Irish I was in Dublin again.
Here it is. What I'm sure many of you have been waiting for. What about your travels, Alli?
Just over a month ago I took a trip to Dublin to catch up with an old friend studying there and also to explore. I was there for the weekend and it was great to reconnect, but my Sunday really stood out. Why? Well, here you go. Story time.
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I check the weather only to see the entirety of Ireland covered in a storm except Dublin. The hourly forecast doesn’t bode well for me, so I make my way out as soon as possible. I step outside, rain jacket and sweatpants on, only to be surprised with an incredibly sunny day. Windy, sure. But still, sun. First stop, Christ Church.
I arrive at the perimeter of the church and see a smaller, cobblestone road to the right of the church. I decide to take it. It’s a very short little road but is shaded over by the church to the left. There's a real Hogwarts-esque vibe to it, causing my inner Hufflepuff to geek out a bit. Immediately I take a collection of pictures. 14 percent battery life left. Great.
Up the sidewalk and to the crosswalk I go. I think it’s even sunnier here. As I wait to cross the street, church bells start ringing. For the next few minutes I stand in awe of this incredible show and amazing start to my Sunday.
I continue on. Cross the street and down this road. I've memorized the route so I don’t have to check my phone. It also helps that all of my landmarks are fairly noticeable. I mean, let’s just look for the big churches and quads. It really isn’t too hard...
After about five to ten minutes along a wonderfully sunny and rather empty Dublin street, I see it. There it is. Saint Patrick’s Cathedral. It towers over the buildings and courtyard around it. Stunning from a distance, even more so up close and personal. Children are playing on the playground, dogs are running around the courtyard, the sun is shining, and the grass is that typical Ireland green. I mean it, the grass is really that green.
Immediately, I'm drawn in. After taking more and more photos and having fountain water blown into my face from the wind, I decide to make my way towards Dublin Castle. However, I'm quickly distracted by an overlook I find and another photo session ensues.
In the midst of these photos, the bells ring. Again, absolute amazement. The scene in front of me – this incredible cathedral, a greener-then-green courtyard, children laughing, dogs playing, sun shining. I can barely contain how happy I am at this exact moment - literally, by this point I'm grinning from ear to ear. I just stand there, embracing every second. No concerns in the world.
Now, I bet you’re wondering what's about to happen to kill my vibe, right? Like, nothing can always go right like that. I know, I'm waiting for the same thing at this point, but I continue on – ready to embrace whatever infortune (most likely weather) comes my way. Off to Trinity College.
I follow my mental map the best I can. A little construction throws me off, but I recover and even am able to help a lady across the street in the process. I arrive at the entryway of the main courtyard at Trinity College. Remember that Hogwarts-esque vibe I mentioned earlier? Now triple that. I feel like I'm walking to my first flying lesson – through the wooden doors into Hogwarts’ courtyard, to be more precise. Think Sorcerer’s Stone Remembrall scene.
I walk through these doors and into the courtyard. It begins to rain - no worries. At first it's cobblestone and then there is that greener-than-green grass again. Signs read please do not step on the grass. As tempting as it is, I obey and make my way around another corner to find a smaller courtyard and then around one more to be standing in front of The Berkeley Library.
I'm admiring a statue out front, when I start to hear some yelling. Not a bad yelling - the type of yelling you’d hear among teammates. So, naturally I make my way in that direction. Now, for anyone who knows me, this next part alone should explain how my day went.
As I walk down a ramp next to the library, I see a pitch. Even better, a match. What kind of match? Yeah, you guessed it. Soccer soccer soccer! Or rather, football, football, football! At this moment, my day is set. It couldn’t get any better, it couldn’t get worse. The rest of my itinerary is thrown out the window as I sit down and watch the first half. After the half, I catch a bus to the airport and the rest of my day is a constant trend of delayed flights and changing gates. But who cares.
If you had asked me before this trip what my ideal day was, I probably would’ve had to really think about my answer. But now it’s easily a toss-up between this – solo exploring a new place and stumbling across a soccer game – or simply being in the mountains.
