delightful dublin, but first....SEMANA SANTA!!!

So I just returned to Salamanca last night, after 4 days in Ireland. They were possibly 4 of the best days I’ve had since I left the US, and while that may seem to say bad things about my time in Spain, I’d prefer not to think that way, but just be unbelievably thankful for the wonderful, restful and rejuvenating time I had in Ireland.

The week off actually began last Wednesday, and lots of kids, including Maggie, left then for vacation. But Laura and I weren’t leaving until Friday, so we had two days here which was really nice. We just got to relax and enjoy Semana Santa and all the neat things that were going on then. There were tons of processions all week, which include nearly hundreds of people dressed in religious outfits, which resemble KKK outfits, carrying floats or crosses, followed by bands playing very ominous music. They are quite a site to see. We went to a handful of them and watched.

men and women carrying a 'float'.


man carrying a cross


procession with a float with jesus


Thursday night I went to Indian with Hannah, Sian, Alex and Jessica. It was Sian’s last night in town before going back to Liverpool, so we all got together.

sian and hannah

Friday morning Laura and I got up and caught a bus to Madrid. Our flight left Barajas, the airport around 6pm, so we had some time in the airport. We arrived in Dublin around 9:30 and got to our hostel around 10:30.

By the time we got settled, it was nearly 11:30 and we still hadn’t eaten dinner, so we headed out to find some place that was open. Dublin definitely is not Salamanca, and things definitely don’t stay open nearly as late, so we had quit eth time finding a place to eat. But finally we found this little kebab place.

haypenny bridge at night.


Saturday was our day to look around the city and see all the Dublin sights.

river liffey


voted cutest irish boys in ireland as well as our favorite dublin site...


dublin city

We started off with the Guinness Storehouse. We walked through the museum they have which explains the whole process of making Guinness from Barley, Yeast, Hops and Water, just four ingredients. The tour consists of five floors or so, ending at the top of the building which is a bar with glass windows on all sides. Up here we got a ‘free’ pint of Guinness and were able to take a look at the city from up high. It was a pretty sweet view.

front gate


laura and me at the top

After this we went and bought some bread and cheese and found a nice little church with a lawn and ate our lunch. From there we walked over to Saint Patrick’s Cathedral and checked out that. It has a huge park type thing along with it, quite beautiful. After that we headed to Trinity College and snooped around a little. It’s a pretty campus with beautiful buildings and lawns.

trinity college building

After that we headed back to the hostel because Laura and I weren’t feeling so well. I think we were really dehydrated and we both had headaches. So Laura went and took a nap and I investigated the area around the hostel and went to the bus station and made a few calls to friends living near Dublin to figure out when we could meet up. After that, she woke up and we walked to Merrion Square, which is a park in the city. We actually saw a proposal here, which was so sweet! It was the cutest thing in the world.

merrion square lawn

After that we wandered over to St. Steven’s Green a huge park in the city with a small lake. It was so beautiful there, the grass was so green and tons of flowers were blooming. We stayed there until it started to get dark and cold.

gardens at st. steven's greene.


laura and me in st. steven's greene.


Saturday evening, we wandered around the city and finally found this little pub and went in and had a drink. I think the average age of customers there was about 60, so it was funny to watch all these old Irish people hanging out and talking. We went home and went to bed after that.

Sunday morning we got up and ate some breakfast and actually met up with some Americans who were going out to one of the boroughs that we were going to too. Laura and I had been invited by some friend Tom and Vicki Gilliam out to Maynooth, a town outside of Dublin for the day, and these girls were going there too actually, so we headed to the train station to go. Unfortunately we had trouble finding the station, so we missed the 9:30, but we were able to make the 10:30 train and were to Maynooth by 11:15. It was a beautiful trip out there, driving through the country. So we met them at their church and sat in on an Irish service which was really cool. After that they had coffee and deserts and we got to meet and talk with a bunch of Irish friends of theirs. I met two guys who were actually in Ft. Portal, Uganda just recently doing a work project. So that was cool.

