St. Peter's Youth Pilgrimage to Ireland 2016: Day Three

Day Three: 9^th of June

This morning for breakfast I had rice crispy cereal and a chocolate spread sandwich! YUM! We were then picked up by our bus driver Owen, where our first stop was to pick up sandwiches for lunch. To get into Dublin, buses and trucks have to go through a 3.5 km tunnel to get into the city. Our bus driver showed us around major spots of Dublin highlighting the 1916 revolution of the Republic of Ireland. He then dropped us off at Trinity College. We saw the Book of Kells, one of the first writings about Ireland. We also saw a magnificent and large library with over 200,000 books! We then ate lunch on the university lawn and headed off as a group for an afternoon of shopping. After pulling ourselves away from the many shops we could find in America, we headed to multiple locations of Carroll’s, an Irish souvenir shop. We all got sweatshirts, candy, gifts for loved ones, and even a penny whistle! We all had an awesome time being in fellowship with one another, even when an unnamed group member almost knocked down a whole display case of glasses with her book bag, but luckily another pilgrim was looking out for them by pushing them out of the way. We also saw Irish hospitality rival southern hospitality when two complete strangers offered us help just because it looked like we needed it. Even when one native Irishwoman gave us directions we still got lost, but we worked together to find our way back to our bus. Then after seeing a few more Dublin highlights, we drove to the National Cathedral of the Church of Ireland, St. Patrick’s Cathedral. We were able to explore around the cathedral that is over 800 years old. We also attended an Evensong service that was mostly sung. The service was beautiful and unique because we got to worship in a different way. We then ate a traditional Irish meal of fish and chips from a very famous restaurant. Many celebrities have also enjoyed this restaurant, including Snoop Dogg, Al Rickman aka Snape, Sandra Bullock and many more. We then got back on the bus to head to our hostel, but on the way we made an important stop for ice cream. Overall today has been a great day; we’ve gotten to strengthen our bonds with fellow pilgrims and we are all looking forward to more.

Fun Facts:

Ireland’s national symbol is the harp.
There are three major parties of the Irish political system
Native Dublin’s have an unusual accent because they speak faster, according to our bus driver
In Phoenix Park where the President of Ireland lives, the only other person allowed to live there is the American Ambassador because of the close relationship between Ireland and the USA