IRELAND

Ireland - July/Aug 2011

Work trip turned 1st solo international trip turned my new type of adventure forever!!  Hopefully with friends next time though.  :)

I always eat a lot when I fly.  Before boarding I bought a bag of trail mix and water and began to grub as soon as I got in my seat. I had no clue that most international flights give you complimentary meals!   It was funny, when the meal cart was being wheeled down the aisle I noticed that everyone was ordering food!  I thought that was weird and asked the lady beside me if it was free!  She said YES so I ordered the chicken.  Microwave dinners at Wal-Mart would show this thing up.  But of course I ate it.  #fatass  I arrived in Dublin on a Sunday bright and early around 7am.  I was extremely full from the flight. 

When I arrived at my hotel of course the room wasn’t ready.  So I sat in the lounge, where they have tea time by a nice bay window overlooking the street, and read my Harry Potter book that I had not opened in months.  What a better occasion to break open that book while being over in Ireland! 

Below is my beautiful hotel The Westbury! While I was there Prince had a concert and they said he stayed at my hotel!!



There was leftover coffee from a group party earlier, so I grabbed a large cup and was off to Harry Potter land.  Around 10am they called me for my room.  I immediately hung up my work clothes, as I hate ironing.  Thankfully they traveled well.  I was told to stay up the day I arrived, as sleeping all day would totally mess up my sleep routine.  So I grabbed my camera and started walking around.  I must have taken over 100 pictures on my 1^st day.  The architecture there is so different, the streets are different, and the people are different.  It was so refreshing.  Also the weather was about 64 degrees, such a relief from the 98 degree heat in the states. 

This is Grafton Street. A very busy bustling street near the hotel. Lots of neat shops, restaurants, and interesting street people.



By 1pm I was exhausted.  I did grab lunch at a cafe near the hotel, but soon after I was headed for nappy time.  I woke up about 5pm and was going to be lazy in the hotel that evening.  But honestly I was bored.  Trying to think of what I could do until the next day...  Irish TV sucks, or is unfamiliar, and I could only flip through the channels so much.  By 6pm I was out and about again.  

I decided to explore St. Stephens Green one evening.  They say it’s Dublin’s “NY Central Park.” It was actually very nice. There were people lying all over the grass, having pick nicks, talking, and playing cards. I walked around and somehow exited on the opposite side. Oops. 

I immediately noticed a shopping mall with a TJMaxx; I had to check it out!  This was the only place where I’ve seen a TJMaxx and Valentino right across from each other! Weird. After that I needed to eat, so I ate outside at this diner called Pasta Fresco. I had a nice healthy dinner, then a nice healthy serving of cheesecake. Oh it was yummy. As I was leaving the restaurant I noticed a girl across the street in a red dress and sparkly shoes. As I passed her I said “cute shoes.” She immediately said “Thank you…..shooo.” As I was walking I had to think for a second, she just said Thank You, the shoe? Or shooo? Was she “shhoooing” me? I was heated! Here I am in a foreign country, and I see a stranger whom I compliment and she tells me to shoo! UGH! My character was tested and I passed. But if I was going to be mean I would have told her to “shoo” her fat ass to a gym, b/c she looked like the damn Kool Aid man in that too tight of a dress.

This was one of the scariest buildings I saw in Dublin!

The first few days at work were rough. Not one person asked me to lunch! Boooo. :( Oh well. Looking forward to dinner became an extremely exciting part of each day. 

I decided to check out one of the restaurants recommended by a local bartender, The Pigs Ear. I didn’t know what to expect. Some semi decent restaurant with a nice bar I hoped. Upon arriving I had to go up some weird stairs, and saw a sign for “Dining Room.” I opened up the door, to find only one room with a bar in the corner and no chairs. I asked if there was a bar and they said “No, this is it, do you have a reservation?” I politely said “No, do I need one?” They actually had a table available for me, a 2 top table in the middle of the restaurant. "I’ll take it!"

It was the cutest restaurant. Having only about 10 tables seating no more than 30 people. They served me bread in a linen bag!  And butter on a tile! Awwwww! It was so cute! I ordered a glass of wine, and their butternut squash/nut risotto. It was delicious and their “brown bread” was extremely delightful, especially with butter. It was time for dessert and I was really full. But being here on business can be quite boring, so I figured I could enjoy myself more and kill time, so I ordered the recommended cheesecake!  It came out in a mini jelly jar, with a red jelly jar top, like you would see on a strawberry Smuckers jar. The cheesecake was delightful, more of a cheesecake pudding consistency, but oh so yummy. I tried my best to eat it slow and enjoy every bit, and oh I did. Then I got to the bottom and realized there was raspberry jam! Dang! However after trying it, the cheesecake was better all by itself.

