We Are Leprechauns

It was Thursday, April 1st at 9pm. I was writing in my journal on a hostel bed in Dublin and wondering why I didn't just collapse and pass out. My day had started the previous Tuesday at 7am. Have you ever had a day that is just starting to get fun as night is falling so you stay up all night as you're having more and more fun and before you know it you're walking home at 6am and then you go to school at 8 having had no sleep and all you get is a nap before packing your bag and flying to Dublin to walk around a foreign city completely delirious and dreamy-eyed because you haven't slept for 48 hours?

I have.

We (Gillian, Levi, Mindy, Tiffany, and I) landed in Dublin on the morning of April 1st and met our friend Gabby in the airport. We were all ready to get to our hostel, check in, and take a nap. Unfortunately, we discovered, our hostel didn't to check-ins until 1pm. So we locked our luggage in a closet and left to explore Dublin. The highlights of the first day in Ireland included eating, sleeping, and gift shops.

 A much needed and well deserved slumber led me to April 2ndwhen I was refreshed and ready for a day trip to Kilkenny with Paddy Wagon tours. The trip started off wet and cold. Our first stop was to the ruins of a monastery. The other stops on the way to Kilkenny were scenic places to snap a few pictures. The sun was out by the time we arrived in Kilkenny for lunch. We ate at McDonald's because it was Good Friday and nothing else was open. We came across a lovely castle and a cemetery in Kilkenny before we got back on the bus and headed back to Dublin. We had been sitting on a bus most of the day so when we got back to the hostel we went out on the town. Our goal was to walk all the way to the bay. Walking along the river we saw some awesome ships and boats and birds. Getting all the way to the bay was not as easy as it looked and we didn't make it all the way there. But we were satisfied with our walk along the river and we were getting hungry so we turned around to go find some dinner. While we ate our burgers and fries from a 50s style restaurant called Eddie Rocket's we discussed our plans for Saturday, our last day in Dublin. Trinity College, Dublin Castle, St. Patrick's Cathedral, Guiness Storehouse, and The Leprechaun Museum were on the list of things to do. You may be thinking that's a lot to get done in one day. It was. And we did it all!

We started our day with breakfast at McDonald's. (I've had more McDonald's in the last week than I have had in the last year.) There wasn't much to see at Trinity College except a pretty campus with a nice park. Dublin Castle was a similar story. We opted to not take the tour but we were still able to take some great pictures from the outside and in the courtyard. St. Patrick's Cathedral was my favorite stop of the trip. The exterior was gorgeous and framed by a beautiful yard with a fountain. Inside was nice too. I'm passionate about my experience there because I settled in for some much needed prayer time and felt very refreshed afterward. From St. Patrick's Cathedral we mapped our way to the Guiness Storehouse. (nice segue eh?) Of all three pints of Guiness I've had in my life, the one I had from the Storehouse in Dublin was by far the best. With a nice little buzz, Levi, Mindy and I made our way to The Leprechaun Museum.

The tour of the Leprechaun Museum started with an introduction from a real Leprechaun. Okay.. he wasn't THAT short.. but still. The first order of business was to become Leprechauns ourselves so we walked through a tunnel and suddenly everything was huge! In my experiences as a Leprechaun I had to run and jump to get up onto the sofa. Also, I walked through a rainbow and found a pot of gold at the end. It was sweet!! The tour ended with coloring and story time led by a very tall Leprechaun. It was a very touristy museum....

Although I was looking forward to getting back to London, I was a little sad to be leaving Dublin. There was some sort of happy energy there. We were constantly cracking jokes, bursting into song, and laughing. Great memories.