If your lucky enough to be Irish, then your lucky enough

I arrived into Dublin late Wednesday night and as I walked down the steps of the RyanAir plane I was greeted by the cold brisk weather.  I stayed at Abigail’s Hostel and the location was great.  It was really central, overlooking the Liffey River and directly across from O’Connell Bridge.  A fun fact that I found out is that O’Connell bridge was built by the same people that built the Titanic and some Irish people have superstitions and will cross the river via another bridge.  The very first night, I came to find that Dublin was beautifully decorated for Christmas.  In the middle of O’Connell street there was a massive Christmas tree beautifully decorated with lights that would flicker slowly between blue, green, and red.  There was tinsel and banters from one store to another with Christmas trees, stars and crosses decorated along them.  I instantly began to feel the Christmas spirit.  It also made be realize that the Vatican is seriously lagging.  Where is their Christmas tree?  They should have it up by now and as I returned home on Sunday night there was still no sign of a Christmas tree in Saint Peters Square. 

I instantly felt apart of the Irish culture and well not to brag but the Irish people loved me with my red hair and the last name of Powers.  The Irish culture was extremely warm and welcoming and their humor is so funny.  For the weekend I decided I was 75% Irish.  Why not?  I can look the part.  In one of the local shops I came across the origin of the last name Power.  Power derives from the Norman suname le Poer, literally meaning ‘the pauper.’  The family came to Ireland with a Strongbow and settles in Waterford, where Power  is still a common name.  Notable member of the family include Tyrone Power.  Power’s is also a famous brand of Irish whiskey.  Power’s was everywhere in all of the pubs.  I took a couple of pictures that I will post later.

On Friday, I took a day walking tour through the city of Dublin.  Our tour guide was hilarious and told us many funny stories about the Irish heritage.  I learned about the Viking Era, the arrival of the Normans, the lordship of Ireland, Gaelic resurgence and the Norman decline, the protestant ascendancy, union with Great Britain, and how it eventually became the republic that it is today.  I found the tragedy of the Easter rising in the middle of the First World War to be the most interesting.    The Easter rising was an insurrection in Ireland during Easter week by Irish Republicans against British rule, members of the Irish volunteers seized key locations around Dublin and proclaimed an Irish Republic free from Britain, the rising was suppressed after seven days of fighting and its leaders where executed but it succeeded in bringing physical force back to the forefront of Irish politics.  On the tour we visited the Dublin Castle, Christ Church Cathedral, the National Library, City Hall, St. Stephens Green, the Ha’Penny Bridge and much more.  One of my favorite parts of the tour was visiting Trinity College and walking around the campus.

I quickly figured out that if I was going to decide to visit another hospital, in another country, too add to my list, it would definitely be because when I crossed the street I looked right first instead of left.  In Ireland they drive on the other side of the street so there was numerous times that I looked the wrong direction and began to cross and then was startled back because a car from my left was zooming by.  It seems like looking left before crossing the street would be an easy habit to break but I def never picked up on it.  I think the city of Dublin was aware of this problem because on busy streets there were big signs that read “look left!”  The city of Dublin itself was very clean and there were many shopping malls on the main street.  My hostel was located in an area known as Temple bar.  This part of town had a little bit smaller cobblestone roads and had even more character.  It reminded me a lot like Trastevere in Rome.  One of my favorite parts of Ireland was the mere fact that they speak English.  I feel as if I have almost been muted for the past three months.  Walking though the streets I forgot that I can ask for directions and use my voice again in public.  It was a surprisingly weird thing to get used to.  Dublin is also the home to many famous musical artists and was voted in 2009 as the best city in the world for live music. 

After the tour we stopped at Starbucks and I was happy to see the Christmas cups are out.  I ordered a peppermint hot chocolate.  It was basically like Christmas in my mouth. After that we went to the Guinness factory where we had a tour of the storehouse. The plantation was huge!  Each story had a different theme about the process of how to make the beer and how the company became to be as successful as it is today.  My favorite floor that focused on advertising.  I think the advertising for Guinness is brilliant as I looked ad poster after poster of different slogans and mottos that they use.  I think that they are up there with Apple for some of the greatest and most clever advertising.  The famous advertisement slogan “Guinness is Good For You” is still used around the world.  Though Guinness has now officially on the record as denying this claim some research does support that Guinness is good for your heart.  It was not so long ago in Ireland that pregnant women were told to drink a glass of Guinness every day to fortify themselves and their baby.  The Guinness factory was founded in 1759 in the heart of Dublin at Saint Jams Gate by Sir Arthur Guiness.  In Ireland they now have an entire holiday that is dedicated to him and they call it Arthurs day.  At the top of the storehouse on the eighth story was the gravity bar.  This was one of the highest points in Dublin and there were windows surrounding the entire bar.  Upon arrival into the bar, you receive a free pint of Guiness and if you can pour it yourself.  I was not aware of this but apparently there is a certain art of how to pour.  A “perfect pint” of Draught Guiness is the product of length double pour which according to the company should take 119.53 seconds.  Guiness has promoted this wait with advertising campaigns such as good things come to those who wait.”  It should be served at a perfect 42.8 degrees.  That night for dinner we went to a pub for dinner and I got a yummy thanksgiving dinner.  The way that most places serve is that the meal is already pre-made kind of like buffet style except it is not self serve.  I got Irish beef, mashed potatoes, broccoli, carrots and bread.

