Dublin!

Well I must say Dublin was quite a highlight of this trip thus far for me! Just driving across some of Ireland's country was exciting, but being able to visit a city (mind you where one third of Ireland's population lives) and see some incredible sites was truly, truly a treat! We got in around lunch time and we were all quite tired from the early start. Once we got all checked in to the hotel and began walking though I think the energy level of the whole group was ignited! We started in the courtyard of the castle right in town while our wonderful, 'all-knowing' tour guide Mr. Tom Keith discussed our surroundings. We kept on walking and went to the tourist center and again, I felt the energy levels rise as we discussed the upcoming day's events! I wont give you a step by step of every single thing we did...that would turn into a book very quickly! I undoubtedly have some highlights though! Trinity college, oh my goodness, waaasss incredible! I want to go. And the library there that they have preserved; it was breathtaking! All of the bicycles and the wedding that was going on and the HUGE trees were incredible. I could have sat there all day writing in my journal and people watching all of the diverse crowds swarming the campus. I also thoroughly enjoyed getting a tour of Parliament. There is something about the history we talk about on this trip and going to the sites where it all took place that makes everything truly come alive. For example the flag that JFK gave when he visited I believe in 1963 was hanging in the hall. As I type all of this though I am anxiously trying to get to my favorite part of the whole weekend...
I met my relatives!! I met my grandma's cousins; and if I had my own computer I would put up a photo of them but hopefully I will get to that if I borrow someone's computer rather than this library one! I met with Anne Higgins at mass and from there we went off exploring! After I had my own personal tour with her we picked up her daughter, Grainne. I can't even begin to explain the amount of fun I had with them! Anne Killeen Higgins took me all around the city, to Museums; where I am very happy to tell you we saw the Yeats exhibit at the museum! And then she took me to where she and my great Grandfather had grown up; it was such an incredible treat! I did not know I was going to see them until Tom Keith 'made' me with is cellular on Saturday; I am truly grateful! I will also be returning to Dublin to visit them later on before we return stateside and will have much to discover.
Reading Yeats too has been very enjoyable now that we have seen many of the things the young author once saw himself. Oh! And downstairs in Christ Church (which was ABSOLUTELY one of my favorite stops...) there was a poem beside a picture I was reading and sure enough I knew exactly whose it was! Can you guess??
Riding throughout the city on a double-decker bus, going out to fun pubs at night, seeing The Book of Kells, going through some absolutely gorgeous gardens, actually meeting my relatives, pouring a perfect pint! All of these things and so much more truly made this trip something to remember. I can only imagine what is to come!