Thursday night we got on a bus around 19:30 to go to the airport. Everything was looking great for our weekend in Dublin. The plane however was late to leave the airport (the flight was only 45 minutes long) meaning we got into Dublin around midnight. We caught the bus into Dublin and had an adventure trying to find our hostel. Great place by the way, I could tell the second we got there it was going to be an interesting stay because you had to be buzzed into the building. Keys never left the building, you were given them at the front desk, and there was also a buzzer to be let into the stairs to walk to the room. This place was a maze of corridors and doors with doors behind them. It was a hopping place at 1:30 in the morning. We finally found our room and decided to just make our beds and go to sleep. The 20-bed mixed room was an interesting experience that I would not wish on my worst enemy. People coming in at all hours of the night, snoring, lights, constant chatter, and to top it off only one toilet and one shower. Spectacular (the second I got back to my Edinburgh flat I showered off all the disease that I could have received there).
Friday, our first day in the city, found us slightly groggy from the awkward beds and little rest that we had. Breakfast at the hostel got us awake for the most part and after breakfast Emily and I decided we were going to go find a Hop On Hop Off bus and see the city! There were 20 spots to see and with a 2-day pass we decided we could go to every single stop. First stop, Guinness Storehouse to see the process of making draught. Guinness makes lots and lots of pints a day, and Arthur Guinness signed a 9000 year lease for his business so Guinness will be around for a while. Four ingredients of Guinness are barley, hops, water, and yeast and you can smell the roasting process from miles around the storehouse. Here we discovered that there was a big futbol game happening that night in Dublin. The world qualifiers for the Euro 2012 Cup of which Ireland –v- Russia were playing. Souvenir shopping, hitting up more of the stops on the bus, and getting off at all the stops that look awesome was the majority of Friday. Night life in Dublin is pretty laid back; we stopped at a pub where they had the game promised to play the qualifying game. Emily and I people watched until the game started. This included observing a blonde haired guy with a 1984 high school varsity jacket, seeing that was priceless. We met a bunch of guys from Denmark who were making a huge ruckus instead of actually watching the game, which was very annoying. The game was intense but Ireland lost 2-3 to Russia. Going back to the hostel was not okay with me; I disliked that hostel a lot.
Saturday, back on the Hop on Hop off bus, Emily and I went to the galleries around the city. We also went to Kilmainham Gaol Museum, this €2 tour took over an hour and a half and was really interesting. Our guide had lots and lots of stories to tell about the people that were imprisoned in the jail. There was a man that was in charge of the jail that pretended to be a doctor so that he could find war secrets and sell them to the government. All the stories included war because the jail had 7 wars during its history. The jail was one of our favorite stops in Dublin. We also went to the National Gallery of Ireland which was a maze of long hallways and corridors filled with paintings with artists I have never heard of. Even thought the gallery of Scotland was smaller there were cooler paintings there then in Ireland’s gallery. 
The fact that we had 12 hours to kill before our flight (which was at 6 in the morning but we had to catch the bus around 415 am) was killer. We walked around the shopping areas, window and tourist shopped. Staying up all night was slightly a bad idea but it happened. We hung out at pubs in the Temple Bar area until approximately 130 am and then we couldn’t stand watching sports anymore so we decided to just head back to the hostel. Having 2 hours to kill in the middle of the night was absolutely boring. We found a television in the hostel that was working and I watched Bear Grylls and Comedy Central for the duration of the time before we had to leave to go catch the bus. Bus etiquette 101: Snappy McSnapperson her and I would like to let you in on a couple little tiny not so small secrets about bus etiquette. 1) Whoever gets to the stop first gets on first. 2) If there is a group of 14 people do not push your way to the front so that you can make sure your whole group gets on. 3) Singing loudly because you are drunk is annoying to everyone else on the bus. 4) PDA makes everyone else uncomfortable. 5) When getting off the bus let the people in front of you get off first. 6) When getting off the bus don’t stop the second you get off to take in your surroundings, move away from the opening so others can get off too.
Ireland is officially dubbed weird because of their Customs regulations. When arriving in Dublin we had to go through Customs and get our passports stamped. But when leaving Dublin, I don’t know if it was because it was so early in the morning, but we didn’t have to go through Customs at all. However, the lines for security were redonkulous and a warning to all of you; I don’t ever want to be that close to a stranger that early in the morning, ever again. When arriving in Edinburgh, we didn’t have to go through Customs either, this was weird too, because we always have to go through Customs in Edinburgh when arriving from a different country.
All in all, this trip was an experience, of a lifetime. I’m so thankful to be able to be over here, exploring Europe and the UK, but I also can’t wait to be home for Christmas. I have come to realize that family means more to me then pretty much everything. If I can’t have my family close to me what is there to look forward to. Bugging my brother, having chats with my parents, driving my Grandma around, and listening to my cousins stories are priceless moments that I won’t take for granted. So, this is me from across the pond, giving you a huge hug and saying I miss all of you and can’t wait to see you again.
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