When the person at Customs greets you with a smile, it's always a good sign. When I arrived in Dublin late last Friday night, that's exactly what happened. After three days in Ireland, I've come to the conclusion that Dubliners are quite possibly the nicest people I've encountered in my travels. Proof points: My shuttle reservation didn't go through, so I ended up waiting in rainy darkness for about 30 minutes. Thanks to multiple friendly bus drivers, I was directed to a bus that took me to the city center. I then walked to the apartment my cousin's friend rented for the weekend (had to ask two cops how to get there). Don't worry mom, it was a well lit area...but the moral of the story is, I couldn't believe how friendly everyone was!
The remainder of the weekend was spent walking around Dublin with my cousin Allie eating really good comfort food (Bangers and Mash in Yorkshire Pudding, Beef Boxty, really thick French Fries, drinking loads of tea with milk, etc.) and of course, yummy beer. It's true, Guinness REALLY does taste good in Ireland.
If nothing else, Dublin reaffirmed the fact that I am not a museum/itinerary person. I much prefer to learn about a new place via my stomach. For example, Allie and I went to Howth on Sunday, a sleepy little town on the coast, where we found the most delicious farmer's market. We literally wanted to sample pretty much everything we came across (it was a paradise of baked goods). I'm feeling a little hefty as a result of my Irish indulgences, but it was well worth it. If only they had a farmer's market in Madrid...
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