"Take her to sea Mr. Murdoch"

Lauren and I left on the last flight from the Prestwick Airport to Dublin! We left for the airport around 4ish. We took the subway to the train station to catch the train to Prestwick. We hurried on the train but we made it. It was an easy train ride that only took about 45 minutes. We were actually really early for our plane (because Lauren thought it left at 8) but we took our time and had a nice dinner (I actually had the Chile Con Carne :D).

The flight was ok but there was a lot of turbulence (I think because we were flying over the sea). We landed early and went smoothly through customs. We thought about taking the bus to our hotel but it would take about an hour and half as opposed to about twenty minutes so we took a cab. Our cab driver was very nice and told us all about Dublin. He told us to go visit the old prison and told us about all the writers that were from the area. When we told him that we were going to Belfast for a day he said "Ew, why would you want to go there?" I had to remember that Dublin and Southern Ireland is a separate country from Northern Ireland and is not part of the United Kingdom.

Lauren and I splurged a little bit, because it was only the two of us traveling, and we stayed at a hotel. It was not too expensive because we split the price. It was a cute little inn. It had a bar, a dinning room, cable tv, and wifi! It was a nice change from University accomodation.

Our first day in Dublin, Lauren and I took the train to Belfast so we could go to the Titanic museum. The train was a little long but the sights were beautiful. It looked a lot like Great Britain. As soon as we got off the train, we went to find food. We happened upon St. Georges market.  It was a cute indoor market with everything you could imagine. We had really good Greek food.

Cool Lampost 

Awesome View

We made our way along the Titanic walkway to the Titanic Museum. We bought our tickets for 3:00 so we had time to spare. We decided to take a cab to Belfast Castle. I thought the castle would be magnificent but it was a tiny little castle. There was a little exhibit on Belfast but it was not castle worthy. After the castle, we hiked a little ways up a trail and got a great view of Belfast. There were apparently some ancient ruins at the top, but unfortunately we didn't have time. We were headed to sea!

The architecture at the Titanic Museum is a work of art. It looked as if it was made of steel and had a creative shape. Lauren and I arrived ahead of our time slot, so we explored the giftshop and got a snack. It might just be me, but it was amazing to me that there was a gift shop. It seemed to me as they were glorifying the sinking of the Titanic. It just was ironic that they were selling white star line merchandise (the cruiser line of the Titanic) when millions of people died on that cruiser.

The museum was fun though. The first exhibit was about life in Belfast in the early 1900s. I learned that Belfast was a merchant/ shipping city. Therefore, it was appropriate that the Titanic was built in Belfast Harbor. The next was on the making of the Titanic. Lauren and I always happen upon rides, so of course their was a slow ride on how make a massive ship. The shipbuilders worked in dark and deep spaces, and the chance of dying while working was high. Riveting was a horrible process of inserting the bolts into the ship. From World War II's propoganda, I had a glorified view of Rosie the Riverter and believed that they had it easy and were doing their tiny part to help in the war. Now I know that riviting is probably the hardest job ever and I don't know if I could have done it. They also highlighted the first sail of the Titanic from Belfast to South Hampton (Were the interior was created and were it would take on passengers). During this event in history,  a man died from a log falling on him when they let it out of the harbor. It was very sad and ominous.

The next exhibit was my favorite. It showed you what the Titanic was like for passengers. First, you got a first hand look at what first class accomodation would have been like. The recreated room looked just like Rose's room in the Titanic. Next was second class accomodation. My family would have probably stayed there. It was similar to first class, but I don't think the room had its own toilet and sink. Lastly there was third class. These were cheap rooms had bunkbeds and very little else. It reminded me of the hostels and accomodation I have stayed in. However, boys and girls had their own quarters and could not mix.

Nearer my God to Thee

Next, they showed us the sinking of the Titanic. It was a very dark gallery. Afterword, they showed us all the propaganda and the news reports from the sinking. Like today, many newspapers started printing things before they were given the proper facts. What I found most interesting though, was that some characters in the movie existed in real life. Coming from Denver I already knew that "The Unsinkable" Molly Brown was a real woman. However, so was Captain Smith, Thomas Andrews, Bruce Ismay, John JacobAstor, Benjamin Guugenheim, the Straus', and the conductor, and the officer that shot himself. I think James Cameron scripted these characters very well. He definitely did his research.

Kate, Leo, and I...Well kindof :D

The last two exhibits explored  the sea exploration that found the Titanic's remains and showed the Titanic in popular media. Of course they had a big display of the 1997 movie, fully equipped with the actor's costumes! Although the museum could have gone into greater depth, it was still amazing. I am so glad we went.

The actual Temple Bar

After the museum, we headed back Dublin. However, we got to see the arena where Belfast's hockey team plays. I almost cried. I know my beloved Stars aren't playing this year, but I still miss my sport. It was so cool to see the ice again! Anyway, when we got back to Dublin, we went to Temple Bar, which was basically a row of pubs and bars. We grabbed dinner at one pub, got cocktails (I had a sex on the beach :D), and then went to an Irish pub. Because we went straight from the train station, I had on comfy clothes, my rain jacket, and my backpack. This dodgey married guy came up to Lauren and I and started flirting with us. He told us to relax and to dance. It was funny now that I look back on it, but he was so weird! We had one drink and headed back to the hotel.

The next morning we checked out of the hotel and went to go find breakfast. Never go out on Sunday to find breakfast in Dublin. Nothing's open! After walking for about thirty minutes, we found a breakfast place and had a good brunch. Then we did some sight seeing.

I spy Oscar Wilde

St. Patrick Cathedral

My Perfect Pint!

So erie

First we went to the Jameson Whiskey distillery. We were shown a short film of the old distillery and then taken on a tour. At the end we tried some Jameson (mine was mixed with gingerale). It was good but I am not really a whiskey person. However, whiskey and gingerale I can do. Next we got on a hop on hop off tour and saw the sights of Dublin. First, we stopped at St. Patrick's Episcopal Cathedral. It was really big and pretty. Next we drove past the Oscar Wilde monument, saw James Joyce's house, saw a famous hotel where Grace Kelly stayed, and saw where the author of Dracula got married. So much literature! Of course we made our way to the Guiness factory. Unlike the Jameson distillery, there were no guided tours. However, we were able to try it and we learned how to pour our own pint. Let's just say, I started to feel all the alcohol and got a little tipsy. It was fun though. We attempted to see Kilmainham Jail (the old jail) but did not have time. We did get to see the big jail room and it reminded me of Mr. Bates on Downton Abbey and the insane asylum in American Horror Story. It was really amazing.

Lauren and I caught the bus back to the airport. For a Sunday night, the Dublin Airport was so busy. We made it through security but had to go to the gate because of stupid Ryan Air's policies. We were able to get dinner though. When we arrived back at Prestwick, we ran into Lauren's friends and took the train back with them. Unfortunately, the train line was having work done to it, so we had to get off the train, take a bus to another train station, wait at the train station until they realized that that the train was coming late, and take a bus to Glasgow Central. It was ridiculous but we managed. It was a funny ending to a great trip.