The Irish Chronicles: Part 2

Dublin

Ah, Dublin. My heart always gets a little twinge when I think about Dublin, about spending part of my junior year in college there, about the wonderful people I met, about being so homesick I actually could not stand it and about wanting to go back a few months later.

Well ... 10 years later, I finally found myself rolling into this city again. Riding through the streets with our hilarious cabbie to entertain us was just what my parents, my sister and I needed after a jam-packed 4 days in the west.

We arrive at our hotel, check-in and I find myself opening the door to my room ... wondering if my assigned roommate was there. She was. At least, her stuff was. And as I started putting things away, I opened the closet door and immediately cursed.

There sat a Boston Marathon backpack. I had an instant fear that she was one of those hard-core runners. You know the ones I'm talking about. The ones that correct you when you say you ran a marathon but you walked some of it so technically you didn't run the marathon, did you.

I soooooo am not a fan of those people.

When I did finally meet my roommate, I couldn't have been more wrong. She is one of the nicest people I have ever met and certainly isn't one of those hard-core people that just give running a bad name. Meet LiChu:

Dublin roommates: my first marathon and LiChu's 147th.

The photo was taken at the welcome reception for Marathon Tours. We enjoyed a few glasses of wine or Guinness or other drinks, some snacks and got to know some of the other runners. Every marathoner I met kept saying, "Yeah, this won't be your only." I just smiled.

That first day in Dublin wasn't that exciting, except that it was. It was the beginning of a great tour.

Our second day in Dublin began with my second favorite food item on that trip: a huge Irish breakfast buffet. It was so wonderful that life without it has been a little sad. Some might say it's post-marathon depression. I am pretty sure it's post-Irish breakfast depression. Every morning for 7 days, I enjoyed potatoes, eggs, Irish bacon, sausages, smoked salmon, fancy cheeses and nutella on my gluten free bread.

It. Was. Heaven.

After breakfast, we boarded the bus for a city tour. Although I had seen most of the sites in Dublin, I was looking forward to getting reacquainted with the city. We passed by many famous sites, including Trinity College (my alma mater), the Customs House, the GPO (site of the 1916 rebellion), Christ Church Cathedral, Saint Patrick's Cathedral, the Brazen Head (oldest pub in Dublin),Guinness Storehouse and of course Phoenix Park. Just to name a few.

In Phoenix Park, we stopped at the sight where Pope John Paul II said a mass for millions of Irishmen and women. A huge cross now marks that site and is a sight in itself. The surrounding park is also incredibly beautiful.

After Phoenix Park, we continued on the tour and ended at a must-visit location if you really want to understand Ireland, and Dublin in particular: Kilmainham Gaol. This is an old jail, and one of the first to have prisoners kept in separate cells. A lot of history involving the Irish struggle for independence and years after revolve around this jail. Listening to the history, and all of the stories of real people who were in that jail made things very real. I was no longer a disconnected American. I understood the Irish just a little bit more after that visit. 

After the solemn visit, things perked up a bit as we headed to the race expo! I was super excited, for obvious reasons and went to town while there. I scooped up an extra marathon shirt, a sweatshirt and then ended up buying my entire family matching Dublin Marathon stocking hats, in green of course. 

On our way back from the expo, I tried to show everyone where I lived, but ended up getting us lost in a downpour. Ugh, I felt awful about that. Luckily in Ireland the weather changes faster than it does in the midwest, so after a drink at a pub, we were able to go on our merry way and find some lunch.

Warm and dry in the pub and excited about my race bib!

 That evening was another evening to relax, so we headed down the street to listen to a gentleman play a very nice mix of Irish and pop music. I also got to catch up with my only Irish friend I have managed to stay in contact with for the past 10 years.  

me & Rob - I actually didn't recognize him at first!

We didn't stay out too late, though as we had the International Breakfast Run to get to in the morning ... my first (EVER) run in Dublin!