Dublin, Ireland (Jan. 6, 7, 8)

We made it through the first country in one piece. Besides for the pint prices and the daytime temperatures, Dublin was great! We knew beforehand that it was going to be expensive and cold so it wasn't a big surprise. We got into Paris around 9:30 on the morning of the sixth. The flight felt extremely cramped and hot. However, it went fairly quickly (due in part to the massive amount of free movies, tv shows, and games available) and the food wasnt bad either. It got a little hectic once we arrived in Paris because our flight had gotten in an hour late and we had to go through a full security check once again to make our connection. We made our connection to Dublin though and that's what's important. We found out later that day that they had shut down all incoming flights to Dublin about two hours after we got there because of the ice. Our landing was pretty sketchy so I wasnt too surprised. Once we got to the Dublin airport, we got our passports stamped and then caught a bus to our hostel. The Avalon House was a nice hostel. It was attached to a barista which served free breakfast every morning; we only made it to breakfast one time. There were a decent amount of computers in the lobby. All had free internet and we were able to watch the national championship game at 4 in the morning on friday. As far as the days went we were fairly productive. We werent able to get too much done the first day because our flight didn't get in until the afternoon. So, we got something to eat (Pizza consisting of potatos, garlic and oil, pesto, and mozzarela) it was great. Once we ate lunch we went back to the hostel to take a nap -- none of us had gotten much sleep on the flight to Paris. That night we went out to a place called Sheeba. We all had burgers. From what we saw in Dublin, it seemed like on every single street you could get burgers and pizza, most of the time at the same place. We had a few pints at Sheeba and then walked to a corner pub right accross the street from our hostel to close our the night -- John Lynch's. The first full day there we walked to Saint Patrick's Cathedral, went to Marsh's Library, walked cross town to the Chester Beatty Library, and ended the day with a self tour of the Guinness Factory. The history that is in this area is absolutely incredible. It felt majestic simply walking the streets of Dublin on this first day--cold, cloudy, foggy, kind of how I had pictured it would be. That night we ended up going out to a place called Hogan's, had a few pints and played some cards. The next day we woke up still jet lagged but were able to stay productive. While walking to visit Trinity College we noticed a few kids that appeared to be skipping school throwing snowballs at innocent bystanders. We looked them directly in the eyes as we walked passed them and then got drilled with snowballs. So, we basically ended up getting in a snowball fight with a bunch of ten year olds, and its a pretty safe bet to say that we lost. After stopping by Trinity college, we went to the Wax Museum which was interesting, and then trekked to the Jameson Distillary for a tour and whiskey tasting session. Everyone was able to submit their ticket at the end of the tour for a complimentary shot or mixed drink of Jameson, but a select few (including Alex and Eric) were able to participate in an "official" whiskey tasting conducted by our tour guide. We left the Jameson Distillary feeling rejuvinated, got some dinner, and headed out for our last night in Dublin -- drinking a few more pints, playing cards, enjoying the experience.