transition

Ireland. It’s somewhere I’ve always wanted to go. And now I was finally getting to go! First; however, I needed to get out of Rome. Which was harder than it sounds. The day I was leaving, there was a very violent protest in the city center. Students have been protesting for the past couple months because there have been cuts in education spending. On the 14^th of December, there was a vote being passed and protests turned violent, with fires, teargas, broken glass on the banks, graffiti…it was scary. I had to venture outside when I turned in my keys, and when I saw what was out there- it was like nothing I had ever seen before. All the major streets were closed and when I phoned for a taxi around 4:30 pm, the cab companies weren’t sending the taxis anywhere near Piazza Navona. It was too dangerous.

I called closer to when I needed to leave, and they still weren’t sending them over, but Kristy managed to find one closer to the river. Remember our guardian angels from our fall break trip? I’m pretty sure my taxi driver fit in amongst them. What was usually a 20 minute ride to the airport turned into an hour and 45 minute ride. And he did everything in his power to get me there as soon as he could. He even called up his buddy and asked him to look up alternative flights in case I didn’t make this one. But, I made it. I walked up to the gate as my plane was boarding… it is the most efficient way of getting on the plane! Definitely cuts down on wait time. I arrived in Ireland around 11 pm- and unfortunately the recommended bus wasn’t running anymore, so I got on a bus that dropped me further away, but still cheaper than a taxi. But I forgot to factor in how heavy my luggage was- oops. A nice Irish guy helped me with my bags the second half of my walk to the hostel, which is right along the River Liffey. And so many young people were out, drinking and having a good time. It was different from Rome- more lighthearted and a younger age group.

Wednesday morning I was up bright and early for a bus tour. I took a bus to Galway and met the tour company there. I ended up befriending two French guys sitting behind me because of a problem with my memory card. They let me borrow their camera and therefore we were together the rest of the day. They were a blast and we agreed to meet back in Dublin on Friday so I could get the pictures from them. The tour took us to the Cliffs of Moher, but before and after we stopped at various castles and historical places, like the Portal Tomb and Leprechaun’s glen. The tour was with this old Irish man with a great personality and we stopped for lunch at a pub where I got Beef and Guinness stew with brown bread and a Bulmers. Good and also very filling.

Thursday morning I was supposed to be going on another tour and got to the meeting place 5 minutes late. I spent the rest of the morning chastising myself for missing the bus (I had been trying to fix my camera), and ended up visiting Christchurch Cathedral. I didn’t go inside though, because they were charging 6 euros! Ridiculous. Churches are supposed to be free. (I found out later that my tour had been canceled because of bad weather, so I hadn’t missed the bus after all!) I ended up going on a walking tour that took us all around Dublin. The tour guide was very informative about the history of Ireland, but it was freezing cold. Once the wind kicked up it was brutal. We ended in a pub and I got the Beef and Guinness stew again, this time they loaded broccoli, carrots, mashed and roasted potatoes on top. Again, delicious and very filling. The people who did the walking tour were sponsoring a pub crawl later that night, so a couple of the people from my tour and I decided to meet up later and go on this “pub crawl.” I ended up bringing two of the girls I had met in my hostel, sisters from the US, who were staying in my room. And it ended up being a ton of fun. There was someone whose job it was to take us around to different bars and keep us “on time.” (sidenote: how awesome of a job is that?!) I was able to try different types of beers (Carlsberg and Porterhouse Red) and also some mixed drinks. But the best part was all the people I met on the crawl. There were the two guys from my walking tour (one was from North Carolina) and then I met a girl from Brazil, and guy from Italy, 4 guys from Canada, and a guy from Australia! Most of who were staying at my hostel. Friday the two sisters and I visited Four Courts, the justice buildings that housed the four courts- I think it has expanded now. But they people who work there still wear black billowing robes and white cravats and wigs- it was all I could do to stifle a giggle when they walked by. The sisters left then to go to the airport, and I walked down to St. Stephen’s Green (buying some boots on the way). It is absolutely beautiful and I could picture weddings taking place there. And then I went to the Museum of Natural History, the Archaeology Museum. Free entry and lots of artifacts and history about Ireland. They have bodies that they found in bogs, and gold, and all sorts of historic artifacts- I loved it! It was a great museum, and the building was designed to be a museum, instead of using an empty building.

After the museum I walked over to the Guinness Storehouse- it was the meeting point with my French friends Cyril and Florent. We toured around the museum for a couple hours, ending at the Gravity Bar at the top with our free pint of Guinness and a panoramic view of the city. Very beautiful. Our conversations were hilarious- their English was passable, and they asked me to teach them/correct them. Facial expressions and gestures definitely played a part in communicating. We swung by my hostel so I could transfer pictures and then we went out to dinner. The restaurant we ended up at was only a couple weeks old, but it was a great location. It was right on the River Liffey. And we had a corner booth, with a Christmas tree and a view of the river and the falling snow! It couldn’t have been more picturesque. And of course we took our time over dinner- I had the seafood chowder and then the Bacon and Cabbage. Which is not bacon as how we think of it- it was a thick chunk of pork, and mashed potatoes “mash” on the side. And dessert was the Christmas pudding. After dinner we went out to some of the pubs and I heard local bands (for the first time!) and met more French people than I ever have in my life. At one of the pubs I was surrounded- it was because the following day there was a futbol match between a  French team and an Irish team- I’m guessing that’s what they talked about, since the French Cyril taught me was more basic.

Almost missed my plane home though- I overslept by about an hour, and then when I walked into the airport there were really long lines. Fortunately for me, none of them were for my flight, so I made it through no problem. And here I am, back at home. I’m really glad I went to Ireland before coming home. It provided me with a transition period where I wasn’t thrown back into the English-speaking world immediately. It threw me off when in Dublin I could ask the bus drivers questions in English and they could understand me. And I was glad I met a lot of international people- the mixture of languages allowed me to adjust to hearing more English than Italian. Now that I’m back it seems like another life far removed from this one, I guess because nothing is the same. No one from my trip is here with me to remind me about it- all I have are some souvenirs and pictures. But that’s all I need right now. Thanks for reading and Merry Christmas! Grazie per leggere e Buon Natale! Gracias por leer y Feliz Navidad! Merci pour lire et Joyeux Noel!