Dublin for Saint Patty's Day!

I had the privilege of spending Saint Patrick’s Day in Dublin with Lea and Emily, my two roommates from first semester.  They are both studying in Ireland and I can’t think of a better weekend I could have visited them.  Lea was my tour-guide for the weekend since she is studying in Dublin and Emily and her boyfriend came down from Limerick on Saturday for the celebrations.  I stayed with Lea in her apartment downtown which was a great location because we were close to everything.

When I arrived in Dublin on Thursday afternoon, Lea was still in class.  We agreed to meet up at a coffee shop close to her campus when she finished.  I took a bus from the airport to Trinity College, where Lea is studying this semester.  Within five minutes of getting off the bus in the center of Dublin, I ran into three girls from Providence College.  PC’s spring break fell during Saint Patty’s Day and many students were visiting friends in Ireland for the week.  I knew I was going to run into friends from PC, but I didn’t think it would be so soon into the weekend.

When Lea and I met up we went to one of her favorite restaurants to have lunch.  I was excited to see a menu including food resembling more of an American diet than a Mediterranean diet.  I never thought I could miss something as simple as grilled chicken and melted cheddar on wheat bread.  MMM, good.

After eating, Lea walked me through her campus.  Trinity College is one of the oldest universities in Ireland.  The campus is beautiful and just a short walk from her apartment, conveniently located in the center of Dublin and right next to Grafton Street, one of the most famous streets in Dublin.  We bought our outfits for Saturday (t-shirts, buttons, tattoos, and mardi-gras beads) and then headed back to Lea’s apartment to catch up with each other before heading out for the night.

Lea took me to Temple Bar, a very traditional Irish bar with live music every night where I had my first Guinness of the weekend!  We only stayed long enough to finish our beers and hear a few songs before we left to meet up with some other PC students who are studying in Dublin for the semester.  On our way to meet up with my friend Susan, we ran into two other girls from PC who were also visiting Dublin for the holiday.  We all headed to the bar together, where we stayed for about an hour before leaving for ** where we met up with other PC students.  I couldn’t believe how many of us there were.  Our group had grown to about fifteen by the end of the night.  Surrounded by so many familiar faces, I kept forgetting I was in Dublin because it felt more like I was back at school.  We were having so much fun that we didn’t want to leave, but knew we were going to see each other again on Friday. 

Lea had class early Friday morning so I ventured out into the city alone.  It was raining again, but that didn’t stop me from exploring the city.  I visited Saint Stephen’s Park, and was surprised to see how many other people were out exercising despite the weather conditions.  Lea says it rains almost every day in Dublin, so I guess the Irish are used to it.  Nonetheless, the park was beautiful, filled with colorful flowers and the greenest grass I have ever seen.

After visiting the park, I met up with Lea at Trinity to see the Book of Kells.  I didn’t know much about the Book of Kells before coming to Dublin, but I learned a lot from Lea.  For example, I didn’t know that the Book of Kells is actually a collection of four books, each including a different gospel.  It was mind-blowing to see books over a thousand years old that are filled with stories that are still read in church today.

After heading back to Lea’s dorm to freshen up a little bit, we set out to tour what brings most Americans to Dublin: the Guinness Store House!  It was no surprise that we had to wait in line once we got there, considering it was Saint Patrick’s Day weekend.  We both agreed that it was well worth the wait and the line was moving surprisingly fast anyways.  Once we were inside, I was shocked to learn the museum housed seven floors.  Who knew there was so much to learn about beer?!

Each floor was dressed in green specifically for Saint Patrick’s Day, “The Friendliest Day of the Year” according to Guinness.  We were taught how to pour the perfect pint of Guinness, a craft not everyone can pull off.

My Guinness Diploma!

The last floor of the store house is a bar that overlooks the city where we ran into even more Providence students, including those who are studying in Seville with me.

PC Students at the Guinness Factory!

That night we visited Erin, another friend from PC, at her campus outside of the city and spent time with her and a group of PC boys who lived down the hall from Lea and I last semester.  We met up with even more PC students when we went back downtown and spent the night catching up with each other.

Saturday morning Emily, Ben (her boyfriend who was visiting for the week), and her friends from her study-abroad program met up with us at Lea’s apartment for breakfast.  All of us were dressed from head to toe in green, ready to take on the day.  We left for the parade and were not surprised to find the streets filled with people.  When the parade started, we seemed to squeeze our way through just close enough to see the floats.  I was surprised to see that the parade was not filled with step dancers and bagpipe players and instead, people were dressed in very unique costumes that didn’t match any sort of theme.

Erin and Lea during the Parade

Lea, Emily and me at the Parade! (Photo stolen from Lea!)

We met up with Brendan, a friend from PC, who took us to a pub where the rest of his group of PC friends was headed.  When we got to the bar, I was astonished to see how many of my classmates were there.  It seemed as if every direction I looked I saw a different friend.   I knew there was going to be a lot of PC students in Ireland for the holiday, but I never imagined there would be enough to fill an entire bar.  The afternoon was filled with hugs and smiles as we all caught up with each other, exchanging stories about our semesters away from each other.  The atmosphere was far too familiar, and I kept thinking I was back in Providence.

As the day progressed, we all started to break off, exploring different parts of the city, and by the night we were back down to a group of about fifteen.  Owen, a friend from PC, was very proud to take us to a smaller bar where his sister was performing traditional Irish music.  She had an amazing voice and played the fiddle incredibly.  We all spent the rest of the night dancing and I can’t think of a better way I could have ended my weekend in Dublin.