Day One - 11/9/2012 - Dublin

     After traveling for 24 hours, leaving Los Angeles at 8:45am and landing in Dublin at 7:05am the next day, I could finally say that I had arrived.  They offered tea and coffee as we descended into Dublin Airport.  It was a brisk 54 degrees Farenheit, and most of the people on my Aer Lingus flight (who were Irish) commented on how warm it was.  Meng and I took a cab to the city centre.  I started in terror at almost every turn as cars raced by on the right side of the road.  I arrived at my hostel at 61 Mountjoy Street.  The room was not yet ready, and so we asked the desk where to buy bath towels.  He recommended the Penny's on Parnell Street.  It was very similar to Mervyn's, if not a little bit cheaper.  After buying some towels, we wandered around Moore Street to Henry Street to Earl Street, which were all pedestrian only streets.  It started to dawn on me that Dublin is a very touristy city.  We stopped at a Bed and Breakfast called O'Shea's for my first tea in Ireland.  As I would later realize, service is slow in Ireland, but it gives you time to enjoy yourself.  It seems a crime to rush someone drinking tea here.
     Maybe it was just my timing, but Dublin on the whole seemed to have loads of construction.  The cobblestone streets in front of the stores and those comprising the sidewalks seemed to be in the midst of some major renovation.  It was surprising to see so much attention placed on the streets, but it seemed like an effort was being made to preserve things.  In general, Dublin is full of 300 year old buildings immediately adjacent to modern, all-glass storefronts across the street from a cathedral built in the 1700s.
     Returned to the hostel around noon as the rooms were ready.  There were just as many international visitors as there were Irish travelers from other regions.  For €20 a night, I couldn't complain, and I've slept in worse.  The mattresses, despite being two inches thick and as hard as plywood, were covered with a warm duvet.  The showers, however, left something to be desired.  The water flowed about as fast and forcefully as a leaky faucet, rendering the whole process of showering rather futile.  After a change of clothes (which did more than my "shower") we returned to the streets for more adventuring.  We found a coffee shop called In Cahoots which was literally a hole in the wall, but had pretty decent coffee.  The coffee in Ireland so far has been very dark, and if you ask for cream you'll get a strange look.  There is usually milk on the table, along with white and brown sugar, which is acceptable in tea as well as coffee.  By this point I was starting to get used to the pace of coffeeshops here, and quite enjoying it.  I still got a kick out of paying for things with €1 and €2 coins.    We ventured next to O'Connell street, which is the main street of sorts north of the River Liffey.  There was a huge stainless steel Spire in the middle of the street that stands over 120m high.  A cab driver later told me "London's got their Eye, we have that".  We continued to wander down Talbot street until it ended in Connolly Station, a massive train station built in 1844.  It had been misting on and off all day, and I would soon learn that it was always raining in Dublin.  After getting back to O'Connell street and passing the monument of the man it was named for, we crossed the Liffey on the O'Connell Bridge and entered Temple Bar, which presented itself as a tourist trap.  Turning away from Temple Bar and south down Westmoreland street, I set my eyes on the West Front of Trinity College.  It was impressive from the outside, but after crossing the threshold into the college green, my eyes were met with a breathtaking courtyard and a towering campanile.  While I was enjoying the architecture, I became privy to another of Ireland's quirks.  In an instant, despite the sunshine, it immediately began to pour.  We sought shelter in the theater building amongst Trinity students and waited for the nimbo-cumulus to pass.
     Heading out from Trinity, we walked west along the Liffey, passing what would become Meng's favorite bridge, the Ha'Penny Bridge.  This bridge used to be a toll bridge, which cost a half-penny.  We stopped at the Ha'Penny Bridge Inn, where I had my first Guinness.
     On the way back to the hostel, we stopped at a restaurant called the Kingfisher for fish and chips.  I quickly learned that English Mustard cannot be treated the same as yellow mustard as it has horseradish in it.  The tartare sauce, however, was delicious.  After a good dinner, we headed back to the hostel for some welcome sleep.