Ireland

I think the thing I like most about Ireland is how easy it is to escape any semblance of city life and find yourself right in the middle of nature. I don't know if there is anywhere both so urban and so natural as Ireland.

Getting to Dublin from London was an all day affair, with a 4 hour train ride and 3 hour ferry, ending in the most epic can ride of my existence. Dublin has the most confusing roadways, with a combination of one-ways and alleyways that make up at least half of all roads, and half of all roads generally being closed for one reason or another. My cab driver was incredibly charming though, and did his best to entertain as we inched closer to my hostel. The very best part was that his name was Patrick McDonnell. I love Ireland.

I spent the first couple of days exploring the city and seeing what Dublin is all about. The nicest thing is that Dublin is so much smaller than London that you can actually walk to see most of the big sites. Both of the hostels I've stayed at are in Temple Bar, next to Trinity College, which is a big party district and has some great street performers and expensive bars. I've been pretty sick the last few days so I haven't been able to go out, but soon enough I will have a pint of Guinness.

The city is beautiful, but since it isn't very big there isn't too much else to see, so today I decided to take a train over to the coast to take in some much needed fresh air. And this is the magic of Ireland, you hop on a train in Dublin and 30 minutes later you are at one of the most picturesque beaches. There is nothing more perfect than being able to do that.

Hopefully the sea breeze did me some good, this cold is killing me and I don't think the other 17 people staying in the dorm appreciate constant pathetic sniffling. Actually they probably don't, most of them come in drunk after midnight so they have no idea.