a country that's mostly one religion.

After our tour of the castle, we hung out in the gardens for a while. There was a family having a picnic there and we watched the little Irish children playing hide and seek. So adorable.

     

We had lunch at a small cafe, where I learned that I'm a big fan of carrot soup. Then we walked around the outside of Christ Church.

After some more wandering around, we made our way over to the Old Jameson Distillery. I actually learned a lot from the tour - about why Jameson is different than Jack Daniels and scotch, why whiskey tastes different as it ages, and how the barrels it's stored in add to the flavor. At the end of the tour, we all got a free glass of Jameson.

    

We went back to the ship for dinner, and then set out on a pub hop. The night started at a place called O'Reilley's because we figured that sounded authentically Irish. It was too crowded for us to sit anywhere, and seemed to be really popular with the locals. The next place we stopped at had a local musician playing. It was definitely an older crowd, but the bar tenders were great. They gave us tips about where to go in Dublin and made jokes about how the Irish drink. Our last stop for the night was at Temple Bar in the Temple Bar area. We found another group of SASers there and took over a corner of the bar. They were playing great 80s music, which always makes things more fun.

The next morning, I went with some of my friends who wanted to get tattoos. While we were waiting for them, we talked to the people working there, who were fantastic. They laughed at all the tourist things we had planned in Dublin, and gave us tips about some local things. I talked to one of the girls about Obama and how American politics can influence the entire world. It was cool to get that perspective from her. By the end, I was persuaded to get my ears double pierced. New bling for Erin!

After the tattoos, we said goodbye to our new Irish friends and walked to the Guinness Storehouse. It was much bigger and less personal than the Jameson distillery, but it was still cool.

     

On the top floor there was a bar with a 360 degree view of Dublin. I don't like beer, but I definitely enjoyed that part of it.

That night a group of us went out to a pub that had been recommended to us the night before. We sat and talked for a few hours before heading back to the ship.

Day 3 in Dublin was CRAZY. It was the day of the Gaelic football finals, and they were happening at the stadium in the city. I think it must be the equivalent of the Super Bowl - there was so much energy everywhere! Kelly and I spent the morning wandering around the Temple Bar area, and then met up with a group at a bar to watch the game. I didn't understand it at all, but the atmosphere was fantastic. And Dublin won!!

     

That night we were walking around the city looking for an ATM when we found our friend Julie, who had been staying with an Irish family she knows. They told us to follow them to a popular club. When we got there, everyone was still decked out in the Dublin blue from the game. They played different Irish songs through the night and kept having us all cheer for the boys in blue. So much Dublin pride. It was fantastic.

Our last day in Ireland, John, Jay, Kelly, and I took a train to Bray. It's a small tourist town right on the ocean - absolutely beautiful. I could definitely move there. We walked down the beach, collecting stones. At the end of the beach, we climbed part way up a hill to a bench where we could see the ocean and the green fields. So gorgeous. Before taking the train back to Dublin, we stopped for some incredible gelato.

Basically Ireland was almost perfection. Absolutely beautiful and so much fun. So who wants to come back with me? Because I'm ready whenever you are.