Hello all! I’ve made it to Dublin and I can’t wait to tell you all of my experience so far. I’m glad that y’all are here and thanks a bunch for the well wishes. Since my last post, I’ve arrived in Dublin, met a few friends, made it to my dorm, slept a lot, and wandered around the City Centre. Let’s talk about it.
Arriving in Dublin
Arrival
At 8 a.m. Irish time, or 2 a.m. Texas time, I arrived at the Dublin airport. The trip was quite uneventful, I watched two movies (Opus and Eddington) and ate a pot roast and raspberry Danish courtesy of United. I exited the plane and went to immigration. I had come prepared with many documents proving my reason and capability for being here. I was definitely nervous but all they asked me for was my offer letter and how long I planned on staying, then I was off to UCD.
I took the Aircoach where the driver played Alicia Keys and I had to sit in an aisle seat but I was still able to get a good look out the window by craning my neck. As the Irish ladies behind me noted, the weather was a great representation of Dublin as the world sees it, rainy.
When I departed I was lost but I asked the others around me if they were lost as well and sure enough we were all exchange students looking for the dorm check-in. With the help of an Irish lady we were able to cross the highway to campus, and then a Irish lad, just on his morning walk, assisted us with our bags, helping us with directions along the way.
After I exchanged numbers with my fellow exchange students, I headed to my dorm lead by a helpful UCD student. She advised me on how to get in and out of my room without locking myself out, and then I was left alone in my new residence. I promptly made my bed and fell asleep, 11am to 5pm. Whoops.
But, when I awoke I was greeted with a roommate! She is from North Carolina and attends NC State, part of the Wolfpack. We talked a little and then I let her get some rest. I went to Tesco, a local supermarket. It was a good walk where I was able to scope out some of Dublin’s vibes.
City Centre
Today (Friday), I went to Dublin’s City Centre with the aforementioned people I met. The City Centre is basically synonymous to a downtown. The trip was a light 50 minute bus ride using our LEAP card. There, we saw a very nonchalant Mickey-D’s there that lacked golden arches and even a Subway and a few Burger Kings that were all faced with brick and adorned with ornate iron fixtures.
Dublin Castle
Our main goal was to visit the Dublin Castle. As mentioned by our tour guide, it was not the most castle looking castle but a castle nonetheless. The castle was a great vehicle to learn about Ireland and Dublin’s past. It was built in the 1200’s and was used by English rulers, so not a very popular place with the Irish. Which explains why it lends itself to looking more like a fort than a castle. Today it is used for governmental purposes and has been the place of inauguration three female presidents or Uachtaráns, it is possible!
The castle was very ornate as it was used as a way to show off to high class visitors. For example, it was the place where debutante balls took place. Also, we were able to see the King’s Throne that was special made for King George the 4th who was apparently a very large king as shown by the size of the throne which was custom made to his measurements.
Personally, I thought the the chapel was the most beautiful room we visited. It was built onto the place in the 1800s. A fun fact about it is that it was built over the moat that surrounds the castle and is still present today, albeit underground. This resulted in the chapel having to use light materials for structural concerns, so the head of the angle carved below picture is composed of wood covered in plaster.
Dubh Linn Garden
After the castle we made our way to Dubh Linn garden which had free admittance. This was a great next stop as we had just learned of Dublin’s etymology – dubh linn means black pool. This is because this lawn represents where the Vikings set their ships down for a trading base and gave the town its name describing this body of water.
It was a large, circular green lawn with snaking brick paths cut through the grass which is used to represent the aforementioned Vikings using sea serpent imagery.
Wandering
We wandered around, stepping into some book shops where my friend picked up Normal People by Sally Rooney and we stepped into a craft shop with souvenirs. For dinner, we decided on Italian food where there were many words I did not quite understand. I ordered ravioli that, to my surprise, did not have tomato sauce like I’m used to; however, it was surely delicious! And for desert I had tiramisu, yum 🙂
A Note on Leprechauns
As you see below, this magnet was being sold as a souvenir at a craft shop. Additionally, our tour guide for the castle referred to a short political leader as a leprechaun. Additionally, a signature sign of Ireland is the shamrock which is intertwined imagery with the leprechaun. This signifies to me that this is not the insult that Caden and I thought it to be, but I won’t use the term until I’m sure hahaha.
Final Remarks
So far it is amazing to see the rich history and detailed architecture Dublin has to offer. I am looking forward to seeing the coast which I know must be near considering the seagulls I keep hearing. Tomorrow I plan to visit Trinity College, woohoo!
Oh and a tip! If you have an iPhone and you would like to know what time it is in Dublin, you can add it to the clock app as shown below.
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