dublin: first impressions
had about 10 hours to kill between arriving in dublin and leaving for edinburgh, so i decided to stash my bag and catch a ride in to the city. i was dropped off in the city center (or centre, as they spell it on this side of the pond :]) and decided to hoof it to trinity college, christ's church, and the guinness storehouse, which i was told later, is not in a very good part of town. the next 8 hours were spent getting to and from these destinations via the heel-toe express, with a 30-minute attempt at a nap on a pitch at trinity, which was unfortunately unsuccessful due to the annoyingly loud american students who plopped down mere feet from me.
so with my quick jaunt about the city, here are my observations:
* there are a lot less fair-skinned redheads than i had anticipated (granted, most of the people wandering the city on a tuesday afternoon are probably tourists, and the gingers are probably at work)
* there is a significantly larger chinese influence than i would have thought (and... polish?!)
* standing in a church that has been around for a thousand years will make anyone spiritual
* you know you're near the guinness storehouse and brewery when you smell the barley being roasted (brewery itself = way too touristy, and not recommended by me now that i've lived through it)
* the locals are very very helpful. very. i've had at least 2 irish men pass me their phone numbers so i can "give them a ring for a local tour"...
i'm sure there are more things to say here, but i haven't slept since i awoke from my bed in san diego, oh, right about 31 hours ago. time for me to hit the sheets that kelly has so nicely pre-warmed for me with a hot water bottle. she promises tomorrow is an easy day, and i'm excited to see what she and the scots have in store!
current mood: safe and warm