Dublin: Weeks 6-7

Too many photos and so little time to want to upload and post. But I do have some time for now. 2 more weeks to go!

Dublin: Week 5

You will have no idea how much I am craving Mexican food since living in Dublin for the summer. How perfect was it when both of my roommates mentioned they were having people over for a Fiesta party!!! Mexican food!!! After an afternoon out in the city doing a little shopping, Marisol and I thought it would be a grand idea to pick up a bottle of Tequila for the party. 

We stopped by Mark and Spencers market to grab a bottle of Tequila and asked one of the workers if he could direct us to an aisle where they have the Tequila. I guess he doesn't know much about Tequila because he asked me if it was wine and I told him it wasn't (didn't want to complicate the matter and say, "well, it is an agave spirit") and then he asked me what shade is it so I told him him, "um, well they can be clear to light brown" and then he said he knows he had seen that. Then he asked me how is it usually served so I said "you know, like in margaritas and shots with some salt and lime." So we waited while he looked around and I didn't have the heart to say it's OK because he was insistent that he did see it and they do sell it there. When he came back he told me that he asked one of his bosses and I guess they don't sell it there or they were sold out so we thanked him and he wished us good luck on finding it. And to think I was actually going to be picky and want Patron over Cuervo for the night if I had a choice. 

So we went to Tesco where we found only one kind of Tequila, yup, you guessed it, Jose Cuervo which also happened to be the 2nd to the last bottle on the shelf. We grabbed it and took the bus back home. 

When we arrived the party was out in the courtyard area. Our roommates are a part of an american internship summer group and the group is huge. Hung out for a bit and everyone made the long walk down Shanowen to ride in style hopping on the Dublin bus (or party bus from what it seemed that night with a big group) and head over to the city ending up at Messrrs Maguire pub. 

Jaime, Marisol, Caitlinn  (one of our roommates) and me.

Whoever took this photo must have accidently zoomed in because this photo is just too off and weird.

During our 1st or 2nd week here, we spotted Mexico to Rome restaurant in the Temple Bar area. I know what you may be thinking because I was thinking the same thing "Mexico --> Rome?!?!?!?". But hey, we have been craving Mexican food since we got here so this was definitely an option. My "Mexican" dish for that night was Chicken Enchiladas and I didn't know that it was a do-it-n-wrap-yourself chicken enchilada! Here is a crappy phone pic of my lovely Mexican dish that night.

Jealous much?!?! The entree was just OK or so-so. What I was doing a lot of that night was dipping my flour tortillas pieces into the "salsa" and guacamole since I don't like sour cream too much and probably because my meal sucked. At least my margarita was strong, in fact a lil' too strong.

We also found an Acapulco Restaurant (Yes, Acapulco Restaurant - I LOVE Acapulco) nearby a few weeks ago. We took the bus to O'Connell Street and hailed a taxi (who happened to be a taxi driver we had before!) and told him "please take us to the Acapulco Restaurant on So. Great Georges." It wasn't that far from where he picked us up that he didn't even charge us. And I'm sure it's because he remembered us so we tipped him generously anyway for being such a cool taxi guy. 

We shared chips and salsa which was a lot of chips and a little of the blended salsa and a side of guacamole. I was sparing the salsa and the guacamole as much as possible since we sure knew we weren't going to get refills on the salsa. We both ordered the steak burrito and it was pretty good. Instead of a log shaped burrito, our steak burrito was wrapped neatly into a nice little quadrilateral. It was cute. The square shaped burrito was enough to satisfy our Mexican cravings and we even had enough room to share a chocolate fudge cake. Delicious! Didn't take any photos because how could I think of taking photos when I am starving?!

  

Quotes of the day by Jane Austen

"It sometimes happens that a woman is handsomer at twenty-nine than she was ten years before."

"The person, be it gentleman or lady, who has not pleasure in a good novel, must be intolerably stupid."

"Nothing is more deceitful than the appearance of humility. It is often only carelessness of opinion and sometimes and indirect boast."

Dublin: Wondrous

A sight for sore eyes this is! 

Maybe if we had more time we could have followed the end of the rainbow to see if the leprechaun was really hiding his pot of gold! Wish I had a more significant distance when snapping this photo so you can see the perfect semicircular shape of the rainbow. 

Quotes of the Day by Anais Nin:

"Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one's courage."

"We dont' see things as they are, we see them as we are."

"If you do not breathe through writing, if you do not cry out in writing, or sing in writing, then don't write, because our culture has no use for it."

Dublin: Saturday Forecast

I have been feeling under the weather. If I am feeling much better by Saturday, guess what is on our short little itinerary for the day:

RIVERDANCE!!! 

Go ahead and mention you are going to watch Riverdance to any Dubliner (or just any Irish person at that!) and they will most certainly laugh or snicker at you, shake their heads while laughing and snickering and ask you this question:

"Do you know why Riverdance is in fact so popular?"

Answer: Because of Americans!!!  

Hahaha, I know you didn't see that coming right?! Of course I am joking, I'm not that naive! What can I say??? I still want to see it! They are here until August 29th so why the hell not?!?! I'll be sure to update if I can since all of you readers are probably dying to find out and are probably jealous that I get to see it and you don't! I do suspect that there is a little Riverdance dwelling in everyone whether they want to admit it or not. I took tap dancing lessons for a short time and always wish I could tap Riverdance-style! Le sigh.

