Spring Break!!

We made it out safe and sound to Ireland. First stop, Belfast. I was skeptical, but it was totally awesome. The hostel was so legit. It had great food, great atmosphere, plus we got breakfast in the morning. It was a hippies paradise. We walked around the city after we checked into the hostel and ended up in this giant globe/glassed indoor/outdoor shopping center and talked to Gerry- what a guy. He talked to us all about Belfast (the Titanic was built here, and it was where Jonathan Swift got inspiration for Gulliver's Travels!) and gave us tips for where to go out that night. Had dinner at our go-to, Whetherspoons, and went to the pubs: Robinson's and the Crown. The people were great. I love Ireland.

It was sad to leave in the morning- the hostel was great, but we had to be in Dublin for the parade. We left early and made it just in time to catch the bus to the city. Found our hostel nice and easy- not nearly as good as Belfast- and booked it to the parade. Apparently there were 650,000 people there!! The parade was crazy- some serious characters, and we were able to make it almost to the front so we could see a lot of it. After we wandered the city to get a taste of it- total madness. Everyone was dressed up and the streets were packed to the brim with people. It was nearly impossible to find a semi-non hectic street to turn down. Great energy. We had all agreed to meet up later with some alcohol to pregame before going out- Dublin is mad expensive- my group made it back first. We pushed all of the bunk beds to the center of the room and when the others got back we had a venue for some card playing. We went out in the area the guy at the hostel told us to go to (people love us b/c were Americans and love to talk to us about their American travels so we get lots of good advice as for where to go). We went to a place called The Globe- total awesomeness! It was one giant dance party, and we danced until 2am. We were so sweaty by the time we left- I feel like its ok that I didn't bring my running shoes because I'm still getting exercise!

computer battery is about to die- will update again soon.