As Irish as it Gets

(4/16-4/19)

It’s been a busy past few weeks out here in Italy. Spring has sprung and Florence is feeling like an even more magical place than before. Over the past ten days, we have had visitors from Ireland, Barcelona, and good ole’ Boulder, Colorado. Before the storm of visitors, however, there was no calm. The weekend of St. Patrick's Day kicked off the bender and set the tone for what was to come.

Dublin was the first trip I had officially booked for abroad. I remember sitting at home over the holidays debating if I wanted to spend the money on a trip to Ireland during the busiest weekend of the year. Luckily, I came to my senses and realized that it would be a once-in-a-lifetime experience and something I would never forget. My best friend Summer is also studying there so I had even more of a reason to pull it off.

I’ve never been to Ireland nor have I ever pictured myself going there. I had zero knowledge of the city of Dublin and didn’t know what to expect. I had one image in my head of a bunch of little stone houses on hills scattered on hills. Let me tell you, I was wrong.

The city of Dublin is incredible. A huge river runs through the city's industrial buildings. There’s a mix of modern bars and restaurants, but there are still countless classic Irish pubs that line the streets.

The weekend was just one big party. One big party full of beer, cider, crowds, and rugby- I wouldn’t have had it any other way.

I am not a beer girl. I’ll never order it and I’ll barely drink it was the only thing served. However, Dublin is the city of Guinness and I decided that if I was ever going to overcome my fear of beer, it would be here. I started off with a tall Guinness– it was awful. I wanted to throw up every time I took a sip. The problem was that I had to finish it. I couldn’t let myself spend a weekend in Dublin surrounded by the Irish and not finish a damn glass of beer. I’ll say, the first was the worst. I got better throughout the weekend and after one Guinness a day, I let myself switch over to Heineken.

Luckily Dublin also serves this delicious apple cider that’s cold and served in a bottle. I probably drank three barrels worth of cider that weekend to drown out the taste of beer in my mouth.

The real kicker though was the “Baby Guniess shots.” While they look like little shot glasses filled with dark beer, they're really just coffee liqueur topped with Irish cream. I think someone ordered a round of shots every other hour.

On St. Patrick’s Day, abroad students flooded the beer garden of Dicey's. It was a fest of drinking, reconnecting with old friends, and watching people do things that they would definitely regret tomorrow. In between Dicey’s I hopped around to different Irish pubs and grubbed on some classic pub food (I think I'm sick of potatoes for the rest of the year).

Saturday was a big day for Ireland. The rugby team was going head-to-head with England later that afternoon and naturally, it was a HUGE deal. My friends and I set up camp at Murray’s Pub so that we would have a table for the game. I watched probably three rugby matches before it was time for Ireland. I will say it paid off though because, by the time the important game started, I knew more about rugby than I’d ever cared to know.

Ireland won the game 29-16, meaning the party must go on! More dancing, drinking, and singing kept us going until about 4:00 in the morning. This day is one I will never forget because I was surrounded by such great energy that I caught enough endorphins to last me a lifetime.

I wasn’t going to let myself be hungover on Sunday so I forced myself out into town. I felt so at peace while in Dublin that I was content walking in the pouring rain. I ate lunch at a restaurant along the river and met up with my friend Tano afterward. We walked and talked and let the rain distract us from the pounding headaches we both woke up with.

We walked through a gorgeous park with swans and birds and fresh flowers. I could’ve sat in the park for hours just listening and people-watching.

My trip home Monday morning was awful. No part of me wanted to leave but every part of me was so grateful for the trip. The weekend sure knocked me down physically for a couple of days, but it was one of the best experiences of my entire life.

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I know this blog post is late, but better late than never, right? I'll be sure to keep you all up to date going forward. Caio!