Early Friday morning we headed out of Dublin on a bus to Galway.  We went through a company called Galway Tours.  The bus ride was about 2 and a half hours and most people just slept.  Galway is in northern Ireland and has a population of about 70,000.  It is known to be very young and lively mostly because of that 70,000 people, 20,000 of them are college students.  The only way I know Galway is from the popular song “Galway Bay” that I have heard.  Upon arriving in Galway we hoped right onto another bus that would take us to the country of Clare where the Cliffs of Moher were located.  To get there we drove the coast Galway Bay, and first stopped at the fishing village of Kinvara to see Dunguaire Castle & into The Burren- home to 75% of Ireland's native flora & location of numerous ancient monuments many of which we visit including the Gleninsheen Wedge Tomb, the 5,800 year old Poulnabrone Dolmen and Ballyalban Fairy Fort- home of little men with green hats and orange beards!  We then stopped in Kilfenora to see the famous Celtic Crosses (Irish High Crosses).  After we stopped into the town of the county of Clare to eat lunch at a pub. After, we went to the 200-metre high, 8kms long Cliffs of Moher.  The Cliffs of Moher is overlooking the Atlantic Ocean. The cliffs were very beautiful and from across the Galway bay I could see the Aryan Islands.  Since I was on the Atlantic Ocean I waved over to New York City and the east coast of America.  One of my favorite places in San Diego is the La Jolla Cliffs located directly across from my campus and the cliffs of Moher look very similar but with more greenery and granite.  On the way home we went via the Coast Road with views of Connemara & Galway in the distance passing by such famous landmarks as Doolin and the Leprechaun Head.

Even though English is the language you hear most often there is American English and European English and there are a few words that have a different meaning. One of things that I had to get used to was hear someone mention 'crack' they are not arranging a secret drug buy! It is spelled 'craic' and is Irish for friendly banter.  In Ireland when something that is really good it is brilliant or grand.  French fries are 'chips' (except in Burger King and McDonalds) and potato chips are 'crisps'.  If you need to find a restroom ask for the toilets - usually the bathroom is the room in a house where the bath tub resides.  Homes in Ireland do not have yards, they have gardens.

The next day we had a full day in Galway and walked through the streets and the main shopping area.  The town is not very big and I was quickly able to get my groundings.  In the main square there was a Christmas festival going on.  In 1965, the square was officially renamed "Kennedy Memorial Park" in honor of US President John F. Kennedy, who visited here and gave a speech shortly before his assassination in 1963.  Christmas music was playing and there was booth after booth of different local handmade crafts, pastries, and local delicacy.  The best part about it was the Christmas music blasting through the streets. For dinner, in Galway we went to a Mexican restaurant called La Salsa.  It was so delicious and I was ordering by grilled steak burrito and I looked outside and it was snowing!  It was officially the first snow of the winter season here in Galway.  It was so beautiful as soon the ground, tops of cars, and the trees all were covered with just a white little hint.  The snow fell for about 20 minutes right in time for the end of dinner. 

I also explored the town of Claddah.  The area is based on the Irish word "cladach", meaning a stony beach. People have been gathering seafood and fishing from here for millennia. Historically, its existence has been recorded since the arrival of Christianity in the 5th century. Throughout the centuries, the Claddagh people kept Galway City supplied with fish, which they sold on the square in front of the Spanish Arch. The area has been made popular in the song "Galway Bay", and internationalized through its traditional jewelry, the Claddagh Ring, which is worn by people all over the world.  The Claddagh's distinctive design features two hands clasping a heart, and usually surmounted by a crown. The elements of this symbol are often said to correspond to the qualities of love (the heart), friendship (the hands), and loyalty (the crown).  When turned the other way, it shows that the wearer is in a relationship, or their heart has been "captured". When worn on the left hand with the heart oriented again away from the wearer, it implies the wearer is engaged; turned the other way, it indicates the wearer is married.

Around the city, listening to by passers, passing newsstands, and hearing the news I could not help but notice the huge recession that is going on and is putting a huge toll on country.  On the news, as I was leaving everyone was crowding around the TV because there was apparently a 85 billion dollar Irish bailout that was just signed.  I have not done much research on the topic and would like to do more.

On Saturday night, I headed back to Dublin for one last night and I had to catch a flight out the next day.  On the way back in the bus I watched a famous Irish movie called Angelo’s Ashes.  The movie was depressing and also controversial as it was supposed to depict the typical life in Limrick.  The last night as I was heading back to my hostel it starting to snow again and the entire city was once again covered in snow.  It snowed all night and in the morning the entire city was covered in white.  It was gorgeous.  I had sometime in the morning to walk around a little bit more and then headed back to Rome that afternoon.  I have had a busy day in the library today and will try to post pictures tonight when I get home or tomorrow!