On to Ireland

After two wonderful days in Paris we packed up and headed for the airport. But packing up was no small feat. We were flying RYANAIR, an airline based out of Dublin, Ireland with great prices and availability. Only one problem... each bag could only way 15 kilograms (33 pounds)-- and they were strict about it... AND each person could carry on only one thing. During our last moments in Paris the night before we tried looking for a store that sold backpacks or duffel bags to no avail. Finally we came across the GAP and thanks to Jared got ourselves five large GAP bags. Back at the hotel we packed and weighted (using a scale that was in Doug and Missy's room), rearranged, weighed again and put all of our extra stuff in our GAP carry on's. At the airport we waited with nervous anticipation to see who's bags would be overweight and with each bag weighed we'd shout it out to the group. Chris and I didn't do so bad thanks to one of us being a light packer. Me! (Chris always way overpacks.) Once checked in we all breathed a sigh of relief .

No sooner had we checked in and walked down the hall when Brian's GAP bag ripped and everything fell out. (You can tell from the last picture that it was pretty maxed out.) Now he was carrying his bag from the bottom and ended up handed out jeans and pants for everyone to stuff into their bags. The whole luggage thing was pretty funny.

By the time we got to our hotel downtown Dublin we were tired. After going to bed at 1:00am, we woke up at 5:30 to take the taxi to the bus, the bus to the airport, the plane to Dublin, and the bus to our hotel. I guess some of that time we could have slept but where there are 10 friends together there's always something to talk about, stories to tell, and things to laugh about. Even the travel part of this week was good times.

Some of us, I included, opted for a quick nap on our super soft luxurious Marriott beds. Chris Jared and Brian immediately took off to explore the city and came back to pick everyone up two hours later. "Dublin is awesome"... Chris explained when he got back... and he was right.

We saw colored doors wherever we went. So cute. The downtown streets were really neat. The buildings were old but kept up, flowers hung from baskets and second story windows and the streets were so clean. There was great shopping in Dublin. We walked aimlessly down several streets, popping into stores, walking by small castles and old Churches. It was quaint, yet lively and bustling with people.



(just look at all these flowers!)

(The Christ Church Cathedral of Dublin where we stopped to sit on the grass and relax for a while)
(The guys with a small Dublin castle)

(Brian and Chris being guards)


(Missy introduced us to a fun new store... LUSH. Homemade soaps and cosmetics. The company was started in England in 1994 and now they have stores all over the world and tons in the US but I'd never heard of them before. It was fun to try a few things and pick out some souvenirs.)

At about 4:00 we headed over to the Citi Bar and Venue for some food. We were escorted upstairs where we were served our dinner in a cozy family room with leather couches and coffee tables. Chris and Jared got Bangers and Mash and loved it. We were so comfy we stayed for another hour just chatting. It was so relaxing. Living rooms full of leather couches would never work in the US. People are just in too much of a hurry... but in Dublin it's just what you do. Hang out in the pub and socialize, and to get the full Ireland experience, that's just what we did.

After dinner we wandered around the city some more. Unlike London and Paris, Dublin doesn't have an underground transportation system, and with our hotel right in the heart of downtown we just walked everywhere and it was great.



At 7:30 we headed to the theater for Riverdance. It was the absolute perfect thing to see in Ireland! We were third row and we loved it. My favorite part was when two black 'from the hood' tap dancers came out and had a dance off with some of the male Riverdancers. So funny... especially when they mimicked each others dance style. They all were such amazing dancers. After the show we tried to reenact our favorite dance moves on the cobblestone outside... but it wasn't pretty. It was a great day.