8:00a

My flight arrived in Dublin just before 5:00a. After I had my little internal celebratory moment of, "I'm f***ing in Ireland!!!" I climbed down from the high of finally visiting a different country and anxiously waited for the Irish security to let me the hell into their country... Within minutes, Mike (my flight buddy) and I made our way safely through security and to the city centre. I must mention, though... The security guard asked me, "Do you have any friends in Ireland?" I said no and he responded, "No worries, you'll make a few," and smiled. Flippin' awesome guy. Cannot wait to make these friends he spoke of.

Mike was a fantastic human to sit next to during the flight. We talked about work, school, our families, and other small talk which grew into fun, sarcastic remarks about Irish security. Mike has dual citizenship and mentioned having visited Ireland several times within the past several years. Chatting with him was refreshing and made the flight a quick ride. He also paid for the cab! Thanks, Mike!

8:00a... After Mike left for his hotel, I wondered over to mine, mouth hanging open and gawking at the majestic architecture. On the way, I noticed that most of the food businesses open at 8:00a. In Chicago and New York City, most of those places open before the ass crack of dawn . When I arrived at the hotel to drop my luggage off, the desk clerk said that places open at 8:00a so people have enough time to recover from their hangovers before going to work. Sometimes I think that Americans wake up way too early. As I hiked around Dublin (the brick streets can be brutal) between 5 and 6 in the morning, I saw many people stumbling around as if the whole city were still chugging down pint after pint. Love it. 

The hotel I'm staying at has such generous and kind employees. Check-in is at 2:00p but the clerk and one of the kitchen staff invited me to relax in the lounge and join everyone for breakfast at 8! After breakfast, I think that a stroll to visit the home of Oscar Wilde is in order. 

View from my seat just before landing

O'Connell Street

Mike!

Castle Hotel