Interviews, Guinness, the Palace...Oh My!

Quite the exciting place, this Dublin. Quite the exciting place indeed. Let's rewind to tomorrow, eh? So I finally had my interview, which went gloriously--even the transportation! I feel like a proud little schoolgirl to tell y'all that I caught the correct bus this time and got off at the correct stop. It turns out it's only about a 5 minute walk to my office from the RIGHT stop. Not a 45 minute walk like I attempted yesterday...baby steps. Anyways, my office is small but adorable--very bright and open air. He conducted our entire interview sitting outside on the ground so he could smoke a cigarette. He is a boss (literally and figuratively). I don't want to get too in-depth about my internship until I actually start working there next week, but I will say that there is a 100% chance that I am going to swoon over this job. Basically, I will be writing (my favorite thing to do) about theatre, film, music, bars/pubs, and fashion (these are a few of my favorite things...sound of music anyone?). He told me that I will likely be spending several days a week just walking around Dublin, a city that I am falling more and more in love with each day, just exploring and talking to people. Yeah, I think I might like this job. Check out the website Totally Dublin because my first project is to write online! I'll try and snag some pics of my office and coworkers (who all seem awesome) once we become besties. It's happening.

Post-interview, it was time to get ready for our tour of the Guinness Brewery. We left a little early so we could walk around the city for a bit. We started, naturally, with grand ole time on the party bus.

hombres chillin at the bus stop

and the ladies

finally on the bus...red cup in hand

When we got to the City Centre, we had plans to grab some quick dinner and drinks at The Church Bar, which turned out to be totally packed--totally awesome, but packed nonetheless. So we forwent those plans, and decided to just stroll around Dublin to kill some time pre-Guinness tour. It was about 7 pm when these pictures were taken and still completely bright outside. Evidently, it will stay light until around 11 pm in late June and July. This is excellent news for the nocturnal party animals in us, but not such great news for the responsible, early-to-bed working adults that we also must become. I'm confident we will cope. Oh also, it was warm yesterday! I mean like seriously warm. It's been pretty chilly the past few days, but nothing unmanageable at all. Yesterday though the sun was shining all day, and I was completely comfortable in a tank top. Plus, according to the cab driver, this summer is going to be a "scorcher" and cab drivers here know all. Summer!

fight on

downtown dub

Come 7:30, we promptly scurried over to the Guinness Factory. They enticed us with the promise of a free pint of Guinness at the end of the tour, so naturally we were the first ones there. We were greeted by the legendary Tom Kelley (program manager...what a guy) and went on our merry way through the brewery. It was very, very cool.

times at the Guinness fountain

brewers got skillz

chair times

some contraption

barley...smelled like coffee beans!

bartendin'

Then we made it to the top!

real bartenders...ginj...naturally

jennie and some gingers

frendz

i just want to enjoy my guinness

I thought I would hate Guinness. I even had a sip of it the other night, and well, I did hate it. But since I'm fully committed to becoming as Irish as I possibly can short of dying my hair red and changing my last name to O'Burdine, I decided to give it a second chance. It really grows on you! A few sips in, and I actually started to enjoy it. It is definitely an acquired taste--dark, thick, and rich, which is a far cry from the light, cheap, watered-down natty lights that plague fratty fridays at USC. Now, I'm not saying that I'm going to be throwing back pints every night, but a glass here and there to complement my dinner? I could totally do that. Irish win. 

So after enjoying our Guinness and mingling with our program-mates (thanks Jennie), a huge crew of us hit the town for another crazy Dublin night. The first pub we went to, Flannigans or Flannerys or something like that, was fun but totally filled with Americans. Literally EUSA kids completely invaded it. 

:)

i like to party

paybacks a bitch

new friends!

We had a great time, but I was craving some Craic (Irish for "fun"), so heeding to the advice of the bartender, a few of us headed across the street to this place called The Palace, which evidently has quite a reputation of being THE place to go on Thursday nights. Wow. This place was unbelievable. Three stories of rowdy Irish fun. The bars in Dublin are nothing like American bars, in the best way possible. They are much cleaner, better organized, and more spacious--basically the exact opposite of the 9-0. Plus, this place had a dance floor! We danced our faces off. I wish I had taken more photos because this doesn't do it any justice, but I'm sure we will be back.

It was here that I got my first taste of how...bold Irish guys are. I actually had to start inventing made-up stories about myself to fend some of them off because evidently if you respond "no thank you" to a drink offer or dance invitation, Irish guys take that to mean "yes, I REALLY want to, but I am just playing hard to get." So they try harder. It can be cute and charming, especially with those darn accents, but it can also be annoying. I actually told one of them that I had a husband back home, and he still offered to buy me a drink. I had to give that one credit for his persistence. But don't worry, my cab driver on the way home gave me some excellent advice on how to deal with Irish guys, so I am fully prepared for our next outing. I'm tellin' you, these Irish cab drivers know things.

Well, it's after noon now, and I am itching to explore the city. Today we plan to do the "touristy" tour of Dublin, and we may try to do some traveling around Ireland this weekend since we have Monday off from work. Stay tuned for more!

Later y'all,
Laura