Ireland: Where the craic is mighty!

There is nothing quite like the feeling of landing in a country you've never been in. 

You have no idea what will happen to you, what to expect and everything you see is new and exciting. This is how I felt landing into Ireland, the country on top of my bucket list. The best way to explore it is with someone who actually lives there. That way you can get a real experience instead of the classic tourist stuff which often lacks authenticity.

I am lucky enough to have had a roommate from Erasmus be an original Irish girl from Limerick, Emzie. She invited me to visit her many times and ending 2018 there seemed perfect. Since my Erasmus squad and I are still very close, we invited Tio, Estijn, my other roommate from Erasmus Fauna and Feefee. The most epic group of people, who formed into a real family there and can still make me laugh with our stupid inside jokes for 7 days straight. So a Croatian, German, Dutch, Irish, American and a Belgian walk into a pub... and the rest is written in history, or at least here.

Getting there

I took a Ryan Air flight from Venice to Dublin for 100 euros (15% discount with ESN card and a free 20 kg check-in bag) and a GoOpti to Venice for 40 eur both ways. There were no closer or cheaper flights to there which is very weird since there are thousands of Croatians living in Ireland now.

She don't lie, she don't lie - cocaine 

Upon arrival to Dublin Emzie gave me a huge hug and then we took an 8 EUR bus from the airport to Dublin center. We stayed for one night in the Abigail hostel which was about 30 EUR a night including breakfast, but worth it because it is located one street away from Temple bar and the center. 

When we entered our 12-bed room there was some guy there who literally told us his whole life story without us even asking. He's story went something like this: 

Him: "Hey girls, you here for holidays?"

Us: "Yep." 

Him: "I'm actually going through something now, I went from being poor to earning 10 thousand euros which I spent on cocaine and weed, and now I'm kinda poor again, but I plan to go to rehab next year." 

We were like: "?? Thanks for sharing this information bro."

Then he put a bunch of Axe Africa on himself and said: "See you later, enjoy!" Really, you can always find the most incredible stories in hostels. 

It's a sweet, sweet potato

I was amazed by Dublin instantly. It is even more beautiful than I imagined it. The atmosphere there is welcoming and warm and I love a city with a soul and a story. We took a stroll down the beautiful Grafton street, main shopping street, where a guy was playing and singing All of me on his guitar. Street artists in Dublin are extremely talented and bring a lot to its vibe. We sat down in a local restaurant where I tried fried sweet potatoes for the first time in my life and after that, no potato is the same for me. Later we went to Thunder Road restaurant/bar where the music was so loud we couldn't hear each other, but overall it is a beautifully decorated place which I highly recommend.

The rest of our squad arrived around 1 a.m. and the first thing we did was go for a drink in the local pub where traditional Irish music was playing and hugged and danced and had a blast.

Welcome to the stab city

In the morning we took a 2.5-hour bus (15 EUR) to Limerick, home of Emzie, nicknamed the stab city of Ireland or the old murder capital of Ireland. Luckily we didn't experience any of the above. Limerick is the cutest town, with brick gray houses and colorful front doors, like in the movies. These doors break down the grayness of Irish cloudy weather and add to its charm. Emzies family welcomed us into their home with open arms and even more important - champagne. Her mom was in high heels and a dress cooking us lasagna and she looked beautiful. I can only hope I look that good after having kids - absolute goals. 

The house used to be a B&B so we all got our own rooms with bathrooms and I felt like in a 5-star hotel. We sat down for our first official dinner, like in the old Huelva days, family style, and we played some Eros Ramazzotti to complete the Italian dinner mood. We are extra like that, we like to make our atmosphere as over-the-top as possible. We also met Emzie's sister Avril, who I have been following on IG because she is the most authentic, funny person on the internet right now and I could not wait to meet her. Avril and I hugged when we met and later I realized that not only is she hilarious but she is a grounded, intelligent, supportive young woman, just like her sister, and it's no wonder since they come from such a loving, movie-like family.

Way off

Our night started at Tom Collins, a beautiful pub with some amazing gin offers. I'm not a beer drinker so I stuck to gin this whole trip, which is pretty pricey (8-10 EUR), but so is everything for a Croatian there. The food is usually around 12 euros or more and a glass of wine is on average 6 euros, while the beer is the same, depending on where you get it. Since Guinness is the official beer of Ireland everyone was drinking it. Emzie taught us a little game where you have to take a sip of Guinness and stop at the line between the harp logo and its name on the glass. Estijn succeeded in his first try, while Tio was way off, and he didn't really manage to do it the whole trip. After Tom Collins we went to Nancy's, the pub/club with awesome interior design and music, where we danced the night away. This is where the locals go and that's exactly what I wanted to see. 

