After my morning excursion at the Today Show, as described in my last blog, I headed out to the now crowded streets of Dublin and made my way down the street like fish in a sardine can, shoulder to shoulder pushing this way and that. After walking past Trinity it became very clear that I wasn't going to be seeing much of the parade. I trucked on a little further passing kids who had climbed up street lamp poles, lining the architecture of buildings in the alcoves of windows, and sitting on top of telephone booths just to get a glimpse. There were even people carrying ladders around, knowing that it would be a struggle to see the parade.

I finally found a spot where I could see the parade just through a fence with a green lining tinting my view. I got to see some of the costumes and heard the various bands play but then I decided to head back home for some lunch. I waded through the large crowds of mostly Americans decorated with scarves, hats, and excessive amounts of green clothing and picked up a subway sandwich on my way to St Stephen's Green. I sat on a bench and ate watching groups of teenagers laying on the grass in the sun. I headed home and met up with some of the other girls here who wanted to get some lunch.

Later we headed to the carnival exploring the few rides located right near Marion Square and chose to ride the ferris wheel. We joked around about which color basket we wanted to ride in but we lucked out with the green and rode up high to a beautiful view of the city and found our apartments in the mix of buildings from above.

After the ride we waited in line to get a "softee" or rather a creamy in Vermont terms which was served with a chocolate stick and tasted a lot like whipped cream.

After some dinner we went out to the local bar for a patty's day pint. There were no green, hats or decorations around the place, which was somewhat refreshing. We ended the day the real Irish way, a day off with a pint in our hands.

Posted by Caitlin Patey at 10:38 AM | Permalink

I got an email from my mom a few days ago telling me that the Today Show was heading to Dublin for St Patrick's Day! I was, of course, excited and asked her to watch and tell me where they would be. The first day they were filming about 40 minutes outside the city, but luckily they mentioned where they would be the next day. My mom shot me an email, wrote on my facebook wall, and sent me a skype message just to make SURE that i knew exactly where it was.

Today I woke up around 9:30, which was definitely sleeping in compared to when we saw the show in New York and we got there around 5am. I headed down through the already bustling streets of Dublin to Dublin Castle. At first, when I got there, the gates were closed and it didn't look as if they were letting anyone in. I walked up and down the ally to see if any other gates were open but I was locked out. I went back to the big gate where i saw the marching band waiting to go on air. Suddenly the guard started letting people in, just when I had given up hope. I headed in quickly trying to gain a good spot with my little makeshift sign that said, "My mom is watching! Hi mom dad and megan!"

For the next two hours the small crowd, of mostly Americans and some other tourists who I had to explain to what the Today Show was, moved back and forth from one set to the other just waiting to get a front row chance. In between the shots Meredith was very friendly taking pictures and talking to people. Al also took some pictures but he just wasn't as friendly as Meredith.

Above is a picture of Meredith trying on some St Patty's day gear with a few of the rugby team members in the crowd.

Eventually I made my way to the front during the section with the Irish step dancers and I crossed my fingers that my mom could see me, moving this way and that making sure I wasn't behind Meredith or Al. I called over Al before they started filming then pushed my camera into the poor flustered kid's hands behind me and asked him to take a picture. I have a feeling he had no idea who Al was and a bit shell shocked at my enthusiasm for anyone to take my picture. So here you go mom... I got to see Al this time!

More on Saint Patrick's day tomorrow after the whole day is through!

Posted by Caitlin Patey at 10:39 AM | Permalink

So I have not been blogging the past few weeks and I am very sorry for that... but it was for good reason. I have been flying in and out of Dublin on the weekends to various locations and even took a bus trip up to Northern Ireland with the whole Champlain crew. My travel bug is definitely being treated with so many new sites and landmarks and lifetime to do list check off's.

It all started three weekends ago when we headed to Bruges and Brussels for a girls weekend away and a romantic valentines day with lots and lots of delicious waffles. After arriving at the airport we caught the train into Bruges but it was a little confusing with two different languages and a transfer. We caught the conductor's attention when we accidently sat in first class and then we were told that we had missed our transfer. We hopped off at the next station and danced around at a deserted train stop waiting for the next train to take us back to our transfer station. Once that was all sorted off we were off to Bruges with beautiful countryside and trees that looked straight out of a Harry Potter movie. On the way back we even caught a glimpse of a windmill! Once in Bruges we were mesmerized by the cobblestone streets and old brick buildings. This little medieval town was winding with canals, small shops, and restaurants.

We rushed to our Bed and Breakfast (which we got at the price of a hostel), and met up with the owner who let us in. We were a little shocked when she started speaking Spanish to us. Cassie and I turned to Lindsay, who took Spanish in high school, but we were all confused as to what she was telling us. We continued to nod our heads and smile and eventually settled in our room with private bathroom, half kitchen, and dining area. We spent the next two days wandering around Bruges and exploring the most beautiful town I have ever seen.

On Valentines day we headed back into Brussels for a day's worth of sites and a romantic dinner for three. After seeing the peeing boy and the peeing girl, grand place and much more we settled in at our hostel for a game of gin rummy. That night we slept in a long room lined with bunk beds holding 14 people, 11 of them complete strangers including a boy from Brazil who was studying in London and had perfected his English by watching episodes of Friends. The next morning we caught a very early flight back to Dublin after we somehow made it through to mob of people checking out and caught a train to the airport.

Usually, after a trip like that, you'd want to rest and recover so that is what we did. The next weekend was spent enjoying Dublin and taking time to walk down Grafton and go out to O'Brien's for a pint with the locals, but then it was time to gear up again. After celebrating my 21st birthday on Friday I headed to the airport early Saturday morning to pick up my boyfriend, Sean. I was a bit starry eyed but I managed to retrieve him and get him back to the apartments with enough time to pack up and head out to Northern Ireland for the weekend. Almost all of the Champlain Dublin abroader's climbed onto a tour bus for a weekend of countryside, and history.

Our first stop was Belfast where we took a political tour of the city and had a chance to see the murals and the wall that still divides the city including the gates that continue to close every night. Later that day we headed off to our first castle stop and took a tour followed by a drive through the countryside on the way to our hostel where we crashed for the night.

To Be Continued... (I need to clean up after a weekend in Paris) and pictures to come later because I can only upload them at the academic center....

Posted by Caitlin Patey at 7:45 AM | Permalink