O5/02: Last Day in Dublin.

This morning we went to a service at St. Patrick’s Cathedral and surprisingly it was quite plain inside. Compared to Notre Dame, there was no ceiling art or grandeur of the place. St. Patrick’s cathedral was a place actually built for worship, it wasn’t meant to impress. However, just because it was plain it did not make this cathedral any less beautiful than the others. In this case, less was definitely more. I enjoyed the little morning service, and there was a children’s choir singing so it warmed my heart a bit.

Afterward, we were released for some free time. At this point my main agenda was clear, I wanted to find a cluster of shops and spend the rest of my Euros. While waiting for the hop on hop off bus, a couple of my girlfriends and I checked out the 99 cents store. It was quite similar to the Dollar Tree stores we have in the states. Then we stopped in a little place called Spar, a very popular one stop shop in Dublin. Spar can be compared to a gas station offering light snacks, beverages, magazines, and etc.

Once we finally hop on hop off bus, we met the nicest tour guide. She kindly pointed us in the right direction for our shopping excursions of the day. We found shopping in close proximity to our hotel on O’Connell Street. The first place we explored was Penneys, it was department store that was our equivalent to J.C.Penny or T.J. Maxx. Luckily for us they were having a sale on everything, needlessly to say it became my favorite store. As we went down side streets we found little boutiques and other stores for young adults that had affordable fashion.

Something that I noticed was that the American flag was a fashion trend in Dublin. It was really weird. There were American flag leggings, sweaters, high-waisted shorts, heels, and other accessories. Wearing the American flag does not appeal to me but apparently it appeals to the Irish. Another trend I noticed was wearing shorts over leggings, which fit because the weather was wet and cold most of the trip. So these young women stayed chic even though the sun did not make a frequent appearance.

While shopping I actually found a pair of shoes that were worn in the show Alice in Funderland. They were 15 Euro, and yes I purchased them because they are fabulous. I met a man today while shopping who is originally from Ireland but he has lived in Chicago for 10 years and he loved every second of it. He moved back to be closer to family but he makes annual trips back to the states. Irish people are fond of America so that definitely made me happy because I am fond of the Irish.

Later we went on a literary pub crawl which was awesome! In America, pubs are a place to go and get wasted however, in Dublin there is a story behind every pub. Pubs are for storytelling, conversing, jigging, and just enjoying yourself and the other company that happens to be there. When you walk into a pub in Dublin, you are welcomed like you’ve known the bartender for a while. They joke as if we’ve known each other our whole lives. Dublin is quite a homey place.

I am glad we decided to go on the literary pub crawl because I actually learned something while indulging myself. I’ve noticed in Europe in general that nothing is just for pure entertainment, there is always something to learn as well. I met some women from New York and Pennsylvania who just came on the pub crawl for the pub experience which I thought was awesome. In every pub we went to there was a famous person in literature who used to spend hours in that same place. I felt honored to be able to be there and just take it all in.

I also enjoyed the two actors that guided us through the pub crawl. They performed little skits and their acting was great. They stayed in character and had great chemistry. They entertained and educated the group and it kept me hooked. It was really good time.

I did not want to leave Dublin because it was comfortable. It is a nice mid-sized city and people are friendly to tourists. Wherever I went I felt like people were genuinely content I was there. Dublin is not a huge fashion capital or anything but it is a chic little city to live in. Everything about this day was just fabulous.