One of my favorite buildings in Dublin!

By the 4th or 5th day I was still not use to the time change. I wasn't sleeping well at all. Man. 

Next dinner?  The Rustic Stone. Their specialty is providing rare meat on a hot stone and it cooks right in front of you. I ordered the ribeye with a green vegetable medley. Oh, and the ribeye came with Prawns on top. All week I have seen prawns all over different menus and haven't ordered them.  I thought they were some sort of crawfish or squid. I found out they were shrimp!!!! Shessh! Hahahaa. Anyway, the ribeye was pretty good. It was tougher than the ribeye’s I'm use to, but it was still good. The “vegetable medley” was by far one of the best things I’ve had since I was in Dublin. It was actually peas! But had a few lima bean looking beans in there. But it was prepared so delightfully. It came out warm, but quickly cooled and was just as delicious cool! It was so fresh; it had to have been made with cilantro, lime juice, and something else. It was extremely delicious, extremely refreshing and very enjoyable.

That night I had planned to talk on the phone with my boyfriend, but I could not stay up as the night before I did not get any sleep. THANK GOD there were a couple familiar episodes of CSI on TV. That really made my day.

Saturday!!!!!  My first free day of the trip!!  I booked a day tour to travel to the west coast of Ireland to visit the Cliffs of Moher!!!  We started out on a bus and drove through a couple towns. I thought we would stop more but oh well. Especially at this one caste, where the rumor has it, if you walk around the castle three times, what is on your mind will at once be healed. Man I wanted to stop that bus! We stopped prior to the cliffs at this cute coastal area called Clare. I bought the most beautiful ring. I believe it is my favorite ring now.

Here's a picture from the coast of Clare.

The Cliffs of Moher were AMAZING. It was misty when we arrived, so I had to buy a $10 cheap umbrella. UGH. But I had to protect my camera!!!!!!!!!! We were only allotted 1.5hrs at the cliffs. I thought that was plenty of time, until I was at the furthest point and I had only 30 minutes to get back! I walked briskly back toward the center, but I had to make it to the other cliff, just to see what was over there! I mean, I am in IRELAND, at these cliffs, and there’s a chance I could never be back, so I rushed to the other side. It was not as beautiful as the other side, but at least I now know! I wish we had more time there. The views were so breathtaking, but I was too busy hustling around trying to snap pics, I had to stop myself for a moment to take it all in. The pathways to the furthest peaks were so close to the edge. I was amazed I was doing it! It was so exhilarating, I’m sure I had a smile on my face the whole time.

The ride back was boring, and they played PS I Love You, such a terrible movie. I played my ipod and napped. I was exhausted that night, but was craving pizza. I ate an entire pizza, and two glasses of wine. I definitely had no problem falling asleep after that.

Sunday!!!  My second and only other free day!!  I decided to do a local tour of Dublin.  I rode one of the double decker “red buses.” It was quite fun actually, part of the top of the bus was in open air. It was nice to feel the breeze and snap pics from that viewpoint. I rode around to places a little too far to walk, like the Guinness factory and some famous jail. I had no desire to see the Guinness factory, but I got off at the jail stop. The next two tours were booked, and I didn’t feel like waiting around 45 minutes for the next tour, so I hopped back on the bus. By the time I got back around to the jail it was closed. BUT, in the meantime I did go to the Dublin zoo! The Dublin zoo is supposedly the 3rd oldest zoo in the world! AND it is known for its success in lion breeding! OMG KITTYS!!!!!! That is the real reason I chose to go to the zoo, I figured it would be flourishing with cats! UM NO. I saw one lion, or half of it because it was sleeping. I did see a couple active tigers though, so it was cool. I was not that impressed, but oh well.

That night I finally had my fish and chips, and a Coors Light. It was nice.



Overall Dublin was an interesting trip.  It was my first time to Europe, and actually the furthest I had ever been at that time, and I was alone.  The worst part of the trip was feeling my relationship unravel with my boyfriend.  Ladies:  if you are in a foreign country and your boyfriend has no desire to call and check up on you = RED FLAG.  Nothing hurts more than being hurt by the ones you least expect.  But nothing is more encouraging than knowing and seeing yourself get through difficult times. 

I felt like I saw a lot, if not all of Dublin and I got to visit the west coast of the country.  Dublin/Ireland = check/done!