Once in the center of the city, we found our next bus and figured out what time it would leave. We explored a little and then took off on the bus to get to the hotel. I asked the bus driver to tell us when our stop came, a stop called "Red Cow." He said he would give me a "shoutout," so I stayed on the bottom of the bus - they were double deckers like London, but were green and yellow! Anyway, after a 20 minute ride, we were dropped off in the middle of the Dublin countryside with a restaurant called "Red Cow" on the left and a huge construction site on the left! We started walking, having been warned by the tourist lady that it would be a five minute walk to the hotel, and quickly discovered that the construction was going to make getting to the hotel difficult. We could see it in the distance, on the other side of the highway, but how to get across? Evenutally I noticed a footbridge we needed to cross, and cross we did, clinging to the sides as we walked. Let's just say it looked a little less than sturdy! Lala, who was not used to the pluck that Laura and I have when it comes to dealing with less-than-ideal situations, was ready to call a cab because her high-heeled shoes were making it difficult for her to trek along behind us through the construction. We urged her to keep going, knowing the hotel was right ahead! So after this fictional 5-minute walk that turned out to be a 30-minute walk, we reached the hotel, only to discover that there was a bus stop right there in front! We checked in and headed quickly to sleep, ready to get up for a day tour of the countryside of Ireland!
The tour bus was supposed to meet on O'Connell street at 9:15am the next morning, so we got on the bus at 8:20am, figuring the 20 minute ride the night before would be repeated, just toward the city. However, Friday morning proved to be full of commuters heading to work, so the bus ride ended up being over an hour! When we finally got to the center of the city, knowing that O'Connell street was a good ten minute walk away and that Lala has a tendency to lag behind, (high heels again...even though we warned her tennis shoes would be better), Laura took off in a run to try to catch the bus. I tried to hurry Lala along beside me, and when we finally arrived to O'Connell Street, I saw the tour bus across the street sitting at the stop light! I hurried across with Lala close behind and waved at the driver to get his attention. He opened the window and told me that it was too late - his bus was full and they had taken some walk-ons because we hadn't shown up. But he told me to call the company and get on the tour for the next day, so I thanked him kindly and backed away onto the sidewalk. Disappointed, I was now wondering what had become of Laura! I began walking down the middle of the street (there was a large sidewalk in the middle) and even tried calling her phone. She didn't have it on, but I didn't need to worry. Not two seconds later I heard a faint screech "KEILAH!!! COME HERE!!!" Laura had flagged down a tour bus by running across two lanes of traffic and banging on the driver's window! After a little persuasion by Laura, he pulled over down the street and agreed to wait two minutes for Lala and I. I ran over and a hysterical Laura dragged me to the driver and made me hand him our reservation paper, while I was trying to explain to her that this was not the right coach and it was even the wrong tour! She was too busy trying to prove to the bus driver we were in the right place when he turned around and said, "You've got the wrong coach, dear." Laura was mortified, while all I could do was hold my tongue and try not to laugh at the ridiculousness of it all! The kind tour driver did call the company for us, though, and got us on the list for the next day. He offered a bit of advice on our exiting the bus, "Now girls, go to bed early tonight, get up early, and you'll be much better suited." Needless to say, we were quite entertaining to the happy tourists on the coach who were all in the right place.
After taking a few minutes to laugh and recover from the embarrassment, we walked down to a cafe and had breakfast. We had of course planned on going on the tour that day, but instead ended up doing the "Hop On, Hop Off" bus tour of Dublin. The drivers of these big double decker buses(with an open top!) talk about what we are driving past, and on any of the 20-odd stops they make, we can "hop off" and go explore the place, and then just "hop back on" the next bus that comes to that stop when we are finished. The whole day was great fun...we just rode and got off when something looked interesting. The drivers were funny too, some even singing a few Irish songs that went along with whatever they were talking about. We stopped at Dublin Castle, Trinity College (home to the Book of Kells, a copy of the four Gospels in Latin, written in elaborate calligraphy by Celtic monks in the 800s), the museum of border control (I think...they had items that had been confiscated like drugs, a still made out of a trash can, and fake name brands of jeans, DVDs, and other random stuff...it
was a little weird but the man watching the place was very nice and explained about everything that was there), and saw the Guiness factory. (no, I didn't take a tour!) My favorite place we stopped was in the Cathedral of St. Patrick! It was cool to see all the stained glass and hear some of the history of the place. It will never get old getting to see such gorgeous cathedrals!
