St. Patrick's Day in DUBLIN!

St. Patrick's Day in Dublin is something that I'll probably never forget. Instead of just arbitrarily going to a city on a weekend, this trip seemed to have a greater cultural purpose - full of parades, beer, and lot and lots of green and orange.

The St. Patrick's Day parade was based on a short story commissioned by Roddy Doyle. It's a story entitled 'Brilliant' for 'brilliant' is Dublin's favorite word.  The story is about Dublin's people being under the black dog of depression and how they fight it off. I think it's a metaphor for Ireland's current economic situation and an assurance to the people that one day they too will succeed at fighting it off.

Streets lined for the parade:

Sample of parade floats:

The costumes in the parade were amazing. They were all intricately designed and very colorful, even the make-up was impressive. We were standing right in front of main stage 1 and 2, so we were front and center for all the performing acts. My favorite dance was this group that had great facial expressions, my favorite singer was singing rock n' roll on top of one of the big black dogs, and my favorite marching band was Charlotte Catholic - all the way from North Carolina!!

Sample of parade costumes:

Favorite dancers (especially the blonde in the front):

Favorite singer (she's leaning over the backside of the dog):

Charlotte Catholic band!! : 

After the parade was over, the party moved to the Temple Bar region, which is basically a long strip of Irish pubs. We went into one that said "traditional Irish music 2:30pm - 2:30am". Too bad they were playing songs like "Sweet Caroline" and "Take Me Home, Country Roads."  Yep, definitely American. Oh and of course everywhere you went Guinness was cheaper than any other beer. 

Temple Bar region, all decked out in green:

The "Irish" music bar we went to (but hey, at least we knew all the songs):

The next day we ventured down to the Guinness Storehouse. The line was of course around the block the day after St. Patrick's Day, but we decided to wait it out. Once in the storehouse, we learned about how Guinness was made, all the different advertising campaigns of Guinness, and even how to pour the perfect Guinness. It was all topped off at the Sky Bar with our free pint! The Sky Bar has an incredible view of the rest of Dublin and even the mountains outside the city. And I ended up running into my friends from Manchester here (everyone's phone money was out or phone was dead by this point - made scheduling beyond hard).

The Guinness Storehouse:

The Sky Bar:

Harris and I with are perfectly brewed Guinnesses:

The view from Sky Bar:

Since there's not much else to do in Dublin, unless we wanted to venture to the Jameson Irish Whiskey Factory, we decided to take a bus tour to the West coast of Ireland for the day. It was a little unnerving when our bus driver assured us he had his magic mushrooms that morning and then drank a pint during lunch (he was a little wacky), but I think the driver made our tour that much better.

Along the tour, we drove through the Burren Mountains, basically a mountain range covered in rocks and with even more rocks to form wall separations between properties. Our ultimate destination was the Cliffs of Moher, a stunning drop-off into the Atlantic Ocean. Our bus driver had told us there'd be signs warning us of danger and not to go past them and that some of us "wouldn't know what that meant." We obviously fell into that category. Once we saw others past the Extreme Danger signs, you betcha we were going. It's concerning when you're about 2 feet away from a death drop-off along a slippery dirt path in the rain, and you care more about falling and getting your jeans muddy. But don't worry, we made it out alive. The rest of the tour consisted of castles, rock formations, a "hike" (aka walking in a circle), and breathtaking views of the ocean.

The Burren Mountains:

The Cliffs of Moher:

Venturing into the danger zone:

Poulnabrone Dolmen:

Dunguaire Castle:

Landscape of Ireland:

Our last day in Dublin we spent walking around in the sun and venturing to the Trinity College grounds and along the main shopping road, which was busy with street artists. 

Beautiful day in downtown Dublin:

Trinity College:

And after a four day experience in Dublin, I can officially say I'm now a fan of Guinness and shall be celebrating St. Patty's Day accordingly from now on.