The sun finally came out in Dublin this week, which was great because this weekend we had time on Saturday and most of Sunday to explore Dublin on our own. On Friday, since it was such a beautiful day out my advisor let me leave the workplace early to get outdoors. I was able to take advantage of this by going back to UCD and playing some basketball while the sun was still out with Tennyson. Although neither of us was that great, we still had a fun time spending the afternoon outdoors in the heat. That night, we also took a visit to Dublin, but we cut the evening short because we had big plans for the following day.
The next morning, Tennyson, Brad, and I got up earlier to go to the Grange Castle Golf Club to play a 7-hole course. Saturday brought yet another day of great weather in Dublin, so it was a great day for some golf. Although none of us played that well since the clubs weren’t our perfect size, we still had a great time, and Tennyson surprised us all by getting a birdie on the fourth hole. After our round of golf, we took a long journey back from the course on a very hot and uncomfortable bus. As soon as we got back, we switched into swim gear and packed our bags to go to the beach. We had originally planned on going to the forty-foot, which is a very touristy spot to swim in the Dublin area, but instead we were convinced to go to a beach in Howth. There, we met up with Rayna, Emilia, and Lucie, who had been at the beach for a bit of time already and saved a spot for us to sit! The views at the beach were amazing, and although the water was completely freezing, it was refreshing after a long day in the sun. After we spent some time on the beach, we went into Howth for dinner and found a place that apparently sold some of the best fish and chips. I personally am not a big fan of fish, so I had the chicken goujons instead, which were still fantastic! I know my parents are probably reading this, thinking to themselves, “Max, at some point you have to try fish!”, but I will stay strong. Finally, we headed home and took an early night as we were exhausted from a long day in the sun.
On Sunday, we went to experience the Gaelic games, which were very fun, although it was hot. We got to try Gaelic football, Hurling, and handball. My personal favorite was Gaelic football, but they were all fun to experience, and it was nice to get outdoors and try something new. That night, Brad, Nick, and I decided to go to a bar called DisNDat, where they had trivia on Sundays. Although we didn’t win, it was a great time, and it really tested our trivia knowledge. Finally, on Monday, we had our last day of class and went to the Kilmainham Gaol which used to be a prison. This was a really cool experience and it was interesting to learn about the history of it.
The round of golf was definitely worth the long journey to get there. I’m excited to play a full round on the actual course this coming weekend!
I’m sorry to side with your parents but it was sad to see you get chicken tenders at the best fish and chips place I’ve been to. Golfing and the beach were super fun and we definitely need to go back to trivia next weekend. Team Canada had the upper hand on us last weekend but I believe that we’ll win this time.