Newsletter #3
Where is the time going?
Dia duith ó Bhaile Átha Cliath! Hello from Dublin!
October in Ireland began rather auspiciously (I said this word for Kylor and Kylor only). Classes began assigning things, and all of a sudden, I got kind of busy. I say kind of because I am not busy. I am just busier than I was before, and before, I was NOT busy. The first weekend in October was an adventure because Finley, Jendy, and I went to Belfast!
Belfast was a TRIP. And here it is in bullet point form!
We got on a bus (with passports)
We got off the bus in Belfast 3 hours later (still with passports, although not one person asked us for them)
We got lunch in a pub, and it was delicious.
I got a “Belfast Burger” (it’s a burger with mushrooms, an egg, and caramelized onions)
I discovered I am a big fan of Smithwick’s Red Ale; it’s my new go-to drink order.
We walked to our hostel, which was much further than I anticipated
It wasn’t the most lovely of walks, but I learned much about residential Belfast!
Our hostel was lovely.
It was so lovely that we got there, booked a pub crawl, and promptly fell asleep.
When we finally woke up from our naps (Finley did not sleep, but Jendy and I were OUT), we decided to find dinner.
We went to SEVEN (I am not kidding) restaurants and got turned away at every single one because we did not have a reservation.
We finally found a pub with space for us and ate our pre-pub crawl meal.
I had chicken fingers.
Upon arriving at the pub crawl, we had genuinely no idea what we were getting ourselves into
At the first pub, we found three other women who invited us to sit with them, and we all hit it off.
Finley, Jendy, and I had decided to entirely reinvent ourselves and make up a story about how we had met.
I immediately messed up the plan when introducing myself.
We made our way to 4 other pubs after that.
At one of the pubs, a security guard was handing out free KFC, and it made my entire night.
If you are related to me or know me because you know someone related to me, please avert your gaze from this next one.
I split the G twice (it was a crazy feat, and I’ll never shut up about it) (I have videos if you need proof).
We ended our night at the second bar we started at
We had very deep, insightful conversations about life and how to live it
The most notable quote from the night was, “Not all weirdos are cunts, but all cunts are weirdos.”
Finley and I explained the electoral college to the two English women we met, and the Texan woman we met was very helpful.
Then Finley, Jendy, and I returned to the hostel and went to bed!
The next morning, we got up, packed our things, and went to the National for breakfast.
I will never EVER shut up about this breakfast.
It was the greatest breakfast I’ve ever had.
Three pancakes, two fried eggs, a fuck ton of bacon, two Irish hashbrowns (they’re shaped like triangles, and I'm convinced that makes them taste better), and a phenomenal hot chocolate.
Guys, I’m not kidding; I dream about this breakfast.
Following the breakfast from heaven, we went to the Titanic Museum.
It was kind of depressing
There was a ride in the middle of it??
We skipped it because the line was 20 minutes long.
And that was Belfast! We returned to Dublin on a BEAUTIFUL day and had soooo much work to do. And then another week of class commenced. Finley and I went out to dinner that Wednesday; it was Italian, and the pasta was delicious. The following weekend came with many visitors! Quinn and Robbie were first. Finley and I met them at the Swan Bar and took them to the Old Storehouse, where we heard some fantastic music by someone named Jake. Or at least that’s what we think his name was (his logo was confusing). Following that lovely night out, I returned to UCD and stayed up until 4 am, waiting for Simon’s flight to land. For those of you who don’t know, Simon is my boyfriend, and he so graciously decided to skip three days of class to see me in Dublin. He also had to drive to Portsmouth days before his flight to get an emergency passport, so that’s cool, too. Oh, ALSO, he was in the middle of an allergic reaction to the COVID vaccine right before he left the country.
Simon’s visit had many, many parts:
We began by sleeping for 6 hours, but that was interrupted by Simon’s allergic reaction getting worse
So! We went on Simon’s first excursion into Dublin: The Hospital!
The ER visit went well, and everyone was very nice
But we were there for 8 hours, so that sucked
Also, it was scary, and I was afraid his condition was much worse than it appeared
But! They didn’t make us pay for anything?
And when we went to the pharmacy the next day to get his prescription, the whole receipt was 30 euros. (AND I bought a box of tampons)
After the first day, we took it easy, mainly because Simon’s face looked like the moon emoji, and he was ill
The next few days followed the same model: I went to class occasionally (Mom, Dad, I’m sorry), and then Simon and I got brunch somewhere and walked around that neighborhood.
I took him to Grafton Street (it’s a big tourist attraction street, think the 5th avenue of Dublin), and he physically dragged me into a Lego store (It was fun tho)
We went to the National Gallery of Ireland, and Simon geeked out over art
I highly recommend the gallery; it was free and BEAUTIFUL
I made Simon use the Irish transit system or TFI (Transit for Ireland), and I think he liked it
The buses are double-decker, and it feels like a rollercoaster
We met up with another Bates couple (Catalina and James (James is not of Bates College; he is Irish)) and had a drink with them, which was lovely.
We drank a solid amount of tea and visited a number of very good breakfast places.
We made it to the breakfast places around noon most days, but hey, it’s the thought that counts.
Our last day was just a little sad (Not because of the things we did; they were very fun.)
We visited the Trinity Library and the Book of Kells, which was very cool.
We went to Blackrock beach and walked around the neighborhood
It was lovely, and I will be revisiting
Then we got incredible Indian food
I got a masala dosa, and Simon got the butter chicken (I’m including extra food details because Trinity edits these, and she loves reading about the specific food that was eaten)
They also had fantastic cocktails.
Then, the fateful day arrived. We woke up and headed to the airport, and Simon left on a plane.
I cried; it was sad, the end.
Don’t fret, though! (Even though I did). There is more to come! I was going to send out the October Newsletter in one fell swoop, Halloween included, but there is simply too much content to cover. I’ve got many visitors coming to Dublin in the next few weeks AND a couple of concerts to make my way to! I hope you enjoyed, and if you did indeed read this far, tell me about your Halloween plans! I love you all so very much. Have a wonderful rest of your day!
With every little bit of love,
Tamrin
Timmy Two Shoes
