6 March

Laur and I dragged ourselves out of a deep sleep coma around 12:30, since we’d decided the night before that we should probably take it easy today. Our bodies really weren’t giving us much of a choice, at this point. We had a leisurely brunch at Café Seven, during which we wrote down all of our adventures so we wouldn’t go home only to forget the details of the trip a week later (this tends to happen to me quite frequently, actually, and it’s really a hindrance). We attempted rather halfheartedly to go shopping, and Laur ended up getting a free purse out of our efforts because the lady ringing up her purchases conveniently forgot that one. Success!

We were feeling pretty lazy still, so we went to an old theatre called The Savoy to watch No Strings Attached, a romantic comedy that was actually pretty good considering it had Ashton Kutcher in it, and gorge on popcorn. We stopped for another drink at The Temple Bar, which was probably my last perfectly poured Guinness for a while since I don’t know if non-Ireland can do Guinness quite like that.

We picked up some souvenirs for friends and some Jameson Whisky chocolates for Marty for being such a good host, even though he was in London for the weekend so we only got to hang out with him for one night. We ate at a random chain diner called Eddie Rocket’s because we were amused by the décor and pretty certain we’d eaten in one in San Francisco during our Christmas vacation last year – and, appropriately enough, Eddie Rocket’s is all about nostalgia for earlier times! We returned home around midnight to pack, write a thank-you card for Marty and pass out like champions.

7 March

This was mainly a traveling day, and Laur had a significantly longer journey than I did. We caught the airport shuttle and had a final tour of Dublin on the half-hour drive out to the airport. We got to the there in time for Laur’s noon flight, and I ended up having to wait a few hours for my flight in the afternoon. We both ended up getting home around 9 p.m., reluctant to jump back into classes and work the next day.

Dublin is an awesome city, although most people I’ve met who are from there tend to say they hate it for some reason. Maybe it’s because we were tourists and only saw it from the perspective of it being charming and very walkable and pleasingly warm for early March, but I loved it, and the people I know who have moved there also tend to love living there. I really loved having English around me as well, something I didn’t really realize until this trip how much I missed. But I suppose that naturally comes from living in a country that primarily speaks a language you don’t understand. The general Maritime ambiance of Dublin and Galway also made me a little homesick for the first time since moving to Vienna, but that also comes in part from hanging out with family.

Thanks for the Guinness and the sunshine, Dublin!