First Friday, First Pub

It really is tough to keep up with blogging. By the time I am finished experiencing Dublin, all I want to do is sink into my bed. My legs and feet have not stopped aching since I arrived. I'm telling you, we must walk nearly 5 or 6 miles a day.

Once I leave work, I have to travel down Grafton Street (a major street with many stores and resting places), so a 20 minute walk home generally turns into a 2 hour expedition.

Wednesday I think it was, I had the opportunity to stop in St. Stephen's Mall. I'll let the pictures speak for themselves:

Entrance to St. Stephens Mall, The picture doesn't do it justice. The flowers are typically a bright purple.

T.K. and T.J. must be bros.

Irish man teaching a tourist how to drum

O'Connell Street

I've noticed all the signs in Ireland are in English and have an Irish translation as well. An Irish student who works in my lab told me that all students are required to learn 3 languages: English, Irish and a choice between French or German as their third language.

Also, Ireland does not have many "knock off" brands. Many of the stores are European, but they do have a few American ones like the Foot Locker (although it only offers a portion of the brands that a Foot Locker in America would offer such as Nike or Adidas).


Now... for the fun stuff: The WEEKEND!

Friday night: First Irish Pub

We were told not to visit Temple Bars because they typically are tourist traps with steep prices and many Irish don't actually go there. So we visited The Porter House instead. We were not carded as we entered, nor to order a drink. It was typically a mix between people dressed in laid back attire and those "smartly" dressed. (When you dress up for a night out here, they call you "smart".) The speakers blasted only American pop and techno songs such as Katie Perry and Sean Kingston (basically everything you'd hear at a Vanderbilt Tailgate) as well as Journey's Don't Stop Believin'. 
People typically go to the bar to order a drink, but you are encouraged NOT to tip the bar tender. I read on the internet that the only way you can tip if you just feel you should is to hand the bartender a bill (5 euro at least) and say something like "Buy one for yourself later." It seems that the Irish only enjoy tips if it is revolved around another pint.
After receiving your pint (or mixed drink--yes, you can order drinks other than beer), most sit down at a table to enjoy it. If you already have a few in you, you can join the dance floor which really is just an area the first drunk guy designates.
Side note: at pubs here, sometimes workers walk around holding signs in the air advertising things. The particular one we saw all night was for the opportunity to purchase a 5 euro picture key chain.

Night Time: Many of the buildings have beautiful colored lights. If you look closely, this one has blue, purple and red violet.

Slow you are?

Again, the older buildings have dramatic white lights which I thought were very pretty.

Myself, Julia (from Canada, goes to school in Bahrain), and José (from Spain, near Madrid.)

This was a special picture because it was my first legal drink: a Plain Porter.

Katie (From Cork), Caroline(From Canada), and Matt (From Vandy)

Mine and Matt's second drink: Irish Cider (We thought it was fancy because of the gold foil)

And.. bizarre hair straightener in the bathroom. Apparently this is normal? 2 euro for 20 minutes, not bad.

A new blog is coming to you shortly.