Student Bloggers

6 am Saturday morning, most people my age are tucked in bed with gumdrops dancing in their dreams. That was not the case for Erin, Suruchi, and myself; the three of us embarked on a vacation from our vacation and headed to the emerald island; Ireland. The “tree” of us wanted this trip to be relaxing and just a fun bonding time before we sit down at a table in our residence and work for the next three weeks.

Once we arrived and got through passport control, we purchased a ticket for a two-day pass on one of Dublin’s hop on and off buses. We did the same thing in Greece, so choosing to use a Hop on and Off system during our stay was a no-brainer. We started making our way to our hotel, after a quick coach ride to the city center, we found out that we had a walk in front of us that we were not prepared for. Erin booked our hotel for this trip and we were sooooooooooooo thankful that she did. Suruchi and I were looking at hostels and ready to book one when Super Erin swooped in and saved the day by finding a three bed hotel room for a lesser price. It had actual beds and a real shower, which for us is luxury. You see, the place that we are staying at in Camden (London), the mattresses make the floor feel like clouds and the shower is practically a closet that has a rain function. So when we say a real bed and a real shower we didn’t know what to do with ourselves, it doesn’t take much to impress us anymore.

Once we were done gawking at the bathroom we headed out to discover Dublin. We jumped on the Hop On bus and just let the hilarious commentary of the bus driver show us around the capital. After riding the 90-minuet route we jumped off at O’Connell Street, which is their main street. Once we were done checking out the stores, the three of us hopped back on and made our way to the Guinness Storehouse. When in Dublin! Little known fact about the dark beer’s brewery, when Arthur Guinness signed the 9,000 years lease for the factory, at the time it was only 45 pounds a year. No one proof read the lease and there was no inflection clause, so now in 2014 the lease is still 45 pounds a year. Crazy!!!!! After doing some looking around and Christmas shopping it was time to check out an adorable Christmas Market. Suruchi, Erin, and I are crazy about Christmas, so when we passed a row of wooden huts selling knick-knack’s we freaked out.

Being awake at three am to catch our flight made us turn in early, so on our first night in Dublin the three of us were ready for bed by 8. One other magical thing found in our room was a TV. We had the most relaxing night, laying in bed watching The X Factor and weird late night talk shows was just what we needed. We also got the best night sleep ever. It was like a cloud!

Sunday was more productive. We saw Christ’s Church, St. Patrick’s Cathedral, Jamison’s Brewery, Dublin Castle, and once again O’Connell’s street. That day was filled with picture taking, map pulling out, and overall a good time. For dinner we went to the oldest pub in Dublin, called Brazen Head that was founded in 1198. I had a traditional Irish salad that had salmon on it. Being from Washington I am very particular about my seafood and I would give Ireland a good second place after the Northwest coast.

Monday morning, when having to walk to our bus stop to catch the coach to take us back to the airport was brutal, it was cold and we had to leave our clouds behind (hotel beds). When we finally got into the air and I looked out the window and saw the clouds quilting the earth I couldn’t help but feel extremely grateful for this opportunity. All my friends were complaining about having to leave home from Thanksgiving break and I was telling them “oh I’m going to Ireland”, that was something that I wasn’t expecting to be able to say a year ago. Can’t believe how much a year can change where you think your life is going.

Now it is back to the essays and finals to prepare for, because yes I am still going to school, mom! All the papers will have to take a back seat Friday, because Alicia will be joining Erin, Suruchi, and I on a weekend trip to Paris!!! *insert intense freak out*