Dublin loomed in the back of my mind the whole day. I had a short checklist of things to do, the biggest being that I needed to pack. I knew Ryanair was strict about carryon size so I was a little worried. I was mainly worried that they would stop me, check my bag and then make me pay €30. I have only heard horror stories about Ryanair up to this point, which made me nervous.
We didn’t have BES on Thursday, which meant I got to sleep in an extra 30 minutes (woot!). Our Cotemporary Britain class was all about how Britons live. We focused on class and status mainly. I discovered why there are no trash bins inside the city of London. Apparently the government took them out because of bomb scares. It still amazes me how clean they can keep the city without trash bins on the streets. I know they have street cleaners, but still. We talked a lot about traveling habits and the development of the middle class. It became pretty apparent that what we see in London is not typical of England. London is an oddity amongst the nation. We all knew this, but it’s hard to separate sometimes. Just like when someone goes to New York and that’s all they see, they wouldn’t have a good picture the entire nation, just New York.
After class Bailey and I got her money exchanged and then indulged in some Tortilla goodness. It had been two weeks since I had had a burrito and man it tasted good. But alas, I still had to pack. It took me forever and a day to find my lock. I freaked out a little bit. You can’t stay in a hostel without a luggage lock unless you want to get your things stolen. At three we got on our bus to Stansted Airport. It took 105 minutes to get there, but luckily we budgeted enough time.
My group didn’t have as many difficulties as others who used Ryanair because we were able to learn from their problems. First things first, you must get your visa checked and your boarding card stamped if you are not a member of the EU. Without it, they will charge you. We then went through security, where miraculously I wasn’t searched. After that it was just waiting for our gate. Stansted seems like a good, decent airport. It’s pretty simple in its layout but completely functional. I would hate to be there on a busy day though.
Our flight only took 45 minutes and we were in Dublin by 9 PM. Getting to our hostel was the next challenge. We decided to take public transportation because it was the cheapest option. Right away we found out how friendly everyone is in Ireland. A man helped navigate us to the correct bus, and once on the bus, an older man told us what to see, eat, drink and how to get to our hostel. Don’t even get me started on the accent. It’s official now. My favorite accents go in this order: 1) Irish 2) English 3) Australian. That man and his accent were just adorable. Whenever they want to say a “th” it actually comes out as “ta-ha.” So when they say thirty, it sounds like “t-hurty” but very quick. That’s just one example, but I love it.
This is Dublin's Four Courts and it's right across the street from our hostel.
Getting to our hostel was a bit of a walk, and it was raining. My bag was soaked when we got there. Luckily my cameras managed to remain dry. We checked in and made it our way up to our room. It was a bit of a struggle for me because the elevator decided to close on me every single time. Even thought it was only 9:30 at night there were girls in our room trying to sleep. A bit of advice, don’t try to sleep in a hostel before 11. Before 11 people are allowed to be loud. You can’t expect much else. We went to bed between 11-12 because we had to get up for day trip on Friday at 5:30 AM.
Thus ends our first day. The magic really begins on Friday with our day tour. Stay tuned…
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