tayor and us, one of the american girls we met

After that we headed back to their house. They live in a neighborhood, which is actually called an estate, and it could have been one I the US. Their house looked tons like a house in the US too, and it was so amazing to just be with a family in a home. They have three boys who are just hilarious. The youngest has a black eye now and he’s just the cutest kid. So we helped Vicki prepare Easter dinner, which was very fun. It was great to be in a kitchen cooking American food with Americans who speak English and who are happy to have you over. They had three Irish friends and a few other Americans over for dinner so it was a nice crowd. We ate and then just sat around for like 2 to 3 hours talking and laughing. They are in Dublin with World Harvest, so it was great to talk about people we know. We talked about Bundibugyo a lot and what's going on in Dublin. Keith, a friend of theirs is doing the MAP program in Dublin, so it was cool to talk with him abou that. It was the nicest thing, to be with people who felt like real family and to be in a relaxed setting. It was just what Laura and I needed. We stayed until the last possible train back to Dublin and Vicki drove us to the Station. It was so hard to say goodbye, I Just wanted to stay with them forever. I’m pretty sure I cried when I hugged her goodbye. There wasn’t much to do that night, and we were tired and sad, so we just showered and went to bed early.

vicki making apple pie- so american


the gilliams and us minus their youngest james, the one with the black eye-- he was probably out playing and getting another black eye.


mags, keith, and kian- some of the coolest irish people i know


Monday morning we got up and walked around Dublin just a little more. We walked to Dublin Castle and walked around the outside and inside the courtyard a little bit. You can tour the inside of it, but it costs money and it’s a guided tour, so Laura and I weren’t really feeling that. We then went to the store and bought some more bread and cheese and yogurt for lunch.

one entrance to dublin castle

We headed back to the hostel and met up with Sarah, a friend we had met who’s from New Zealand but living in Vancouver now. The three of us headed to the train station and caught a train to Bray, a town just south of Dublin. There is a path that leads from Bray to Greystones, another town further south, so we were going to do the walk along the cliff in the afternoon. When we got to Bray, it was pretty overcast and a little cold, the normal weather I’d expect in Ireland. So we set off to Greystones, walking along a little boardwalk in Bray up to some hills. As we walked the sun started to come out and it got much warmer and it was just the most beautiful day. The walk from Bray to Greystones is just unbelievable. It takes about 2 ½ hours with all the photo stops and it’s just magnificent. The water was gorgeous and the grass so green and these yellow bushes grow there and they were just so vibrant. It was one of the most spectacular sights ever. So we finally got to Greystones and you come in along the water and can actually get down and walk on the rocky shore. So we walked in along the water and when we got in just wandered around the town a little. We were going to take a later train in, so we had some time to just sit by the water and enjoy the sun.

coast of bray


me and laura in some ruins along the way


path to greystones


laura and sarah


me by the shore


view of the land and water. duh claire.


beautiful contrast of colors

breathtaking


field near the shore


beautiful old bridge

greystones


hills before greystones

We took a train back and Sarah went all the way back home, but Laura and I got off at Monkstown because we were visiting an old friend who lives there. So Richie, an Irish guy who’s a good friend of my family’s, picked us up at the station and we went back to his house. I finally got to meet his new wife, who’s an American and we had dinner there and stayed and talked for hours. It was so wonderful to see him again, it had been nearly four years since he was in the US and meeting her was wonderful too. Richie is like the son that my parents never had, so seeing him was like seeing family and very comforting. We talked about my parents and our lives. It was great to spend time with them. Richie is just hilarious and so very honest and candid and Erika is even more amazing that I expected. We stayed over there until very late and we’re going to catch the last DART into Dublin but instead of taking us to the train station, Richie drove us all the way in, which was wonderful, because it saved us money and like 30 minutes and gave me just a little more time with him. I cried again when he dropped us off and I had to stay goodbye. It’s really hard to say goodbye when you really don’t know the next time you’ll see someone.

richie and erika

Tuesday morning we got up and went to the grocery store to buy a few things for lunch and dinner. We walked to the river one last time and sat for just a little bit and said our goodbyes to Dublin city.

don't be fooled by our smiles, we were really sad to leave.

Our flight was at two, so around 12 we hopped on a bus and headed to the airport. We got in and got on our flight just on time and made it to Madrid around 6pm. We caught the Metro to the bus station and caught our bus and finally made it back to Salamanca around 10:30. I think it’s safe to say neither of us wanted to return and we both were sad to be back in Spain, but I can say, when we are driving into Salamanca and I see the lights on the cathedral and all the old buildings, the feeling of coming home is overwhelmingly comforting. It’s nice to be back in a city that I know, and while there are people that I love who aren’t here and though I really would have loved to stay in Dublin and though the feeling of homesickness is stronger than ever, I am thankful for my last month here and I am ready to keep on going.

With that said, Hannah leaves very soon and I'm leaving for Andalucia tomorrow morning, so today is our last day together. That's pretty sad and scary, as she's been a rock to me in many ways. And Andalucia will be great, but I'd love to just stay home for a bit, as traveling takes quite a toll on me. So we'll see how the next weeks go...

Until next time, take care and I love you all.