The Weight of it all

Tuesday morning I woke up bright and early to catch a bus to the airport. Security was a breeze, my bag fit in the overhead bin, and I even managed a short nap on the plane to Dublin. But smooth sailing isn't exciting. So how 'bout I unpack a few weighty issues? The first weighs in at only a minor inconvenience--a bulky backpack and laptop case stuffed to seams' limit aren't much fun to carry around. But that didn't stop me from walking 10km, visiting landmarks like Trinity College, Oscar Wilde's birth place and childhood home, the National Gallery of Ireland, and several cafés. I stuck mostly to big chain coffeehouses (including, I'm ashamed to say, a Starbucks) because I would have felt awkward bringing aforementioned bulky bags into small local cafés. 

Ha'penny Bridge (16-12-16)

Samuel Beckett Bridge (13-12-16)

Upon exiting a coffeehouse on Grafton Street (one of two main shopping streets in Dublin), a second far weightier issue greeted me--a thin young woman wearing a bright orange shirt. (No, it's not what you think.) Though I do not hesitate to compliment her on her looks, she was very clearly attempting to elicit donations from passersby and I initially made to walk past without acknowledging her. But hearing her say, "It's okay. I'd walk right by, too,"--not resentfully, but honestly and understandingly--made me stop. Here she was, spending her evening standing out in the cold being given a cold-shoulder by countless tourists. She at least deserved to be heard out. Plus, I didn't have much else to do until my friend I was staying with got off work in an hour. So I stopped to talk to her. Twenty minutes of chatting about where we're from, what we're doing in Dublin, how we came to be there, and recommendations of things to do went by before she even mentioned the organisation name on her bright orange shirt: World Vision. I'll let you do your own research into who they are and what they do, but after hearing what she had to say, instead of donating, I promised I would mention them in my blog. So there it is. And there I was. And here I am, enjoying a month of traveling around Europe, visiting friends and family, occasionally being stopped by young idealistic employees with kindness in their hearts and a desire to do good in the world. But here's the weighty bit: The world is burning. The humanitarian crisis in Syria. Donald Trump's Cabinet of billionaires, bigots, and climate-change-deniers. It makes my own current social anxiety--sitting (alone) on a comfortable hostel-lounge couch, surrounded by other young travellers (judging me for sitting solemnly staring at my laptop) having a wonderful time drinking (and me thinking they think I'm annoyed at them [when, really, I'm not]) and laughing (at me) with their friends--seem so insignificant. But, still, the thoughts of my close acquaintance Anxiety, given in parentheses above, weigh me down.

And when something weighs you down, dragging you below the water's surface, you throw it off--if only temporarily, as easy as that is to write and as hard as it is to actually do--until you're back safe on land and can unpack its contents piece by piece. Now, not to brush off the current state of the world and the seriousness of anxiety, but how about I drag this blog post out of the murky depths and back onto the sturdy ground of pleasant description?

Dublin Castle, Record Tower and Chapel Royal

Christ Church Cathedral

St. Patrick's Cathedral

On Wednesday I went to the Chester Beatty Library, Dublin Castle, and Dublin Writer's Museum. The first two were grand but the last I could have skipped. I also walked along O'Connell Street, enjoyed the day's last rays striking St. Patrick's and Christ Church Cathedrals, and had a pint at Ireland's oldest pub, The Brazen Head, est. 1198. I felt very touristy, but, remember, I'm a traveller. That night, not satisfied being able to see Rogue One: A Star Wars Story a day before everyone back home, I had to see it before the majority of people in the UK, too; so I went to the midnight premier. I'm not going to give a full review, but I will say that I really liked it.

St. Audoen's Church, en-route to Guinness

Thursday was devoted to sleeping in and walking to and exploring the Guinness Storehouse. Holy hops and barley that place is massive! The €20 ticket, which included a complimentary drink, was well worth the price. I'd say it's a must for any 18+'s visit to Dublin.

Today I made the bus ride from Dublin to Galway and spent most of the day wandering around along the quays, searching frantically for a toilet, then returning to the quays to enjoy the sunset over a rising tide. After checking in at my hostel, then a quick pass through Galway's Christmas Market (yes, another Christmas Market!) and Galway's Latin Quarter, I returned to the hostel to write this post. Now it's much later than I anticipated and I should think about getting to sleep so I'm rested for exploring the Cliffs of Moher tomorrow.

Stay informed. -NLD