Time flies when _______

Woah so it's definitely been a while since I've posted. Apologies, devoted readers. I've discussed with our writing staff here and we won't let that happen again.

I've been in Ireland the last two weeks soakin up the Dublin sun (surprisingly it hasn't been raining a whole lot). Nothing too touristy to report. Instead, I've been trying to pull off the Dublin-native act. At this point, I'm pretty familiar with the nightlife scene in the city. I don't mean I've been everywhere (it's impossible. there's as many pubs in dublin as there are churches in rome), but I pretty much understand how younger Dubliners go about evening festivities. Immediately following dinner, most pubs play live Irish music (e.g. O'Donoghue's, The Stag's Head, Whelan's, The Bleeding Horse). These crowds usually consist of middle-aged workers, guitars/banjos/Uilleann pipes/bodhrans/fiddles, and Guinness. Only at these places are the bartenders trained to pour pints of Guinness the correct way. Believe it or not, there's actually a method to the perfect pint. The acts play on until about 10pm, when most of these traditional Irish pubs close. Although, I've been told that at any given moment of any day there's always a pub open. Intense.

After 10pm, the younger crowd generally hits up the big pubs (or more aptly put, bars). My friends and I generally go out around then to places like Fitzsimon's, The Temple Bar (not to be confused with the district), Flannery's, Porterhouse, Messer's, Doyle's, Howl at the Moon, Crawdaddy's, The Chocolate Bar. The bars almost always have live bands playing cover tunes. Unlike the hackneyed cover tunes and talentless cover bands of the US, these Irish bands are all extremely talented musicians. I'd almost like to generalize and say that the live musical culture is valued and respected much more in Ireland. The majority of these places don't have cover charges, but with the free entry there generally isn't a dance floor. Although these are more "modern" pubs, most still have a very authentically Irish ambiance that transports you to a different time. A lot of places have the original, or restored versions of the wooden counters and wall panels. In the bars, a lot of people order Irish cider (Bulmer's- think a watered down and apple-based, spiced champagne). It's especially good for the fall season. The bars tend to stay open until 1am, with some exceptions.

If you're looking to throw on your dancing shoes, hop on the heel-toe express and head over to Temple Bar or Harcourt street for the night clubs. This scene blends young-native with tourist almost seamlessly. Guaranteed to be packed on almost any night, the clubs always have a pretty steep cover charge. On a sidenote, my roommate successfully "drew" a nightclub stamp on his wrist and waltzed right in the door without having to pay the fee. I need to learn how to do that. Anyway, these enormous venues have several dance floors and rooms that play different music. The selection usually includes pop/hip-hop, DJ's spinning live electronica/dubstep/mashups, indie/alternative, or live big name bands. My favorite spot so far is Tripod (kind of like a much cooler Electric Factory or Trocadero in Philly), but we've also been to Copper Face Jack's, Dtwo, The Button Factory, Club M, Qbar, 21, and Dicey's. There's an overwhelming amount of options and they're all ridiculously fun. Wish I could bring all of you with me on an epic pub crawl through Baile Atha Cliath (Irish name for Dublin).

Last weekend, I did head up north to county Meath for a day trip to Drogheda, Monasterboice, and the Newgrange tomb. For those of you unfamiliar with the area, Drogheda is home to the Boyne river, Slane Castle, and the site of the massive 17th C. Battle of the Boyne. It's a nice little port town with lots of fishing activity (allegedly home to some of the best Salmon in the country). Our tour drove through Drogheda and stopped at Newgrange, Dowth, and Knowth. These are neolithic tombs that were built 5,500 years ago by the original inhabitants of Ireland. Cited on the UNESCO World Heritage list, Newgrange is a beautifully constructed tomb that looks like a wealthy hobbit hole from Lord of the Rings. This pre-historic tomb dating back before the Pyramids was built out of quartz stone, granite, slate, and standing stones. Megalithic art surrounds the base of the tomb as well as decorates its inside. All of the stones are original and the inside hasn't changed in all 5,500 years of its existence. We were able to crawl inside the cruciform entrance to the main burial chamber inside. After maneuvering my way through the various rocks and excavation materials, I saw the cremation stones and decorative art (some theorists think this was a primitive form of language). They then turned the lights out and did a simulation of what the tomb looks like during Winter solstice. These Druid people worshipped the sun god, so on Winter Soltice (December 18th-22nd), they would all gather on Newgrange to dance and celebrate the coming of the longer, warmer days. The tomb was constructed so perfectly that exactly on sunrise between these dates, the sunrise would send a warm orange glow down the cruciform entrance and scatter light on the tomb's floor for 17 minutes. After the solstice, the Druid people would have to wait another year and pray that the sun gift them with another year of spring and summer. It was a very ethereal kind of experience being in the tomb. On the way out of the tomb, we checked out the museum there and learned more about the pre-historic people.

After our stop at Newgrange, we headed to Monasterboice to see the Celtic High Crosses. This monastery is situated on the site where St. Patrick first lived in Ireland. If you're familiar with the story of St. Patrick, this is where he lit the fire from the large hill, challenging the district king's night curfew. He was then escorted to the castle where he preached the gospel to the king and first brought Catholicism to Ireland. Very cool. Another interesting fact is that the monastery's round tour (which is there to offer sanctuary for pursued and endangered men) partially collapsed in the 8th C. When Oliver Cromwell came to Ireland on his campaign to suppress the people and destroy their culture, he spotted the partially destroyed tower and opted not to burn the monastery because he thought someone else already had. Little did he know this was the home of the original Irish high crosses. On the high crosses (which date back to the 4th and 6th centuries) are blended stories from the Christian and pagan Irish traditions, summarizing the Old and New Testament. It's from these famed crosses that the Celtic Cross was inspired. They're simply awesome. After a long day of touring and traveling, we headed home and crashed.

That's about the extent of my adventures lately and hopefully that gets you all caught up to speed. My friends and I are planning a trip for tomorrow and Sunday that I'll be sure to write about when I get back.