Weekend in Dublin

Well I have a lot of catching up to do!
We'll start of with my birthday: Overall I would say was a success! I drank for my first time ;) . We went to City which is usually pretty busy on Tuesday's because it is students night. I can't say that I remember every detail but I do know it was fun and I am now proud to be 21!!
Wednesday was a whirlwind of a day. Waking up for class was not the easiest thing I have ever done and on top of that, the class that I had was my walking tour class so I had the pleasure of waking up and walking around for 2 hours the morning after my 21. lucky me.
I survived though and right after class I started my voyage out to the airport. I first took the tube to the train station then the train to the airport then hopped on a plane to Dublin then finally a taxi to the hotel! The last thing on my mind was being tired though because I was SO EXCITED to see my mom and dad!! My taxi driver, Michael,  was very nice. He asked a lot about me as well as the highlights of Dublin. He even walked in me into the hotel lounge! As soon as I opened the door, I saw my mom in the hallway. I squealed to Michael, "That's my Mommy!!" It was hard not to tear up a bit when I got to hug her!
It was close to 7 pm by the time I got to the hotel so we were all ready for a meal! We went to the Bank Bar and had a decent meal. The food didn't matter so much because I was just so happy to be there! We've all come to the agreement, English and Irish food SUCK! The selection is never that vast nor appetizing. It almost made me tempted for the McD's around the corner. (and I am rarely if ever tempted by McD's) The atmosphere at Bank was very nice. It was a beautiful wooden bar with a variety of age groups. They also house the replica of the Book of Kells, so if my Dad comes up to you and shows you his picture of the Book of Kells, don't be fooled! It's not the original from Trinity College, it's the replica from the bar down the street ;) After the bar we went to Hard Rock Cafe for a drink but decided to head in early since we had to wake up to catch our train Thursday.
My mom got down most of the highlights of Thursday when we travelled to the Cliffs of Moher. It was nice traveling the countryside but also gave the three of us some time all together! Thursday night we hung out in the bar of our hotel because they have free live music and Irish dancing every night.
Friday the boys came (two of my friends Ryan and Mike who are also studying in London and go to UW). We split off from my parents that day because we wanted to see some of the Dublin sights that my parents had done earlier in the week. There was a "hop on, hop off" bus that circled the city and stopped at all the hotspots. We visited Trinity College, Christ Church, St. Patrick's Cathedral, the best by far was the Guinness tour! but also on our way home we stopped at Ryan's Victorian Pub (a favorite stop of Bill Clinton and Julia Roberts).  Guinness was awesome! I have so many fun-filled facts that I will be able to tell you all back home. At the end of the tour you get to go up to the "Gravity Bar" which is a circular glass room that gives you a panoramic view of the entire city, while sipping on a complementary Guinness of course. Friday night we met up with the parents for dinner at a very good Italian place then our for a few drinks!
Saturday the boys slept in (they had been awake for at least 48 hours before) and my parents and I did some shopping on Grafton Street before heading to the Leprechaun Museum. I wouldn't recommend the museum to anyone over the age of 7 btw...
After that experience I met up with the boys to get in some last stops on the "hop on, hop off". We only had enough time to tour through the jail before we planned to meet up with my parents again. Oh and let's not forget that the bus broke down on us so we had to walk at least a mile back to our hotel haha. One we were finally back we went to a bar called Citi, which Ryan Mike and I had all stopped at for a drink the night before. We had a wonderful meal of sharing tapas. They ordered everything from steak to pheasant to duck to crab cakes. It was so delicious. Another neat thing about this place was that right at the table there was a tapper for Guinness and Carlsberg. It kept track of how much you pour during your meal then charges you at the end. It was a really neat idea that I think would really catch on in the states. Saturday night the guys and I went out again to some local places including Temple Bar.
Sunday (today) i had to wake up at 5:20 to get to the airport in time to catch my 7:45 flight to London. I finally got back to my flat at about 11 and am pretty tired.
Overall it was a spectacular weekend!! I don't think it could have been any better! I love and appreciate my parents so much! They are so generous and caring. I am a so lucky (it must be the Irish in me)!
I have a lot of school work to catch up on tonight. Then class tomorrow.