Spring Break pt. 1, Ireland

Hi everyone :)! 

My week of travel has quickly come to an end. I was able to visit 4 countries in 7 days, and while I'm exhausted, I couldn't be happier with my spring break! 

On Friday morning my eight roommates and I took a flight to Dublin so we could spend the beginning of spring break all together celebrating St. Patrick's Day in Ireland. We arrived in Dublin around 3 pm and headed right to an authentic Irish pub. I had fish & chips and mashed peas for lunch :) 

After lunch, we went to the Guinness Storehouse for our tour. I can't even drink beer but had such a great time here! After completing the self-guided tour that explained the Guinness-making process, we headed up to the tasting room where we each received a flight of 3 beers to try. The tasting room had a DJ who was playing great music, and the entire room was decorated for St. Pats. Just when we thought it couldn't get any better, AN IRISH DANCING FLASH MOB BROKE OUT ON THE TASTING TABLES!! The waiters all jumped up on the tables in the room and started doing a traditional Irish dance. I wish I could attach a video to this post, because it was one of the craziest things I've ever seen! 

We got dinner and made our way to Temple Bar, a famous (but crazy expensive) bar in the heart of Dublin. We refrained from getting any drinks, but enjoyed the live music from a small group that was playing Tom Petty, Lynyrd Skynyrd, and the Stones, but with an Irish twist (the guy playing the flute was rocking up on stage). 

Saturday morning we woke up at 5 am because we had a tour bus to catch at 6. The bus took us all around Ireland, starting in Doolin, and then heading to the Cliffs of Moher and Galway. We got SO lucky and the rain held up for us when we made it to the cliffs, but we still got smacked by the 85 MPH winds. The cliffs were beautiful, stretching a total of 12 km down the coastline. While I wish the weather had been slightly better, the wind made everything so funny, and my friends and I were just cracking up the whole time. 

After the cliffs, we were driven to a hole in the wall restaurant where we spent about an hour eating, warming up, and attempting to detangle the rats nest that was our hair. 

We drove to Galway, a little coastal city on the western side of Ireland, and we were given an hour 45 to explore and wander around. We made our way in and out of coffee shops and little Irish stores, more so just enjoying all the Irish flags flying and the decorations in the street that were in place for St. Pats. 

Sunday morning was another very early morning, there's no time for sleep on these trips! We ate a huge breakfast in anticipation for the long day ahead, and made our way into Dublin around 10. We danced in the streets to the Irish music that bands were playing, and also grabbed some coffee before we went to Trinity Bar at 12 when they opened. We stayed in this bar for the entire day, singing and dancing to the live music being played and also watched the parade from the top floor of the bar. Everyone needs to experience St. Pats in Dublin at least once in their life, I've never had so much fun. It was definitely one of the best days I've had abroad so far!! 

Suchhh a great start to my week-long trip!!