We tried to find a place that offered free traditional Irish music and dancing for us to eat dinner, but unfortunately everything was incredibly expensive in Dublin! I didn't realize that it is the capital of the Republic of Ireland, making the expense of everything more understandable. We ended up eating in a traditional Irish pub where Laura got "bangers and mash," which was mashed potatoes with some gigantic sausages on top. Lala had Irish stew, and I had a regular old hamburger and fries! What can I say...sometimes you just feel like a hamburger. Laura and I split a "Bailey's Cream" slice of cheesecake for dessert, and we left for the hotel feeling stuffed and ready to go to sleep! Oh, and we did some souvenir shopping that day too, since we knew we'd be gone all day on Saturday. I got my family some neat souvenirs...which they will get from me soon! We got back on the bus and headed to the hotel. After the construction adventure the night before, we decided to stay on the bus one stop longer to see if that would get us closer. 
When we started heading into ghetto Dublin, we quickly realized that maybe we wouldn't get any closer! I went down to ask the bus driver after a little while, "Does this bus go back to the Red Cow stop?" He said, "Oh, you're jokin' me!?" He said it would head back, but since we had just reached the last stop in the middle of nowhere which is where everyone else on the bus got off, he had to wait 20 minutes before heading back. I asked if we could at least stay on the bus, and he kindly said yes! We sat on the bus and waited, and then Laura and I went down to talk to him. Laura said, "So does this happen often - tourists missing their stop and hanging out on buses forever?" He laughed and said, "yes, all the time. So were you drinking and missed it?" We laughed and said no, we hadn't been drinking, and he said, "Oh, you don't even have that as an excuse!" He let us know when our stop was coming up, and shouted out a word of marriage advice to me when we left..."Get yourself an Irishman!"
Wow, this is totally turning into a novel. Oh well, keep reading! We got up extra early the next day and got on the bus a good hour before we needed to, just in case. I was assured by yet another tourist information center that the traffic would not be as bad, so we arrived early and had time for breakfast at the same cafe we'd been to the day before. I, bravely, but stupidly, tried "black pudding" for breakfast. Black pudding is, to put it bluntly, congealed cow's blood. It was black, but hardly pudding-like. It was more like disgusting flavored sausage. I looked at it, thought about what I was eating, looked again, sniffed a little, cut off a small bite, and put it in my mouth before I could think any more. I chewed and swallowed, then decided that it was not for me. I couldn't even look at it after that! My mind played tricks on me because I promise you I had a stomach ache for the next two hours, even though I'd only had one bite. I think my thinking about it too much is what did it for me.
But we got onto the bus tour safely and headed off to the county of Wicklow to see the Irish countryside. The tour was great because we were able to stop every now and then to take pictures. There was a stream we stopped by where the driver suggested we taste the water. It was a dark shade of brown from being filtered through the land made up of peat moss. I tasted it and it was good! The tour lasted all day and we got to see the "mountains" of Wicklow, a few gorgeous lakes, and stopped for lunch in a small town called "Bally Kissangel." 
It is home to the Avoca Woolen Mill, where the wool literally goes from the sheep to the counter in the form of scarves, gloves, clothes, cloth, blankets, and anything else you can think of! It was really neat to see all the handmade items in such a quaint little town. We left after lunch and went back to Dublin, where Lala, Laura, and I shopped a little more and headed back to the airport for the plane ride home. The visit was a good one, although short and sweet.
Here's me at the "Meeting of the Waters," a place where two rivers collide to form one.
Here's Laura and I after the sheep stampede at the place we stopped for a coffee break on the day tour. Well, she says the sheep stampeded, but I never saw it...
I'll try to post more pictures when the internet is actually working properly instead of cutting out in the middle of my blog post. Love and miss you all!
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