Oh laddy

Ireland. It really is that green. So far, it really is that beautiful too.

I arrived after more than enough hours of traveling. 2 hours spent watching Invictus (Matt Damon!) on the plane, 3 hours layover in London Heathrow, and 1 hour waiting for my parents in the Dublin airport. All the rest of that time? Sleeping.

When we finally found each other, we took a taxi to a quaint hotel named after my roommate coming to stay with us on Friday. Okay, not named after her, but the same name. That is, Ariel House. Pretty perfect, eh? And it really is pretty great for only 65 USD a night!

We dropped off our things and then headed toward town to take a hop on/hop off bus tour. This way, we could see what there was in Dublin that we would want to spend more time on in the coming days. We have made a sufficient list, mind you, and even already have some good pictures from the bus (when it wasn't raining on us!).
After the tour, we decided to take a taxi to meet up with one of mom's friends from work. Funny story. Since we didn't know the specific address, we thought the safest bet was taking a taxi. When we told the taxi driver the address, I noticed him try to get over to another lane, but it was too late. Have I mentioned that they drive on the left side here? Any who, the driver makes a giant circle to a place, the place we were going, a mere two and half blocks away from our beginning location. Smooth, Longorias, smooth.

Dinner was at Temple Bar. Not only is this the name of the bar, it's also the name of the general location in Dublin. In this area are loads of pubs and restaurants (that are mainly pubs). I figured that just as when I was in Germany and I sipped a German beer, I should probably try a Guinness.
I still don't like beer. :P But I aimed to at least drink to the bottom of the label "Guinness" on my glass. I came so close!

Now it's 9pm and I'm calling it a night. Blame the jetlag, but also give credit to the miles of walking I did in NYC. I'm pooped!