The third weekend in Ireland was St. Patrick's Day weekend!! This was a dream come true as although I am not Irish it has been one of my favorite holidays for as long as I can remember. I love having the excuse to dress in funny clothing and be crazy!
We decided several weeks prior to departing America that we would venture on our own to Dublin to run in a 5k road race as part of The Gathering celebrations. This required us to figure out how to get to Dublin using public transportation. We chose to take a bus to Waterford City, and then on to Dublin. This was not nearly as difficult as I had thought it might be. It ended up being about a five hour trip, and were anxious to finally get to the city. Europe just does public transportation right!!
That day we explored more of Dublin that we had not had time to do the previous weekend. It was so great to actually have some idea of where things were. Although we were still tourists, I almost began to feel as that of a local. That night we were invited to a dinner to officially kick off The Gathering festival! Come to find out this dinner was only for those who are not from Ireland. It was really neat to mingle with others who came several miles for the same reasons. The dinner was held in the Mayor's Mansion and we even got to here him speak!!
That night we had the chance to see the outer city limits as we got to sleep at a family friends house of Megan. It was truly amazing! They live on the top of a large hill where you could see all the city lights!! Again, it was a great way to see another part of Ireland. Pictured below is a nighttime view of the city from the top of the hill near the home we stayed at:
The next morning we woke up ready to run the 5k! Again, it was very fun, and got to see EVEN more aspects of the city during the route. There were SO many people who raced. The winner of the race completed it in 14 minutes!! Upon completing the race we boarded a bus to come back home. On Sunday Dungarvan had a great parade and was so honored to be apart of it!
HAPPY ST. PATRICK'S DAY!!! :)
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