Day 1

Yesterday was my first day in Dublin, finally! The flight was painless and went by quickly. This was probably the first time I flew and didn't feel terrible when I got off the plane. They fed and watered us frequently, that was nice. The seats had these awesome touch screen TVs on them and that kept me amused. About an hour before landing the sun was rising and I got a few pretty pictures.

The most surprising part about day 1 is that it was actually sunny in Dublin (I told everyone that would happen).

We arrived at the B&B (Montrose Lodge) around 9 in the morning after the most terrifying taxi drive of my life: taxi drivers in Ireland are insane (it didn't ease my tension that, in Ireland, they drive on the left side of the road). The roads are all curvy and tight and everyone drives full speed. I've never been in a car with someone who weaved in in out of traffic so quickly, braked last second behind stopped cars, and turned without the slightest deceleration. According to Jason, the taxi driver failed at using a manual transmission. Every time the taxi stopped a loud screech emitted from the brakes and every time the taxi started to move we were jerked back in our seats. But we made it...

After a short nap, the day didn't get much more exciting. We wandered around town a little bit. We went to Tesco (grocery store) for some lunch, saw the Irish Sea, stopped in some local shops, and walked around the campus of UCD. Later on we walked about 25 mins to Donnybrook Village and had dinner at an american style diner, Eddie Rockets... go figure.

Today, hasn't been too eventful. Mainly, I worked on situating myself: opened a bank account, researched some phone companies, and took inventory of foods I may be interested in at Tesco ( I love grocery stores). Tomorrow we plan on taking the bus to center city Dublin and doing a bunch of touristy stuff... so I hope everyone likes pictures!

What have I learned:
     They sell Hellman's mayo and heinz ketchup in the grocery store.
     Sodas are the same, but much smaller
     No one give you ice in your water.. even if you ask for it, they give you maybe a cube or 2
     Some brands are the same as ours with different names/ flavors.. Walkers chips (Lays), galaxy chocolate bars (Dove), Danone yogurt (Dannon)...
    Bacon looks different (weird...) I'm not sure if it tastes the same.
    Bank deposits are called lodgements
    No one stops for pedestrians, unless you get really lucky
    Buses like to travel over the speed limit in pedestrian heavy areas... it's scary and they lean when they turn.