My Arrival

The flight from Chicago to Dublin was uneventful, other than a young girl puking twice during the flight. She was sitting only 3 rows behind me so I smelled the pungent aroma until the attendants worked their magic (side note: flight attendants don’t’ get paid nearly enough money for what they have to deal with).

I was somewhat nervous upon my arrival because I decided to try Couchsurfing for the first time. Any fear or doubt I had immediately faded when I met my incredibility nice hosts. They were extremely generous and I could not have had a better experience. Renato, Edmar, Grazi and Fabiano – If you’re reading this – THANK YOU!

Miscellaneous Thoughts on Dublin

The Irish were extremely nice and helpful. In fact, while I was waiting for the bus to the airport, a taxi driver stopped and offered a private ride to the Airport for the same cost of the shuttle bus. I’m still a bit confused why he did that. Perhaps he was already going to the airport to pick someone up and figured he could make an extra 8 euro. Regardless, I was very grateful.

Dublin Divided: North and South Dublin are literally by the Liffey river and figuratively by the economic and cultural differences.

International Dublin: Dublin was surprisingly international. Brazil, Nigera and all of eastern Europe was well represented. I spoke with many locals about the diversity and they all said this first started only 5 years ago. Like many immigrants, they followed the path towards money.

Cultural Experiences

National Gallery

Modern Art Museum

Trinity College

Dublin Castle

All the major streets: Dame, Henery, Graton, and Upper O’Connell.

Many conversations with locals (which I find the most interesting)

Night Life

Sunday Night social Hour: An invite only event in the Temple Bar district. Emailing the promoter saying I was in town from Chicago got me and my host friends access to the party. It was a very posh space with good music. It was a very fun night topped off by seeing an 8 person brawl as we were getting food at 2am. Is a trip to Dublin complete without seeing a full blown brawl involving the police and medics? I think not. Check!

Panti Bar: Panti Bar is a popular bar that is staffed almost exclusively by sexy Brazilians. It was a bit dead the night we went, but we still had fun because of the big group we came with. I apparently gave one of the sexy Brazilian bar tender a completely unnecessary 30 euro tip after one too many Caiperooskas (A caparina made with vodka vs cachaca).

Tripod: I emailed the promoter, which saved us 60 euro. Tripod is one of the coolest clubs that I’ve ever been to. And I’ve been a lot of clubs in many countries. I would describe it as “industrial chic”. Incredibly music? Check. Remarkable design? Check. Insane sound system? Check. Fun people? Check. It’s like 5 clubs, plus a music venue in one. The building itself was an old castle that was converted to a mega club a few years ago. It was an incredible night.

Saying Goodbye

It’s hard to get me worked up, but I always get extreme anxiety over the thought of missing a flight, so I left very early and arrived to the airport 3 hours early. I was ok with this because I gained free access to the Aer Lingus “Gold Circle” first class lounge (that was staffed by no less than 6 people, creating a crazy guest to staff ratio). Thanks to free food and fully stocked bar (free alcohol, beer, soda and full service espresso bar) the 3 hour wait felt more like 30 minutes. I slept the full flight to Barcelona after enjoying two Guinness and 3 glasses of an amazing South African Merlo in the lounge.

I had an amazing time in Dublin and I would highly recommend a visit to anyone.

Thanks again to my amazing hosts: Renato, Edmar, Grazi and Fabiano! You were all so nice and I look forward to staying in touch.