The Homeland: Dublin Ireland!

The night in the pod was definitely an experience! I would definitely do it again! But when all the pods were full it quickly became VERY hot in my little pod! So at about 4:30 in the morning I decided to go into the main area of the airport for a bathroom break and to cool down! I quickly realized the airport is actually much more busy at 4:30 in the morning compared to midnight. SO walking around in my running shorts, tshirt, and running boots got me A LOT of strange looks!

Around 1:30 on Friday I hopped off the bus and had the driver ask me 3 times if I knew where I was going! After several times assuring him SEVERAL times that I was right around the corner from my hotel he drove off. And I arrived at the hotel to surprise my mom who was sitting in the lobby waiting for me. She was reading a booked and jumped when she looked up and I was standing in front of her! We ran upstairs to get me showered, 1. because I was in need of one, and 2. because after a Long 2.5 months I was seeing the one and only Danny Nolan! Right when I finished getting ready there was a knock on the door, and we didn't even have to ask who was there because you could hear squealing behind the door! Danny, my mom, and I went to get some lunch and catch up in the city! It was a quick but much needed visit because Danny was off to a tour of the Guinness factory, but I'm so glad I got see him! The rest of the afternoon mom and I explored the city and went shopping!! Let me tell ya, this one gift shop is able to stay in business for the next month just from the purchases we made! After several hours out and about we decided to go back to the hotel so we can not only drop off all the souvenirs but also take a nap. Denise was a little jet lagged, and I was exhausted after my hot night in the pod. SO we took a nice nap then got up to go to dinner at the same place my mom and dad had gone the night before. They loved it so much that thats where my mom wanted to take me the following day! And it definitely was worth the return! It was a great dinner! After dinner we were walking back to the hotel to meet my dad who had to go on a business trip to Brussels for the day, as we were on route back to the hotel, on the sidewalk a head we spotted the big man waiting to see us! I ran and gave him a huge hug, because I hadn't seen him since August! And we decided to grab a drink in the pub he was waiting outside of! After a few drinks we retired for the night because everyone was exhausted, ESPECIALLY Brian who had travelled all day long and was awake for 23 hours!

Saturday we had an "Irish Breakfast" to start the day and explored the city! We went to the mall, visited some of my dads favorite spots from prior trips, such as the Bruxelles bar and the hotel he stayed in before! It was neat to explore the city because it is already all set up for Christmas! Which back in the US many would frown about this because it isn't even Thanksgiving yet, BUT thanksgiving isn't a thing here! So thats something I definitely forget! But the city is pretty cool, and its neat to see the different pubs around every corner! Saturday night was definitely the most memorable time of the trip for me. We went to Johnnie Fox's for dinner. And its not any ordinary dinner, its a dinner and a show! To start off the night was a Irish Band. There were 4 instrumentalists, two played the guitar, one played the violin, and one mixed between flute like instruments! After about an hour of playing they took a break and Irish dancers took the stage, and they were amazing! You could dance just to the beat of their shoes! And then after them the band returned for the rest of the night! It was a lot of fun and a great atmosphere! My dad had been here before on one of his trips and he told us we would love it... and indeed we did!

Sunday we ordered some room service to the room and then once again went exploring for a few hours until our food tour! Ireland is definitely not known for their food. But stew and beer is something they definitely can call their own. Our guide taught us that is wasn't till about 20 years ago that Ireland really started developing their own type of cuisines. We walked to three different locations spread out around the city and tried different dishes. But along the way she gave us a walking tour of the city, so not only did we get to learn about food we also got a bunch of history about Ireland and Dublin itself! The Dublin castle was one of my favorites from the weekend! Since we were stuffed from our tour we didn't have dinner, but we decided to go to the pub we discovered in the basement of our hotel! It was a cool place and it had games to play, so i pulled out Jenga. And that was one great decision because that is a game my dad can't cheat at! And for those of you who have played a game with my dad knows that he is one BIG cheater....(most of the time). So game one quickly ended when my dad had the tower topple over. But game two went on for like 30 minutes! Our tower was huge, and i honestly have no idea how it lasted so long, but unfortunately Brian lost again! We finished that night by practicing for our trip to Vegas and we played some poker!

Monday was our last day and we had to leave for the airport at 2! So we got up early and headed to the Guinness Factory, to walk the museum and of course drink some Guinness! That place is pretty amazing and it was even cooler seeing how they transformed the factory into a museum! The museum was HUGE and had a tasting section, a section where it taught you how to pour the proper Guinness, and the top floor is called the Gravity cafe! It is a 360 degree outlook of Dublin! It was a great end to a great weekend, but let me tell ya, after that weekend I'm not sure the next time I will be able to drink a beer!