the journey begins: amanda in dublin, ireland

there’s something about the feeling of getting off the plane in a new country…something terrifying and exhilarating.  new people, new currency, new stamp in the passport.  sometimes, a new language to really throw you off.  ireland speaks english, mostly, and all the street signs include both gaelic and english, so it’s relatively easy to understand.
so far, I have kept mostly to myself.  as an introvert, though I do love people I find myself overwhelmed with new places upon arrival, and I generally need a few days (and a few more hours of sleep than I got on the plane) to feel ready to be genuine in my socialization.  consequently, i’ve lived most of the past 48 hours in my head, thinking and thinking and thinking.  thanks to those around me, amanda-thoughts now come in an irish/british accent.  sweet!
to be honest, i loathed dublin the first day i was here.  i got lost and couldn’t find street signs, and i couldn’t find a decent map to save my life.  but after a semi-productive night of sleep and a serious study of google maps’ version of dublin (hallelujah for wi-fi–how did I ever life without a GPS built into my phone…?) i felt much more comfortable navigating the city.  a major benefit to traveling in ireland is the genuine friendliness of the irish.  sure, i’m sure there are a few exceptions, but i have found the general rule to be that everyone is willing to help the random american girl who wanders into their cafe looking for directions, suggestions of things to do or just a smile to ward off any loneliness that might be harboring itself within her.
i’d love to hear from you guys.  as i’m generally out drinking americanos or cortados and doing tourist things during the day and sleeping from early evening to early morning, I don’t have a ton of time to respond but I will get back to you at some point 🙂
how about a few photos of the sights?

much love from dublin….

amanda