Dublin

From Rome, Nick and I flew to Dublin where we were meeting up with my sister Laurie and her boyfriend Patrick. It was the end of an era- we had been traveling alone for three weeks at this point. As we landed in Dublin there was so much to be excited about- seeing Laurie and Pat and being back to an English speaking country! As we stepped off the plane, it was so refreshing to feel the much cooler temperatures- probably about 60 degrees, whereas it had been about 90 when we left Rome. We only stayed in Dublin for one night, but we really enjoyed our time there. The Irish are so friendly! They really are like southerners with a different accent and by far the friendliest people we encountered on our whole trip. Every time we spoke to a local, whether it was to ask for directions, or just say hello, we ended up having a wonderful conversation.

We loved wandering around the city. This is Grafton Street- a pedestrian only street filled with shops, restaurants, and street performers. We enjoyed a picnic lunch in St. Stevens Green- a huge park in the center of the city.

Later in the afternoon we picked up our rental car for the second part of our Irish adventure. The rental car place was in the city and Nick was our brave driver. As you can see in the picture below, the Irish drive one the "wrong" side of the road. It was a little scary at first navigating the city streets, but Nick quickly got the hang of it and we quickly headed out of the city! We drove through the most beautiful countryside and quaint towns and headed to the other side of the island.