A Weekend in the Big City (part 1)

So this past weekend we all went to visit Dublin. Dublin was more of a big city then I had originally expected to be honest. I mean I guess I knew that it was a big city in the back of my mind but it was still a surprise. And there is so much to do in that city. One weekend is just not enough to get everything in.

The first day we were there we all got invited to see the Parliament building. So after driving for a few hours we got off the bus, loaded our belongings into a room at our hostle (no I did not just spell hotel wrong) and met up with our guide.

He then took us on a nice walk into town down to the Parliament. We had a few hours to explore on our own before we had to split up into two groups and tour the building.

While most people went off to eat or explore or shop...I went to the National History Museum. Surprise, surprise I know. It was a very interesting museum (and free to boot). It had tons of artifacts from several eras of Irish history. I also was able to get a few good pictures of bog bodies for my up coming presentation in my Irish Literature class. When I was done there I finally went exploring a bit and got something to eat at a  cool cafe down the street.

We all then met up and split into two groups. One group would go into the Parliament building while the other could do what they wanted (but it was suggested to go next door to the library to see the Yeats exhibit). I was in group two and therefore had to wait even longer to get to see the Parliament building. I and my group mates all went over to the library to see this Yeats exhibit and I have to admit it was better than I had expected. It had a lot of his original papers mixed in with tons of pictures and copies of his work. While some things had wonderful explanations and information, there were other things that didn't have much beyond a title and date in which it had been written or taken, so that was a little disappointing. It was also very dark in there; there is a difference behind mood lighting and just plain dark. (ok I'll take my Public History hat off now) Overall I enjoyed the exhibit and would recommend going to anyone interested in Irish literature.

When we got into the Parliament we got a very interesting tour. We got to see where the lower house meets and discusses their business. We also got to hear some interesting tales about President Kennedy during his time in Ireland as well as see a few artifacts that are important to Irish history.

After that we all got the rest of our day to ourselves and it was a nice relaxing night. A huge group of us found this great pub and had dinner and then just walked around and enjoyed the city.

More to come soon....