In Dublin and still kicking

Hey everyone,

I have arrived in Dublin and having a blast. The ride over in the ferry was surprisingly smooth and sunny so it got my hopes up for Ireland. But alas, the moment I get off the bus and have to walk for 25 minutes to my hostel, I starts to rain. I guess it shouldn't surprise me anymore. But as I always say, I am not made of sugar so I am not going to melt!

The walk to the hostel was interesting as I saw every stereotype I had of the Irish: drunk men and women stumbling down the street (some with beers still in their hands), hung-over Irish, battered and bruised Irish (one man even in a suit but had a wicked limp), the typical Irish man in a track suit, and the hot-tempered Irish man who threw a glass bottle at a wall for no apparent reason. It was quite entertaining. I had a pretty chill day and ended up going out in the evening with a few Canadians I met in the hostel. We went to a pub in Temple Bar, the major centre for pubs and parties, and were entertained. A local barrister (lawyer for you North Americans) decided to tell us about one of his cases in which the client had a serious problem in her nether-region. It was so uncomfortable to listen to so I'll spare you the details but nevertheless, it was entertaining as he was plastered! Having a drink made it humourous as well.

Today I thought would be a great day for walking as it was sunny when I woke up but the second I stepped outside, it decided to rain. I did the free walking tour anyways and it gave me a good reference point for my time in Dublin. I'm glad I have a few days at the end of the week to see everything. The creepy part was bumping into two guys I shared a room with in Naples almost two months ago. You never know who you are going to see again. I have had a pretty good day just walking around (like always!) and found an amazing and un-noticed site - the Chester Beatty Library. It has two floors of his personal library which has hundreds of old books, illuminated manuscripts and the second largest collection of Qu'rans in the world. It was so incredible to walk around and look at all the ancient texts and items. They of course had to kick me out at closing because I would have stayed for ages. The awesome part - it was free. Yes, I found something that was free and cool at the same time! Things are looking up.

So, some of you may have noticed that I finally signed up for Facebook. I tried to resist but it was getting to the point where Facebook seemed like the easiest way to stay in touch with all the people I have met along the way and everyone back home. But just to let you know, this blog will still be my primary way of communicating... it's just easier that way.

As for how I am feeling - better. The last week has been exhausting and I have wanted to just stop all together a couple of times. But now that there is an end in sight for this phase of my trip, I feel better. Only 3 weeks to go before I get to return to the comfort of home. So now I realize I have to make the most of it while still taking it easy so I make it through the rest of the trip.

Anyways, things are excellent and I leave tomorrow for Killarney for a few days. Hiking in the green fields and hills of Ireland - this should be amazing!

Love, Lisa