Ireland!

Hello all, I'm back. Well truth be told, I've been back for about a month now. I have just been so busy and so darn tired. I need a vacation from my vacation. Nevertheless it was awesome! I had the best time there. I knew what I was getting into-I'll admit I can become a bit obsessed when it comes to things I'm interested in. I researched Dublin-err Ireland itself thoroughly, as I would recommend to all going to a foreign country and staying an extensive time frame. I knew of all kinds of  idiosyncrasies, IE: no plastic bags at the stores-you should bring your own or you will be charged per bag; & that it is rude to not eat all your food that is given to you - I couldn't oblige to this thoroughly. I was prepared for the climate- rain, rain & more rain. Even prepared for the food to be not the best, hey was I really going for the food anyway??? (Shaking my head inconspicuously.) By the way, I traveled with a good friend of mine-with whom I am compatible and we have fun together even when were not doing anything at all. I will always advise that you spend your free time IE: vacation with someone your compatible with, someone who you have fun with not someone who annoys you 55% of the time. That 55% becomes 150% when your with that person for a considerable amount of time and close quarters.
My travels began with the speedy walk through the airport-FASTEST EVER! I mean I have never had such a pleasant time checking in...I travel a lot, it was so pleasant. We flew overnight and reached Ireland mins to 6am, I was exhausted & it was snowing. Oh boy....  Not sure if I told you guys- I got this deal through Groupon- it included flight, hotel & a car. Yes, I said a car, I was driving in Ireland- with the wheel on opposite side of the car, on the opposite side of the road. Hey chalk it all up to being an adventure! YOLO!
We get our car and away we go right, wrong--our GPS would not work. It could not find a signal- for at least 15-20mins. Garmin sucks! Finally we get on our proper route, were actually doing quite well. The roads in Ireland are labeled on the ground, it is pretty hard to get lost- although your exits are on the left  not the right as it is here in the states. We reached our hotel and it is spectacular. I mean we knew it was 5 stars but we didn't really know on who's scale. Gorgeous simply doesn't describe its grandeur. After our shell-shock, we are beyond the point of exhaustion; the hotel accommodates our early presence and gives up a room earlier than check in. Marvelous!
Our first day consisted of lots of sleep, I know , I know I'm  in Ireland and I'm sleeping???? Well, truthfully it couldn't be helped, once we got into our room and it was also amazing. We basically collapsed after our showers. Let me tell you something, after that anxiety and then that long ass flight I was exhausted. Not to mention the anxiety over driving to the hotel which is about 20-30mins away from the airport--well it took almost over an hour with the traffic and our GPS. I got into that bathroom which was huge, and got into the waterfall shower- yes I said "waterfall shower." I have always been interested in this kind of shower, but now I'm obsessed. I was finished after that so I slept. We then had dinner at the hotels renowned restaurant.   It is the owned by Chef Gordon Ramsay. I must say he has a reputation to keep and he has kept it lovingly. It was so delicious it practically sent us into a food coma. We went into town of Enniskerry for food supplies...you know water, some food and snacks. Ireland or Europe in general has the best Cadbury chocolate varieties. So many choices....
For the rest of our stay we mainly went back and forth to Dublin and explored. I have inserted some pics below, didn't want to inundate you guys so just a few. We took the bus from Enniskerry which deposited us in the center of Dublin- O'Connell street. Our first night out we had a unexpected pub crawl. (High Five--oh yea)  The next few days we discovered all kinds of glorious architecture that unlike America has preserved instead of demolishing and rebuilding. We went on a preplanned tour to Cork to see the Blarney Castle so that I could kiss the Blarney Stone, for the gift of gab. Included in the the tour was the Rock of Cashel, an ancient monastery that was currently being reconstructed. This was the day we were not quite prepared for, for the first few days in Ireland it was cold and damp but it was to be expected and it wasn't too bad. So in the state of mind we were a bit lax in the conditioning ourselves for the weather. I am extremely allergic to cold...lol what I mean is, 'I hate being cold." I always carry my scarf and hat. As my opposite my friend is usually isn't cold. Well that was the day, it rained and the wind was ferocious with an evil bite. I was sooooooo freaking cold and being wet only amplified it. I had additional garb to add on, sadly she did not...she was miserable. It was a 12 hour tour, that there describes her day. She tried, poor las.
The next day we totally out of it...that trip laid our asses out! We didn't do much that day, met a few people and hung out with them.
 The rest of our visit to Ireland was jammed packed with touristic stuff, we saw: the castles, St. Patrick Cathedral, Dublinia (still unsure of what it is--some sort of Dublin's history archive in a way), Trinity College, Guinness warehouse, Jamesion Distillery, Kilmainham Gaol-famous jail, inadvertedly the Zoo, and the Head of State's home (Áras an Uachtaráin) which is located in Phoenix Park along with the zoo? So many monuments and statues of celebrated Irish citizens. I miss it!