After a long, yet smooth running, morning, we hopped off our ryanair flight, wound our way into the city, and ate the most "traditional" Irish food we could think of - fish n' chips and Guinness. Granted I'm not a fan of Guinness I opted for a Smithwicks (much more enjoyable, but don't worry I did indeed try a Guinness while in Ireland). Not being a huge lover of seafood crossed my mind as I ordered this deep fried meal, but it was delicious! Blame the fatigue, hunger, or even peer pressure, but I loved it.
After checking into our hostel and doing some exploring we found The Temple Bar, listened to some live music and enjoyed the rest of our Unofficial. Saturday morning we walked around Dublin center a bit, getting to see Trinity College and other landmarks before we took a bus that dropped us off in the Wickelow Mountains. It's located about an hour and fifteen minutes outside of the city. We hopped off the bus and trekked through a gorgeous cemetery, church/cathedral, monastery, past a couple lakes, and even to a waterfall. For being the beginning of March I was surprised how green everything was - but then I thought to myself, "You're in Ireland...duh." It's technically a National Park, but it doesn't even compare to any other national/state parks I've ever been to (don't get me wrong Door County lovers, Peninsula State Park is really great, but the only history I know about that place is that my dad and aunts camped there in the 60s..) The lakes were so serene where the mountains converged, and with the low hanging clouds and fog, but still bright sun, it was inspiring. And of course we saw some sheep grazing in a green pasture on our walk towards the lakes (how irish!) 
It was an exhausting day, but we got back to Dublin in time to meet up with some other U of I students and go to (supposedly) the bar from PS I Love You - Flannery's. Having never seen the movie, I'm going to take everyone's word for it. What I will say about the bars, or pubs rather, we experienced was that they are exactly what you would picture an Irish pub would be in all of the best ways - good people, good (live) music, and good beer.
When Sunday rolled around we decided to get a hearty Irish breakfast, do some shopping, and catch a flight back to good ole Paris. It was a long weekend, but it was nice to hear english for a change and not have to mentally translate everything for 12 hours straight. I can't believe I've already been here for three and a half weeks, time is flying.
Until next time -
P.S. - As you read this post, I ask you that you put this song on in the background. It has been stuck in my head since arriving in Dublin, and I feel that it is only fitting if you listen to it as you read about my adventures :) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zFlfSeh-Ts8
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