the land of irish whisky and guinness stout

after four days in dublin, i'm back to reality! my brain contains nothing but assignments and project! man, is not easy being a student! this might sounds weird to you guys.... guess what? these days, i normally stay in the library until 12 midnight and will also be there during weekend (when i'm not travelling, of course). gosh... i miss technip! life is rather easy and fun in technip! for almost two months i didn't have any discussion related to sex (becoming a saint soon)! my friends in newcastle are only crazy on assignments! can't blame them too much... who doesn't when you have so many things to do in so little time?

anyway, last week, i skipped two classes to be at dublin. i didn't regret... even a second! dublin is such a fun place to be! the city almost succeeded in leading me to christ! luckily, i was able to look side way just before jesus wanted to give me a french kiss. to those jesus followers out there, i'm not insulting christianity or you guys... i'm just not a very religious person. anyway, i gotta thank him! if not because him, there will be no great churches/ abbeys/ minsters/ cathedrals around the world for us to admire.

i started off my journey at ireland at trinity college, the most prestigous college or university in ireland. many of the famous irish figures were former student there. inside this college, stored one of the world's most famous and beautiful books - book of kells. to be honest, it didn't really blow me away. the only thing in trinity college that made me stunned was the long room, a very very very old library with many many many old books. man, that room is awesome! sitting in the middle, you can feel a great force within you! no picture can be taken inside the long room without approval.

one of the famous names that ever came out from trinity college is oscar wilde (goggle him, interesting life). i passed by his former house in merrion square, dublin. there is a statue of him opposite his former house. i'm not really into literature. so, it took me less than 10 minutes to see both the house and statue.

visiting cities in europe, you can't miss galleries and museums! why? simple answer, most museums and galleries are free... no entrance fee and you see tonne of great paintings and artifacts! what a bargain! national gallery of ireland has a painting by caravaggio. is not easy to see works by caravaggio. they are only available in some famous galleries around the world. next, national museum of ireland! sadly to say, after too much of walking (and didn't get enough sleep), i failed to give in attention to all the displayed artifacts.

shopping is a must! in dublin, two most famous streets for retail therapy... graffon street and o'connell street. luckily, i didn't pull out my credit card too many times.

there is no place in dublin that can be better than temple bar area in the evening. great restaurants, crowded bars.... temple bar area is surely the place to hangout at night but not in the morning when urine and puke stains are everywhere.

day two was rather exciting! i went to hill of tara and newgrange. hill of tara was the home of ancient ireland but now, you can only see plain field. i was told buildings and houses back then were made from wood and they didn't survive against time. after a quick stop at hill of tara, we headed to newgrange, the most mystical monument in ireland. until now, archeologists still unable to explain the existence of newgrange. newgrange is a unesco's world heritage site. it was built during the neolithic period and it is 1000 years older than the stonehenge.

my day two in ireland didn't end at newgrange! after some prehistoric lessons, i went back to dublin city, walked along river liffey and watched lights brighten up the city. dublin is amazing at night especially along the river. many gorgeous buildings and bridges can be seen along the river - custom house, four courts, ha'penny bridge etc. walking along the river with a nice looking coat on a cold autumn night... i did feel like i was making a romantic korean drama (without a lead actress).

i kicked off day three at a very eerie place - kilmainham goal. folks, imagine... an empty jail! the whole duration inside the goal, i'd feel uneasy! i kinda feel like many eyes were watching over me. i was told, many famous irishs were prisoned here before. i was also showed where the executions were carried out. damn spooky! after an hour in kilmainham goal, i was so pleased to be out of that place.

next, i visited dublin castle. maybe i have seen enough palaces and castles in the past few weeks, i wasn't that excited to be in the castle. however, there is a very interesting place inside the castle area, the chester beatty library. the library is the home for many ancient manuscripts and books. another interesting place with no entrance fee required.

not far away from the castle, situated two beautiful cathedrals - st. patrick's cathedral and christ church cathedral. christ church cathedral is the mother of all churches in ireland. it is quite special! it has a link bridge that connect to another building.

a trip to dublin will only be considered completed with a visit to the world famous, guinness storehouse. a very interesting place! it showed how the black drink is brewed, the ingredients, the history, and just about everything that related to guinness. well, i'm not really a big fan of guinness but i believe my mum will go wild if she goes there. anyway, i did end up drinking a glass of guinness on a lovely evening while enjoying the nightview of dublin. a very spectacular way to end the day.

on day four, i ventured out of the city. i took a train to a town called malahide (north of dublin). the only thing worth a visit in malahide is the malahide castle. the castle is surrounded by beautiful gardens. the staff said the castle is quite haunted! many strange things happened in the castle before! anyway, the castle is really exquisite. love the dining room!

from malahide, i took a train to howth - a fishing village! a very relaxing place for an afternoon walk and fresh seafood! the only thing there that got me smiled widely was the seals swimming and playing at the port. they are so adorable! really wish to bring them home!

the last place i visited during my stay at ireland was dalkey - a heritage town! dalkey is in the south of dublin. i like dalkey! that place is so charming... small town with big attitude! there are many old buildings in the town but what captured my heart is the scenery at the harbour - postcard perfect. really wish i can have a house there!

after four days of great adventure in ireland... i didn't wanna come back to newcastle!! back to newcastle means back to assignments and projects! torture!