Return to the Emerald Isle - Dublin

“There's no friends like the old friends.”
From Dubliners by James Joyce

I'm just going to put this out there - my time in Dublin was amazing. I didn't want it to end. Though that's good, right? Makes me want to go back. It was not the city, however wonderful the place might be, that made it such a great trip. It was the people. Rachel and Kevin were (and still are) lovely people. I've known Rachel since I was two (you don't need to do the math, we'll just say it's been a long time) when she was friends with my sister and her brother was my best bud. She was like a big sister. While my friendship with her brother never recover from the 'cooties' stage of childhood, Anna and Rachel reconnected after college. The really great thing about growing up is that a two to three year difference isn't a big deal anymore, so when Anna started spending more time with Rachel, I got to get to know her as a friend too. And guess what? She's awesome, and totally shares my sense of humor (which is always good, and surprisingly hard to find). So when I found out she was moving to Ireland and going to grad school, I knew I had to visit.

 Okay, so enough with the set up. I got off the train and for the first time in years someone was standing on the other side of the barrier waiting for my arrival. I've seen it often in movies and it really is as exciting as they make it seem. After a hug, we headed back to her house. Ireland is known for being green and rainy but I arrived to a country experiencing a heat wave and on the cusp of a drought which apparently means forty days without rain. Due to this we had hot days, warm nights, and (unthinkable for Ireland) patches brown grass. This, however, gave us the opportunity to do something which isn't the norm for Ireland visitors - not worry about whether our plans would be rained out! It was very strange.

In a way I was the worst type of guest. When asked what I wanted to do I said I really didn't care. Having been a host before to people who kept saying 'we can do whatever', I really shouldn't have done that to Rachel, but I really was up for anything, or nothing. 

Rachel had developed the habit of all students on break and the unemployed - sleeping until you wake up. It is one of the great things about summer vacation as a student. Because of this she slept everyday until 9:30 or 10. I, on the other hand, have discovered that I am unable to sleep late while traveling. It's as if my body is like 'there are things to do, people to see, experiences to be had - why are you trying to sleep? Wake up, wake up!' So by 8am I am usually up and ready for the day. This difference in our sleep patterns wasn't a problem. One of my favorite vacation activities is reading. So being up at least an hour before my host gave me a wonderful opportunity to start - and finish - a mystery over the course of my Ireland trip. 

For the most part Rachel and I just wandered around the city, checking out parks and streets, talking and catching up. Kevin was at work the first two days I was there (someone has to) so we met him in the city centre both Thursday and Friday evenings. Friday, Rachel suggested we go visit the Kilmainham Gaol. It is extremely ironic that I have never visited a jail before and in less than a week I visited two. It was exceedingly interesting to see the differences and similarities between them. What amazed me the most was the craftsmanship that went into them. The ironwork was beautiful in both. I also learned that while both jails had held political prisoners, the Dublin one was closed in the early 1920s - when Ireland was partitioned - but the one in Belfast closed in the mid-90s. Clearly the people of Ireland wanted to make a statement!

The only thing that I really wanted to do was go to the beach. Being a true Minnesota girl I believe that it isn't really summer until I've gone to an outdoor body of water, gotten slightly dehydrated, more than a little burned, and at least dipped my toes in the water. I'm not even picky, I'll take a backyard pool. While Ireland is an island, it isn't known for its beaches, partly for its temperate climate and partially because that climate doesn't warm up the ocean/sea water which surround it. So with this desire expressed to my hosts, Saturday we got on the bus and headed out - Kevin even joined us! We found a nice spot on a very quiet beach. I figured out why there were so few people quickly. The tide was out - way out. For our purposes this wasn't a big deal. Rachel and I relaxed in the warmth and Kevin dug a hole and made sand turtles with a toy we'd found nearby (he's like most guys I know, just sitting there wasn't going to work and his ebooks hadn't transferred to his phone like he'd thought so he had to find something  to do). As the afternoon wore on Rachel and I played a shell game that I made up (it was surprisingly fun, considering that I made it up on the spot and we were using only sea shells) then we decided to walk out to the water. You know how something in the desert can appear closer than it really is and as you walk towards it the distance doesn't seem to shrink at all? That's exactly what we experienced. Dozens of sailboats danced on the horizon, as we strolled in their direction they never grew any bigger. Finally, over a mile later (Kevin looked it up when we got home), we reached the water. To our surprise, especially because of the repeated warnings on Kevin's part about this being a sea off of Ireland instead of California or Florida, the water was very warm. Yet even though we were now knee deep in water the boats still looked as far away as when we'd been on the beach. We then trudged across the water, waves lapping at our legs, towards the nearest shore (still a bit of a hike) and got on the train home.

Tired and finding sand in the strangest places, Rachel and I sat in her living room that evening, each doing our own thing. I was reading my mystery and a character got a falafel sandwich (strangely this is the only detailed description of a meal that I remember in the book, it's not like the author had a habit of giving in depth accounts of everything the characters ate). All of a sudden I could think of nothing better for dinner. When I brought this up to Rachel she was in full support and a plan began to hatch. The thing I've discovered about the UK is that that strangest things either aren't available, or are extremely difficult to find. Same goes for Ireland. So we made a list of everything we needed to make our own variation on falafels and gyros with a side of veggies and hummus, ready to drop anything if a key ingredient couldn't be found. I was rather impressed with the results. Though in the end the gyros got a little bit of a Mexican flair, the meal was delicious - and way more food than we'd thought (we spent the next two days snacking and finding ways to use the left overs). Needless to say we were extremely proud of ourselves (you can see our amazing cooking/meal creation skills in the picture below).

 On our last full day together we visited a massive cemetery (over 1,000 people are buried there over the past two hundred years or so) and the botanic gardens. We had a lovely time strolling around both, enjoying the gorgeous weather and each others' company. My highlight of the day was when Kevin went to get a treat (he apparently loves these marshmallow things you can only buy at Aldi) and came back with a massive bag of snacks (including pickles for Rachel and ginger cookies for everyone). In Santa Claus fashion he pulled out each item, including a surprise for me - a Coke with my name on it! Though I don't usually drink soda I was thrilled and enjoyed this one with great pleasure.

Monday, sadly, arrived and with it a return to the real world. Rachel and I had a lazy morning, and said our goodbyes. Then after getting a train, to another train, to another train, to a shuttle bus, to a plane, to a train, to a bus, I reached home.