From Dublin to Dalkey

 

Happy Labor Day weekend to all those back home! Here in Dublin summer already snuck away without adieu. My struggle of the week has been trying to find adequate foot-wear. I thought I could get through September with flip flops and flats, but with highs of about 20° Celsius and rain (lots of rain) that won’t cut it. I did finally tackle the laundry basket though. As for the leak, we think it’s been taken care of but there’s still visible water damage to the ceiling so we’ll see what happens.



The clothes horse (aka, drying rack)

Also, Rachel asked me to clarify some of the Irish terms I used in the last post:  Craic Agus Ceol means “fun and music.” And yes, craic is pronounced like “crack” which makes it hilarious when Irish people talk about “good craic.” I think the only other word I used was sláinte, which means cheers. For instance, before drinking my delicious Bulmers Irish cider I might toast “sláinte” (because it’s true, girls do love cider).  

Even without a formal holiday, this weekend had its fair share of festivities. Namely, Notre Dame v. Navy. I think over the past few days I have seen more of the Fighting Irish than the actual Irish. The US Naval Academy and Notre Dame football teams (and their extensive entourages) took the city for the weekend in celebration of their annual rivalry game. According to ESPN there were 49,000 spectators in the stadium—I wasn’t there, but I can tell you first hand, they weren’t Irish. (How I Felt about the Notre Dame v Navy Game) Personally, I’ve had a lifetime in the company of Americans, so unless someone could set me up with a ticket to the game I wasn’t too interested. Every pub, coffee shop and even Trinity College itself was swarmed. Sooo, my roommate Margaret and I hightailed it out of the city in search for Bono.


Just think, we never even made it to
Bono's house...

Dalkey and Killeney are coastal towns in southern County Dublin. Their seaside mansions are homes to Ireland’s rich and famous—including, of course, Bono. Shockingly, we didn’t find him or any of his U2 band mates on the trip, but we did manage to have our best day in Ireland so far. After a 20 minute train ride from City Centre, we picked up coffee and scones from a bakery in Dalkey’s town centre and headed for the beach. It was a warm sunny day in Ireland which in itself is reason to be happy. But the ocean, there’s just really nothing like it. The three kilometre walk from Dalkey to Killeney is nothing short of beautiful. The River Liffey is great, but it’s no Irish Sea (I have similar feelings about the Potomac River in DC…I might as well be landlocked without a harbour nearby). At first I was impressed by the Italian-style villas, mansions and castles (yes, castles) sprinkling the coastline, but a full on view of the sea puts them to shame. Some outlooks even show both Killeney Bay and the Wicklow Mountains in one view. In the end we just couldn’t resist the water, so into the Irish Sea we went. It made for a long walk home considering we hadn’t brought bathing suits, but it was well worth it. Some things never change.



 

 

 



The finals of the Gaelic games start soon so I’ll save that topic for next time. I’ve also officially started my Intro to Ireland summer-start-up course so sorry in advance if I get dweeby and academic in my next post.

                                               

                                           Sláinte,

                                            Lauren

 

            "The voice of the sea speaks to the soul."
                    ~Kate Chopin, The Awakening