Yesterday, the other girls and I, with the exception of Kara and her friend, attempted to both find our way to Dublin Castle and to take a tour of it. I had to be back around 3pm to skype with my parents, and we didn't leave for the castle until around 2. Now the tour was only supposed to take around 45min or so, so I figured that we would be fine. However, once we stumbled our way into the castle grounds, we quickly came to the realization that we had no idea what we were doing or how to get to where we needed to be. We ended up in the church which was gorgeous and amazing, reminded me alot of the Old North Church of Boston, but then again, Boston is known for its Irish roots. So that was pretty cool. After that, we meandered and came upon a huge courtyard in which there were dozens of flagpoles and a few selected archways that were pretty cool to look at including the Lady Justice. We then moved into the foyer of the Dublin Castle Manor house and attempted to find out how to get a tour. It was discovered that we needed to buy tickets but couldn't figure out where or how. At this point, it was around 2:45 and I needed to get back anyway. So the group decided in a general consensus to come back another day to take the tour (and hopefully where to buy tickets.) So we left without a tour, but it was a fun little excursion that got us out of the house for awhile at least.

On the way home, we stopped for coffee (and a crepe) but I bought tea. Now, for those of you who know me, I am an AVID coffee drinker. I usually dominate my mornings with at least 2 cups of coffee. And at this point in my trip I have been feeling so crappy due to caffeine deprivation that I was willing to try almost anything to make it go away. My only option is this country appears to be tea. And it's not like they really drink flavored teas, it's just tea. I had to add some sugar and milk...made it look like coffee, but definitely did not taste like it. Very disappointing.
I've decided to try and make use of what I believe to be a brewing pot sitting on my kitchen counter, but my mother has just informed me that it may be for seeping tea not for straining coffee. So I may not be able to get my caffeine in my preferred form after all. However, I have discovered (after a much sleepless night) that the tea was in fact caffeinated so drinking last night at 4pm was not my wisest decision.

Fun fact for the day: 3M, you know the company famous for Post-Its and Scotch tape? The original name and where the 3M's came from was "The Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Co." Fascinating. Gotta love business school. Watched a movie about Disney's training today, most excellent I dare say. And taking notes directly onto slides may be my preferred method as of late. Perhaps I can give up my notebooks and binders after all. Though probably not ;)

Oh and not only is my new library not open on Sundays when everyone needs to do work but you can't take out more than two books on short term loan at a time. And they don't really have a popular reading section. Please let me help you oh library. You are so big and so full of potential. 4 floors and nothing very interesting.

And on a sidenote that is completely unrelated to anything. I had quite possibly the best drink ever last night. I took my friend Mary out for drinks to celebrate her bday in a small way, don't worry I only had 2, and in the midst of everything, I think I discovered my favorite drink. First let me explain. I began the night with a mojito because I love mint and I wanted to see what an actual mojito tastes like. Surprisingly rich, smooth, minty, with a kick of lime just for fun ;) It was very good, but stronger than I had anticipated. I took my time with it and enjoyed the 9euro a piece that I had paid for both Mary and I to get one. After that, we enjoyed a small but free strawberry daquiri from the bartender that just happened to make a little too much to fit into another patron's glass. After, we were both craving something with a little more body to it. The bartender for a lighter ale, suggested a beer called ALT for Mary. And I told him that I wanted to try something pretty and fruity (direct quote.) So he then recommended the beautiful BEER that is featured in the picture. It is brewed in house at the bar know as the Porterhouse and it is...wait for it...a Strawberry flavored beer. I tell you something, it was like licking a strawberry. There was no hop or barley flavor. Just the sweet and savory taste that went down as smooth as a Guinness without all the thickness. And so I have discovered my favorite drink in this country so far and I might just have to go back and have another. Besides recommending it to everyone I know ;)

PS-idk what's with the wink faces, I'm just in that sort of mood today.