Day 80 – 4/3/2019
Rue 16 went on a journey to visit the dirty dub over the weekend, what a trip it was. After a bit of logistical confusion, we showed up a day earlier to Dublin, Ireland than we originally assumed we would. We got in late Thursday night, meet up with Abby and settled in to prepare for the weekend to come. On Friday, we went and visited a fishing village 30 minutes away by train. The weather was great, which was a pleasant surprise for Ireland. We wandered around the harbor, seeing all the boats, fresh fish markets, and a seal circling a fishing boat. I felt as though someone had taken the village out of a movie, it was exactly what I had anticipated it looking like, only better. Next, we left the harbor and found ourselves walking through the neighborhoods perched on the hills lining the coast. Hunger set in and we decided to hit the restaurant with the longest line, correctly assuming it would have the best food. What else would this restaurant be serving than fish and chip? We all got our box of the local specialty and sat on a wall that looked out over a park and the harbor. After a day by the sea, we made our way back to Dublin for a night at the pub. In Europe, you see Irish pubs in every city you visit. Some are better than others, but NO ONE does it like they do in Dublin. Live music, good music too, everywhere we went. The first bar we went to was a little bit more laid back and conversational. The second bar was packed to the gills and had great performers. Our large group took up the area around the stage and sang along to every song they performed. I would have to say that the Temple bar area of town may be the coolest bar scene I’ve ever experienced. We slept in the next morning and then tour guide Abby showed us around her city. We wandered through town and visited the famous Trinity College. With its meticulously groomed lawns and trees. It was a very pretty and unique campus, filled more with tourist than college students. Next, we made our way to the city park, that was as green as you can imagine. With perfect lawns and beautiful blooming flowers. We wandered around there for a while and took in the flowers from a park bench. After our stroll, we did as any tourist would and made our way to the Guinness brewery for a self-guided tour. This was by far the coolest tour of the trip. It showed you how the entire brewing process went. It was interactive, with a pool of the wheat, a waterfall of their mountain water supply and huge HD video boards showing how the entire process went. I wish I was a better writer and could accurately depict how cool this was. The tour ended in the “Gravity Bar” which is a room on the top floor with a 360 view of the city. There, included in the tour was a free pint of beer. It was the perfect way to end the tour and start the night. Again, that night we went out to hit some more pubs, and again the live music lived up to the hype. It was another great night to complete a great weekend. We flew out the next day at 12:30 and managed to get back to Montpellier around 2:30 AM, it was a long travel day but well worth it for the fun we had over the weekend. Little bit different sign off for this post, decided to cheers the Irish way. Slainte
Rue 16 