More Dublin!

January 20

Cute Coffee Date

On Thursday morning, since I didn't have class, I went into the city with one of my roommates for coffee. It was the cutest coffee experience I've ever had! We went to Beanhive, a place we saw while on the bus and had been wanting to try since getting here. Beanhive is known for their coffee art, and it definitely lived up to the hype. I ordered an otter for my coffee art, and it came out sooo adorable!! The actual coffee was delicious, too. I also ordered a sandwich, and, shocker, that was delicious as well. The two girls I went with got an adorable whale and colorful hot air balloon on their coffees. I cannot wait to go back to Beanhive!

After coffee, we walked around Dublin for a bit!

Tourist at Temple

Thursday night, I went out with some girls who I met through a mutual friend back home. We decided to go to Temple Bar, as they had never been before, and it was an awesome experience!

We tried Ireland's famous "Baby Guinness"shots, which are a layer of coffee liquor topped with Irish cream to look like a baby Guinness. They were incredibly delicious! We tried Temple's nachos and pizza, and both of those were amazing as well. So far, all the food I've had has just been incredible. I'm going to be spoiled by the end of my trip with good eats.

January 21

Guinness Storehouse Part II

On Friday, I went to the Guinness Storehouse again, but this time with my friends from home, as they had not been yet. I again enjoyed a Guinness in the Gravity Bar and went to Harkin's afterwards. The second time going was just as amazing as the first. I still can't get over the view from the seventh floor of the Storehouse. In the background are the Wicklow mountains, where Guinness gets its water!

While we were at Harkin's, we found out that Ireland was lifting all of its COVID restrictions for hospitality the next morning! After Harkin's, we met up with some people we knew at Flannery's, and the pub let us stay after 8pm due to the lifting of the restrictions planned for the next day. It was so nice being able to stay out past 8pm!

January 22

Visting Trinity

On Saturday, my roommates and I headed into Dublin to walk around the Trinity campus. The campus is beautiful, and scenes from the show Normal People were filmed there! We spent a short amount of time taking a stroll around campus before ending up on Grafton Street. While there, we watched Allie Sherlock perform on the street. At first, we thought she was just a random girl with an amazing voice on the street, but after looking her up, we found out she has quite the following (1.7 million followers on Instagram)! We said we could have stood there all day and listen to her sing.

"Freedom Day"

Saturday was the day that nearly all COVID restrictions got dropped for hospitality. This meant that the pubs would operate like normal again, so we decided we needed to know what Dublin was really like without all the restrictions. We went to Flannery's again and had an amazing time! I met four really nice Irish girls who are going on "holiday" to Boston this summer, so they wanted to know all about it. Everyone here has been extremely friendly and welcoming, which has made my experience here all the better.

January 23

Visiting the Coast

On Sunday, I took a trip to Dún Laoghaire, a small seaside village. I walked around on the pier and sat down for a bit to watch the sailboats. The water was an amazing green-blue, which is very different than the water of Boston Harbor. It was lovely to just sit by the water for the afternoon!

Everyday has brought so much joy and new experiences here. Everyday, I am thankful that I am able to be here. There is so much more to come!

Cheers!