An Hour Walk to Phoenix Park

The above picture was taken in Phoenix Park,Dublin. It is one of the largest park in the whole of Europe. It is weird to think that it is January and yet as you can see, there are flowers in bloom beside me. (The slight purple coloring.) The other day I was walking through St. Stephen's Green and there was frost and flowers side by side, also odd. However, not the point of this story.

On Sunday, a few of us decided to venture out into the city and try to discover something new. Katie and I were originally going to go for a simple walk in the Green but when it was suggested that we take out to Phoenix Park, we couldn't pass up to opportunity to explore some place new. Little did any of know how long the walk was. On our way thru the city, we stumbled into the last day of TradFest, the big week-long music festival that had been taking place. We managed to get some balloons and see some live Irish dancing as well as hear the live Irish music, obviously. Although the guys in the big head costumes were creepy, it was interesting to see how another country takes to opportunity to celebrate its heritage.

Once we had made our way out of Temple Bar again, we kept on our journey to Phoenix Park. It was a beautiful sunny day but a little brisk as well. On our way, we must have passed seven bridges, apparently the city is built surrounding the River Leffy, literally. It was a great day for pictures. And although it was a long walk, we got to see a part of the city that we don't normally venture into because clearly the Southside is more fashionable to live, work, and shop in. However, after about an hour of walking, we made it to the famed Phoenix Park and what a sight to behold. The green was green and stood out starkly from the white benches. The sun was shining perfectly and drying the last of the frost out from the blades of grass, making a clean sheen of reflection of light. The pond was filled with ducks and swans, and of course people gathered around to feed them. Although the vegetation was not as alive as it will be in a couple of months, it was still beautiful and I only saw half of it. I'm hoping to go back later in the year and see the other half that contains the monument which looks something like the Washington monument...a little taste of home.

Speaking of a little taste of home, I tried a Big Mac here the other day and it wasn't quite up to par, it didn't make me want to sing the song. Now it was all right in its own way but the sauce wasn't quite like it is at home and the pattys were disappointingly smaller as well. But on the bright side, the fries here are awesome, even if the portions are smaller.

Something else that is important to note is that I was able to get some decent pictures of my school the other day and I thought that I would share with everyone the view from the main study area in the library. So while the library is 4 floors and has its own set of escalators, it is impossible to find anything in it by yourself, unless you're looking in the short term loan section of course.

And then there is the inside of the Quinn School, where all my classes are located. It really reminds me of Smith back at the Bent. It's weird how many things are comfortable for me here already just because it is like Bentley. I can see now why they are sister schools across the ocean. The classes are comparable as are the buildings in some respects.

Things that I hope to accomplish this week:
Going to the Garda to register
Turning in my bus refunds for money
Tracking my financials
Having a 3euro cocktail
Enjoying Kilkenny this weekend (Free Trip with the school)
Watching the Superbowl in the bar on Sunday (We found a bar down the road called ironically "Captain America's" that is having a Superbowl party, we have already reserved a table)