busy frizzy lizzi: The luck o' the Irish

Ah Dublin,

you may be the love of my life.

I got such a good vibe in Dublin, I loved it!

You know when you just get that feeling when your in a city,

and that's when you know you love it?

Well, Dublin definitely had that quality.

The people were incredibly friendly,

it is considered a "small big city",

the streets were beautifully decorated for Christmas...

It was just magical.

There's no other word to describe it.

Britain is on the left, France on the right

Ireland! Green and beautiful

It's funny because although it was the only English speaking place we went to,

Irish accents are sometimes difficult to understand because they talk super fast!

I definitely enjoy a good Irish accent though.

The only thing about Dublin is the homelessness...(but that's in every city)

There were people around every corner just sitting against a wall or bridge or building with a cup held out for passerby's to throw loose change into.

My heart breaks for those people, it really does

but I never know what to do about giving them money.

Because if you give one of them something, why not every one you pass?

I don't know, people have different opinions about it.

Now, street artists are a different story.

I can appreciate someone using a talent they have to try to earn money.

There were tons of musicians and street artists

enjoying what they were doing and not forcing a donation but appreciating one.

(yeah, those are people, not statues)

Anyway, onto a different subject.

We went to the Guinness factory which was pretty amazing.

Guinness is definitely not my favorite

(nor my mom or sisters)

but learning how it was made and how to properly pour a glass of it was so fun!

I definitely recommend going if you are ever going to Dublin,

but bring a student ID if you are a student (ya get a discount)

Also, if you book tickets online in advance there is also a discount.

Because otherwise it's pretty expensive, but I would say worth it.

At the very end you can go to the Gravity Bar which is in the tallest tower in Dublin and you get a panoramic view of the city!

It's so cool.

Don't go chasin' waterfalls

Hand-carved monument to Arthur Guinness

Selfie with mini taste testers

"just like the real thing"

"I wanna picture with the little man over there"

Madre acing her Guinness Academy lesson

Her true feelings...

Cheers to this view, even though it's a sucky picture

After the Guinness factory, we went shopping for a bit.

We found Penneys, which is the Ireland version of Primark and it was a great experience.

Apparently Primark is coming to the US soon, so look out America! It'll be amazing.

Since I had cold feet on what color I wanted in a Lonchamp bag, I ended up getting mine in Dublin.

But it doesn't make it any less Parisian in my opinion...

Anyway, the sun sets super early now so we didn't really want to be out in the rainy dark night so we found food and went and cozied up back to the hotel.

The next day was our only full day in Dublin, so we were just going to enjoy the city and explore.

We saw St. Patrick's Cathedral, Trinity College, Temple Bar area, and Grafton street.

The Dublin Castle:

Trinity College:

St. Patrick's Cathedral:

"Here is the reputed site of the well where St. Patrick baptized many of the local inhabitants in the fifth century A.D."

At that point it was getting dark so we were heading back to the hotel when I FINALLY see

a Birkenstock store!

Finally!

It may sound lame, but I've been trying to find Birkenstocks ever since I've been in Europe because I thought they would be cheaper here since they're made in Germany (and it's obviously closer)

and guess what, they were cheaper!

So those will be for Christmas even though I have to wait for sandal weather to wear them.

But oh well, they made me happy.

That night, we went to a pub (restaurant) in Temple Bar for a proper Irish meal/our last meal in Europe together.

I wasn't too hungry, so the soup I had filled me up a lot.

And Guinness bread is gross by the way, I wouldn't recommend it.

After that, it was back to the hotel to pack for the next morning of flights.