Dublin Pride

Dublin 6/27-6/29:

After catching a late flight out of Edinburgh we found ourselves standing at the gate of our next destination, just outside the Dublin city centre. Our cab driver scared us with tales of Romanian thieves and heroin usage and I half expected our new host to be strung out and carrying a baseball bat. As it turns out, our cab driver was a curmudgeon of an old man and both the neighborhood and the Airbnb owner could not have been better. After a restless night sleep, our neighbors were up until 3am blasting terrible 90s top 40 in preparation for pride day, we stepped out to make the best of our one-day in Dublin. After eating more meat than we typically consume in a year, we were craving something healthy and herbivorous like whoa. A restaurant,  The Fumbally, was recommended to us for brunch and since it was in close proximity to our apartment we decided to give it a try. This place is heaven. A must if you visit Dublin. It was almost like The Fumbally stole all the vegetables out of Scotland and were selling them in the form of avocado toast (on delicious gluten free bread!!), salads, fresh squeezed orange juice and frothy cappuccinos. You sit at communal tables and we were lucky enough to meet James and Sarah who told us stories of their travels and recommended a few places to visit that were not originally on our list. We completely forgot about our lack of sleep and were ready to face the day. Dublin is very accessible by foot and we were able to check out all of the tourist spots in a few hours. 

First up was Christ Church Cathedral, which was founded in 1030.

Julie and I practicing tourism

Next, we took a stroll through the Dublin Castle. We decided not to check out the State Apartments, but thought the outside was really cool. :) 

The highlight of the tourist attractions was Trinity College, the Book of Kells and the Long Room (old library). While the campus is stunning, it was our tour guides, a current doctorate at the university, ability to articulate the history and provide colorful anecdotes that made the visit a highpoint.  If you find yourself on a tour, ask for Jamie…he looks like Harry Potters older, taller brother. A couple fun facts: the books in the old library are organized by size and do not use the dewey decimal or any type of numeric or alphabetical system. There are about 17,000 students at Trinity, 60% of which are female. 

Our tour guide mesmerizing the crowd with his stories of Oscar Wilde and Scholars vs. Fellows marble games

Julie, Ryan and Richard in the square at Trinity

Spiral staircase leading to the 2nd story of books in the old library

There is no better way to end your day as a tourist in Dublin than with a self guided tour through the Guinness Storehouse followed by a poured to perfection pint in the 7^th floor gravity bar, which offered panoramic views of Dublin. 

   

Watch out for Ryan and I in the new Guinness ad...

We finished our day watching the world cup at Koegh’s, grabbing a burger and then a final pint at Grogan's Bar. The weather, pride parade and world cup created a great buzz in the city and left a special place in our hearts for Dublin. Next stop, the Campbell abode, which reminds me...I should have prefaced this post by thanking our friend, John Campbell, for putting together an amazing itinerary of Ireland for us. If his country is half as extraordinary as he is, we are in for a real treat.

Fun Fact: Irish students need not sit for an interview or submit an essay when applying to University. Placement is determined by your total score across 6 subjects. As told to us at by our wise tour guide, you sit for 7 tests, each worth 100 points. They throw out your worst score and add the rest together. You have to score a 600 to be admitted to the medical school at Trinity.