Since we have arrived it has been nonstop, from here to there, rushing around... The last you heard we were in a hotel because the house we were supposed to be in turned out to be disastrous. Thankfully, we are no longer without a plan. We booked a hostel for pretty cheap (but still expensive) in the city center for the first few nights so that we would have time to find a more permanent place. When we were trying to find it, I decided to stop in at a tiny sewing machine store (why I chose that store, I have no clue) to get directions. The man, whose name I later learned is John, helped us find it. He didn't know where it was, but he called them and after talking to several foreign people who have no clue where the hostel is located found out nearby landmarks and directed us there. Turns out John owns a lot of apartments and knows a lot of people who also own apartments, bed and breakfasts, etc. He told us to drop back in an an hour or two and he would find us accommodation. After checking into our cheap, run-down hostel we stopped back by and he had found us a bed and breakfast in city center that will sleep all four of us (Jason is coming to visit in like less than 2 weeks) from March 3rd until March 21st (the day we all fly out) for a reasonable price. It normally is over 80 euro a night, so we were so fortunate to get it for so cheap (but once again, still expensive). It stinks that we won't have a kitchen so we have to eat out every meal - which really adds up. Anyway, thanks be to God for leading us into the sewing machine store!
There are lots of ups and downs to Dublin. I tend to really miss the countryside of Ireland when I walk outside and see all the craziness. I miss having a kitchen and cooking and cleaning. Jared and I will have zero privacy for the next month, so that is really hard considering we are all sharing one big room. Everything is way more expensive here... food, housing, you name it, it costs more. We work every day at Starbucks, so you can imagine how expensive that is getting. Looks like our savings will just be a little depleted after Dublin... good thing we are living with my parents when we get home! ahahah! We might just have to stick around a little longer in the Danville area than planned. The ups are things like: we are never with out something to do. There are shops, cafes, pubs, museums, etc all over the place. It is really nice having Chelsea here for the girl time and just for the company in general. The buildings are gorgeous. There are cathedrals all over the place that are just full of history, murals, and stained glass. Really easy on the eyes. The people here are kind as ever. Also, we are heading to Barcelona, Spain in just 2 days so that is pretty exciting as well.
Yesterday we did a day of sightseeing. We went to Dublin Castle and Christchurch Cathedral. When we saw the castle we followed a group in innocently to find out later that we were supposed to pay. I guess we got a free tour! It was really interesting to hear the history. The castle was built in the 1200s. The shamrock is a symbol representing when Christianity was brought to Ireland. Ireland has had female presidents for 21 years! A few random facts for you... We saw Temple Bar and walked all around that area of town - lots of historic pubs and shops. After that we went into the wax museum. It was the only thing we did all day that wasn't free, and it was probably the least interesting.
Dublin is busy and charming. We were so fortunate to meet John. He has been so kind and he is arranging a bus ride for us to the airport on Sunday. I might take him a giant cupcake this week to say thank you.
Anyway, I really am procrastinating work so I should stop writing. I will try to update my blog again soon.
Cheers!
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