Our correspondent today is Emma Klein:
“One’s destination is never a place, but a new way of seeing things”
~Henry Miller
It is hard to believe we have spent such a jam-packed, yet meaningful week in Belfast, Northern Ireland. After several exclusive tours, interesting lectures, and meetings with prestigious politicians such as Martin McGuinness, we embarked on yet another journey to Dublin—Ireland’s most famous city. While packing for Dublin on Friday night, I reflected on our valuable week in Belfast, and anticipated our trip to another “foreign” country. In a sense, Ireland, including Northern Ireland, had always seemed like a single entity, sharing the same culture and customs. However, after my experience in Dublin, I came to the conclusion that Dublin and Belfast possess different variations of the same rich, Irish culture. We had witnessed Belfast’s unique Irish identity, and we were about to be exposed to a new sense of “Irishness.”
Early Saturday morning, we boarded a coach and headed to Dublin for a more relaxing, casual weekend. Upon arrival in Dublin after a three-hour bus ride, we dropped our bags at Jurys Inn and went straight to lunch at Luigi Malone’s—a restaurant located in the heart of the Temple Bar district. After lunch, Mr. Bizga informed us that we would have the whole day to explore Dublin in groups of three or more. Everyone, excited by the idea of free time, quickly divided into groups and set off to indulge in Dublin’s tourist attractions and cheesy Irish souvenir shops. It was a cool, sunny day, so Laurie, Brenna, Eileen, Bethie, Morgan, Bill, Brian, and I decided to take the double-decker bus tour around the city. First, we stopped at the Dublin Castle, which was originally established in 1204 AD. We walked around the main quad, admiring its old, stony architecture, and briefly entered the gothic-style Chapel Royal that had impressive stained-glass windows. Following the Dublin Castle, we quickly stopped at St. Patrick’s Cathedral. We did not venture inside, but we walked around the grounds, which were breathtaking. The outside of the church boasted tall spires and stunning gothic architecture, which beautifully complimented the surrounding greens. Following our St. Patrick’s visit, we hopped on the bus and headed to the Guinness Storehouse. We took an official tour of the factory, learning the history of Guinness and how the beer is made. My favorite part of the tour was reaching the top floor of the factory—the Gravity Bar, which holds the highest and most spectacular views of the city. The views of Dublin below us were mind-blowing and truly amazing. Soon thereafter, we said goodbye to the Guinness Storehouse and spent an hour shopping for cheap Irish souvenirs at Carroll’s. We then checked in with Mr. Bizga and Miss Madden at Trinity College, and split up again for dinner. Drew, Brendan, Bill, Brian, Bethie, Morgan, and I walked back to the Temple Bar District, committed to finding a traditional Irish pub for dinner. I loved walking through the Temple Bar area hearing all the Irish chants from inside the pubs and walking on the cobblestone streets. We finally decided on a pub called O’Reilley’s and had a lovely Irish meal. Completely stuffed from dinner, we walked back to Trinity College to meet up with the group, and then went back to Jurys Inn. Exhausted and beat, I went right to sleep. It was a successful day in Dublin!
My day in Dublin helped me to gain several insights on the stark differences between Belfast and Dublin. Dublin, to my surprise, is such an international city, lacking the fluidity of Irish culture and history. I rarely encountered anyone with an Irish accent in Dublin, and the people I met and saw were mostly Italian, Spanish, or French. This helped me to realize that unlike Belfast, Dublin sells its history and culture in the form of tourism—double-decker buses, thousands of souvenir shops, and Celtic Disneyland, are all ways of experiencing Dublin’s version of Irish culture. However, Belfast lives and breathes its troubled past, and every building and every wall bear a trace of the ongoing conflict between the Catholics and Protestants. As a result, today’s experiences in Dublin were not only fun, but also rewarding. I cannot wait to see what Dublin has in store for us for the remainder of the weekend!
Good night and God bless!
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