Farmers Markets and Footy

Sunday was not the beautiful sunny day we had gotten accustomed to but it was nice enough for Stacy, Brittany, and I to venture to Dun Laoghaire for the Sunday farmers market. We got on the bus and took an hour ride into the quaint little seaside town of Dun Laoghaire (pronounced "dun leery").

The farmers market was in People's Park (which kinda makes it sound communist). It was a really cute farmers market with fresh produce, jewelry, and all sort of different foods, including falafel, pizza, and crepes. After browsing around for a while I got a crepe with gruyere, black forest ham, pesto, and sundried tomatoes; needless to say it was delicious. Brittany got a pizza and Stacy got some muffins and we headed to the harbour to watch the waves crash and eat our food. We had girl talk and once we got too cold while sitting we took a stroll down the pier.

After w had our fill of Dun Laghaire we headed back into Dublin. We were set to meet the other girls at The Woolshed to watch the Australian Football game. We got into the city very early so we hit up Penney's, a great store that is super cheap because they use child labour (not kidding, there is a lawsuit). I had actually bought a bikini and blazer (of course not to be worn together- one is polka dotted and the other is stripes) the other day but Stacy had yet to witness Penney's so we browsed around. It was a good time and hard to resist all the cute clothing but I'm still on a budget. After a bit of shopping we headed over to the Woolshed.

We got there about an hour before the other girls (Stevie and Laura) were getting there so we got a table near the TV and ordered some food. Eventually the two others got there but we were in for disappointment- the Carlton footy game was cancelled! I still haven't got the whole story but we couldn't watch it that night. What a bummer, Laura was seriously looking forward to reconnecting with her Australian heritage. We had to buy her chocolate so she could get over it.

But the excitement wasn't over yet. I went into my kitchen that night to make myself some nutella on toast (a new favorite) and there was a puddle of milk on the floor which smelled awful. I got Laura because she has been on a passive-aggressive crusade ever since our other roommate literally threw her trash on the floor when the bag was full.

We started cleaning up the sour milk and then realized that the milk expired March 10! That's 5 weeks late. It must have corroded the bottle and was leaking from the fridge. We had a good laugh and then tried removing the spoiled milk smell from our kitchen. I'm sure that someone put the milk in there and just forgot about it but, coupled with the garbage that no one takes out and the missing silverware/dishes, it was reason to write another note.

Dun Laoghaire

On the East Pier of Dun Laoghaire

This afternoon Stevie, Stacy, Brittany, Laura and I went on a little trip to the seaside town of Dun Laoghaire (pronounced "dun leery"). I am fairly certain they could have done without at least four of those letters, but then again the name makes it look exotic. Perhaps LaGrange should add a couple letters too... It was a beautiful sunny day and it was about 25 minutes south of campus on the bus. There are not really any "attractions" in Dun Laoghaire other than the seaside views and I have provided you with some here. The last few days have been fairly photo-free so enjoy these!

I take pictures of cute things.

Harbor

We walked down the east pier and although it seem short it took us quite a long time because we had to stop and take pictures about every 4 meters (I'm learning metric!)

Gazebo on the pier. As we were walking back here were two men playing a sax and an accordian here.

Tiny sailboats

The picture is super dark but I really liked the clouds and the texture of the water. Grace should hop over the pond so she can do a professional job.

The pier and the steeples with the Wicklow Mountains in the back.

Streets of Dun Laoghaire. Quite a cute little town.

After about 3 hours in Dun Laoghaire we headed back to campus and then went to go have dinner with one of Laura's friends who is attending Trinity, which is right in the city centre of Dublin. We hung out there for a while and then headed over to a friend of Laura's friend's place to meet up with some more people. At about 11 Brittany and I headed home. The buses stop running around 11:15 and we didn't want to pay for a taxi so there was a lot of power walking involved to get to the bus stop in time.

Tomorrow is going to be another adventure for the U of I girls (Stacy, Stevie, Brittany, and me) because we are taking a daytrip to Galway, which my guidebook claims is the most Irish town in Ireland. I can only hope this means that leprchauns serve me Lucky Charms, potatoes, corned beef, and whiskey while I watch Riverdance but I anticipate no Lucky Charms. We're leaving Dublin at 10, riding 4 hours there, and then checking out Galway for the day. We are going to stay pretty late so we can catch the live music and the pub scene. I will try to post all my photos and stories sometime Sunday, but I am planning on going to the horseraces and I may have bet my computer and lost so we'll see if I can.