May 3rd-6th

Hello,

My apartment is starting to feel a lot more home-y: I have clothes hanging in my closet, pictures on my walls and flowers in my windowsill (thanks dad!).  I have been trying to set up an Irish bank account and get some bills set up in my name (since my roommates are moving out at the end of the month) but it all seems to be a vicious cycle: you need a proof of residency (such as a bill) to set up a bank account, and you need a bank account to set up the internet/TV/etc. so I can't seem to get anything done. I've emailed my landlord and hopefully she can help me with some sort of document, but we'll see.

The best thing about this weekend was my dad visiting! He was only here for a day and half, but it was wonderful to have a friendly face and someone to talk to and hang out with.  He helped me set up my room a little bit more, fixed some broken cabinets (you know how dads are), took me out for supper and toured around Dublin with me. We had a really great day on Saturday (sunny and fairly warm despite a forecast of rain).  We walked all over downtown Dublin: first we got a coffee and drank it in St. Stephen's Green (dad said that we had been there before, but I couldn't remember)...

then we checked out The Merrion (where I start work on Tuesday) and hung out with Oscar Wilde a little bit at Merrion Park...

next we walked alongside Trinity College then visited Ms Molly Malone. After that we walked down Grafton Street and then stopped for a delicious ciabatta sandwich and, of course, more coffee. After lunch, we explored downtown some more and came upon a really awesome shopping centre called the "Powerscourt Townhouse". Definitely a cool place to check out! 

Next we walked to the Dublin Castle, which (after consulting my map) was a lot closer than I expected it to be. It wasn't very busy and not as cool as I thought it would be, but it provided a beautiful backdrop for our pictures nonetheless.

We continued walking through small streets and came upon the eclectic Temple Bar area of Dublin. It was a nice surprise, and definitely a place I will be visiting more often! It's also where we went for a fish and chips dinner that night...it was so bustling we had to try several restaurants before we could find one with room for us!

We then walked across and along the Liffey River which divides north and south Dublin. We didn't explore north Dubin at all (a task for another day). 

Lastly, we went to Christchurch, which was an area I was familiar with as I spent my first night at the hostel near it.  

Everything was really beautiful and we were blessed with the non-Irish weather to walk around in. Today dad and I tried taking the bus to see how that works. We waited at the bus stop for quite a while and when no bus showed we decided it would be better to walk than wait any longer; of course, as soon as we started walking about 3 buses passed us...oh well, we still found a quaint coffee shop quite near to my apartment, so it all turned out alright. 

I was sad to see my dad go, but when mom and him visit next I'll hopefully have more neat places to show them and more stories to share. And, of course, when I get homesick I can always head over to what must be the one Tim Hortons shop in Ireland for a Canadian cup of coffee.

That's it for now! Hope you enjoyed the pictures :)

xoxoxo Jenna