Today started off wonderfully. I woke up way yo early for my liking which meant I was up at 6 a.m. due to the jet lag. That meant I had time to kill because nothing really opens until 10 so I decided to read a little in the room. Added to that, I had the most amazing breakfast. The hotel offers breakfast which I took advantage of because who knew when I would have lunch when I was traveling?

The Irish know how to do breakfast. My lord, it was a room full of food. I only recognized half of it (they adore soda bread, it’s everywhere) and decided tomorrow to try something new. Like the wide variety of fish. Maybe one of those. Anyways, what made it amazing is how the whole thing started. I love tea. Anyone who has lived with me can tell you that. The first the waiters asked was not where I wanted to sit, or if I would like to see a menu. No, they looked me in the eyes and asked if I wanted tea which I did. Then they gave me a whole pot to myself and kept refilling it. I love Ireland.

Following that I decided to head into Dublin for exploring. I purchased a round trip bus ticket and headed out to have some fun. My first stop was just down the street from the bus stop, at a place called St. Stephen’s Garden, which is gorgeous. I spent a while just wandering around and actually helped a guy catch his dog who had run off. We spoke for a while before parting ways.

After that I went into a shopping center for lunch and a look around because it was pouring rain. It was nice, lunch was delicious. My only issue is everyone I talked to said Europeans ate small portions. They have obviously never been to Ireland because everyones portions have been huge. My lord, I usually can’t finish the plate!

Also I bought a couple of things in the area. I found a nice souvenir for when I head home, and I found the most beautiful necklace that I am going to wear for a long time to come. It was great.

Now that sounds like a full day but I’m not finished yet. Loaded down with many bags (one bag actually, but manny sounds way cooler) I headed over to Trinity College. I had a quick walk through of the campus and took a lot of pictures of the gorgeous architecutre everywhere. It was amazing to just walk around and look at buildings older than the United States and the history major in me was doing a happy dance.

And that was before I went to the best part of the college. Located in Trinity College is a very special book, one I have studied quite a bit in my medieval classes. I got to look at the Book of Kells. It was amazing, I was so excited. Actually, my excitement made security come over to check on me. You see I was looking at the actual Book of Kells when I got super excited. Apparently I was making this wierd squeaking noise? Security was worried that something was wrong with me and I had to reassure them that I was fine. Just simply a giant nerd in love with this book.

Above the Book of Kells is the upper library which is breathtaking. It was about three stories tall and the size of a small church hall. And filled ceiling to floor with bookshelves of old books. Again, the security guard asked me if I was alright as I made a sort of squeak of delight. I spent a solid half hour looking at books in the shelves, reading the ones out on display. Eventually I left and returned to the hotel where I have been enjoying the strange British and Irish game shows.

All in all, a good day. Mostly I’ve just be hanging out and figuring out if I need anything else. It turns out there are three different power outlets in my hotel room, and my adpater fits one. So I’ll see what sort of plug I need at the university tomorrow and go get one if neccesary. Which, all things considered, is a very minor problem. Good news is tomorrow I get to have more tea!