My impression of the Irish is as follows - most girls wear a lot of makeup, accent on the thick black eyebrows, which they don't need since they are all really beautiful. Mostly blond, with big eyes and button noses, like girls next door from the movies. Boys are usually  wearing tight jeans and the same haircut and look very young. All in all, they have some nice genes going there, with flawless skin and dreamy eyes. Only thing I don't understand is how some of them can wear shorts in freezing weather or not wear jackets or tights. I would love to be able to have that resistance to weather, I gotta say that is damn admirable.

Feck the system

Next day we did our traditional family breakfast. I make french toast, Stijn makes eggs with ham, literally anyone makes coffee and we eat like royalty. This was the day I was waiting for - a road trip to Cliffs of Moher. Riding through Ireland in a car is something everyone should experience. Endless green fields, rivers, castles and adorable houses. All while being extremely confused by the drive on the opposite side of the road, from the moment I said shotgun and sat on the side of the car with the steering wheel. 
At the Cliffs of Moher the entrance is free but there is a parking lot that costs 5 EUR per person in the car. So we left the car before the entrance to trick the system. Unfortunately, someone saw us and charged us later per person. Pro tip: be smarter than us when you go there and leave the car sooner.

On the edge of glory

It was very windy at the Cliffs but walking to the viewpoint was breathtaking. There is nothing you can compare to this view. Seeing the beauty of mother nature is always humbling. Untouched and glorious. I stared at it for some time, and since it was the last day of the year, I reflected on it. Everything I went through in 2018. disappeared when I was looking at this magnificent view. Because now I was here, ending my year without the negative people and things that I left there, and I felt that's exactly how it is supposed to be. Here, surrounded by nothing but laughter and love, of life, my international family, nature, and adventure, at peace. I haven't felt this high level of pure happiness since Erasmus and it's amazing to know that by reuniting with my friends I can feel this carefree, inspired and joyful again.

It surprised me that you can walk on the edge of the Cliffs with no fence there. It's windy and the edges are very muddy so it can be dangerous. Still, we did, because you gotta be a little brave sometimes you know? Then I realized our bravery is nothing compared to a random woman who was there walking in leather over-the-knee stiletto high heel boots and a mini skirt. Now that is pure bravery girl.

I said I like it like that 

Our New Years Eve we cooked some dinner for us, got dressed up and ended up in one of the coolest clubs I've ever seen. It has several floors, a club underground, a beer garden for smokers, another bar, balloons everywhere and A LOT of people. It was an epic night, especially since at midnight they played I like it by Cardi B, and we all know what that song is to me (*whispers: e v e r y t h i n g*). 

The only thing I find strange in Irish clubs is that the ladies and gents bathrooms are so far away from each other and usually upstairs/downstairs so if you need to go to the bathroom leave 10 minutes before so you can make it on time. We couldn't make it that far so we went to the boys room, which in Croatia boys usually accept normally since they know how long the lines in the ladies room are (and we appreciate that Cro boys). Here in Ireland the boys were shocked and told us we can't be here, so as a joke I told them it's 2019. and they can't assume our gender, which made them even more upset so they were like OK fine just go use the fecking bathroom. 

Later we went downstairs to a club where some Irish were singing Angels by Robbie Williams and we joined them, all hugged together and it was pretty powerful and emotional. Then we continued breaking into other songs with them such as Adele and Ed Sheeran and that was the moment that confirmed to me that the Irish are extremely welcoming and kind people (unless in some cases when you don't use your assigned bathroom). We went back home with a taxi, but it was no regular taxi. Limerick offers party taxis where you can plug your own music in and enjoy a light show in the taxi. Of course, we plugged in some reggaeton (Mayores) and danced in the taxi because we might have left Spain three years ago, but it really never left us. 

Stupid and unemployed

The day after was spent at home, eating, re-hydrating and playing Jackbox, the best group game in the world. It's only 5 euros and it's hilarious, so I highly recommend it. We were all so tired and lazy that Tio said: "We look so stupid and unemployed right now. We have a Masters degree and look at us. We are sitting at Emzie's place, eating their food and playing some stupid shit on the computer that we didn't even manage to install for two hours." We couldn't stop laughing at that because let's face it - it was true.

Oh well, you probably had to be there.

The next day it was time to go back to Dublin.

In part 2:

-Epic Dublin 

-Barack Obama is actually Irish?

-Courtney Love's college stories

-Erection in the intersection

-Where saved by the bell comes from 

-And the mother of all pub crawls

Until next time 😊