C'mon, look at that photo - C'est magnifique!!!

Guess where else we will be going???

The Old Jameson Distillery

FYI: Even though no whiskey is distilled at this particular Jameson distillery, the refurbished distillery serves as a museum retaining and capturing the feel of what is imagined in an old distillery instead of a tourist trap (aka Guinness Brewery). 

Other things we have planned in due time thus far:

1) Belfast

2) Malahide

3) Kilkenny

4) Galway

5) Wherever Ryan Air decides to take us for a weekend.

Dublin: Week 4 - Ghostbus Tour

Ghostbus Tour

Talk to any Dubliner and mention that you just did the Ghostbus tour and they will tell you that you wasted your money. Hey, but I'm a tourist and I am entitled to do as many touristy things that I WANT and how many times can you say you went on a ghostbus tour?!?! The ghostbus tour was FUN and sure wasn't a waste of my money (IMO) as I do find a fondness for such creepy and unexplainable stories. Experience alone is priceless, wouldn't you agree??? Enough of the philosophy. Fin. 

The Ghostbus tour introduces you to the dark romance of a city of gaslight ghosts and chilling legends. We passed by haunted houses, learned of Dracula's Dublin origins, learned about the Dublin's origins of the "white lady", visited the Haunted 40 Steps to Hell and even had a crash course in body-snatching. I didn't get spooked or anything unless you are one to fright easily, but our ghost guide's theatric performance is what definitely made the tour downright entertaining while being whisked away to learn about haunted Dublin areas. 

St. Kevin's Graveyard

This graveyard is considered to be most haunted in Dublin. Supposedly the ghost of Bishop Dermot O'Hurley resides in the church there. He was executed during the times it was dangerous to be a Catholic preaching. Late July is usually the time when apparitions are high. I'll be sure to update if I see any unusual figures or orbs in my photos for the paranormal fans out there.

(catholicireland.net)

"3. Bishop Dermot O'Hurley: tortured and hanged at Hoggen Green, Dublin, 20th June 1584

Dermot O'Hurley was born near Emly, Co. Tipperary, about 1530. His family were well off and as a young man Dermot went to study law at Louvain. In 1581 Pope Gregory XIII asked Dermot, still a layman, to become Archbishop of Cashel and he accepted, knowing that this appointment would make him a fugitive working in dangerous conditions. He reached Ireland in 1583, but while he was sheltering at Slane Castle he was recognised, arrested, imprisoned in Dublin Castle. Accused of plotting to overthrow the Queen's government in Ireland, he was repeatedly questioned and tortured. He persistently protested that his mission was one of peace and he had no information to give his captors.

On 20th June 1584 he was taken to Hoggen Green, near St Stephen's Green, to be hanged. Before his death he said: I am a priest anointed and also a bishop, although unworthy of so sacred dignities, and no cause could they find against me that might in the least degree deserve the pains of death, but only my function of priesthood wherein they have proceeded against me in all points contrary to their own laws. When the report of his execution spread in the city, some devout women carried his body with great respect to the Church of St Kevin (near Kevin St) where he was buried. A monument to his memory was erected there in 1992."

Body-snatching 101 in St. Kevin's Graveyard

You dig a hook in their jaw and yank the body out. If the jaw was weak, you can hook through the nose or somewhere on face yanking with all your might and stuffing in the a bag and dumping it over.

Haunted 40 Steps

During the 18th century, St. Audoen's church bordered the area of what was then known as Hell. Around the 1950's up to to 1980's there were many accounts of nuns reporting to the Gardai their encounters with leper ghosts. Dublin's most famous ghost, the Green Lady has been known to haunt the outside of the church. She is believed to be Dark Kelly, a woman bringing her unwanted offspring to St. Audoen's church. She was put to death by Simon Luttrell, Sheriff of Dublin and a member of the Hellfire Club (satanist group) believed to be the father of her child. 

Haunted 40 Steps. Eeeeeeeeeek!!!

Marisol and I (along with the brave ones) walking the haunted 40 steps to hell!!! We are scared!!!

That's me in the middle taking pictures of what was considered a portal to hell also referred to as leprosy colony back in the day. I have my sweater over my head because stupid me forgot to bring my umbrella that was in my purse back in the bus. Actually everyone left their umbrellas back there.
Those that dared not to walk the 40 Steps. 
Portal to "hell" aka "leprosy world" where you can escape and never come back. It was said criminals would commit murder and enter this zone knowing that no one will come after them since their fate has already been met once stepping inside. 

Another Interesting Thing I Learned on the Ghost Bus Tour:
The origins of the term "dead ringer". 
People would be buried with a rope leading from inside the coffin to a bell above the ground. This enabled anyone who was buried alive to ring the bell and to draw attention to the mistake. Since people would not expect to see their 'dead' loved ones again, a person resembling the deceased is a 'dead ringer'. This is also reputed to be the origin of the expression 'graveyard shift' because people from the village used to take it in turns to listen for the bell.