Busy day! Our morning started off a bit early waking up at 4:00AM since we were still a bit jet lagged. After killing some time getting ready and packed for the day, we headed down to the dining hall where we met our tour group for a buffet style breakfast. There was a huge variety of food that accommodated all of our breakfast cravings. After filling up on breakfast, it was time to head out to the coach (not bus) and explore the city of Dublin!

The coach took us through the maze of streets to the different districts and most noteworthy locations that Dublin has to offer. Our first stop was at the Garden of Remembrance monument; a location dedicated to those who gave their lives fighting for freedom in Ireland. Following our brief stop, the coach took us to various other historic sites such St. Patrick's Cathedral, Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin Castle, and ending at Trinity College where we disembarked.

Once off the coach and with our tour director, she passed us off to a student guide at Trinity College for a historical tour of the campus. We learned about the rich history of the college through the ages and its involvement in many aspects of Dublin's ____. The tour ended in the campus's old library which houses the famous Long Hall as well as the Book of Kells (religious manuscript). After a brief look around the library, we had some free time to kill and swung by the local shops for gift shopping.

About an hour later we all met back up at the coach and headed out to spend the afternoon in County Wicklow at the town of Glendalough. The drive out was a nice change of scenery from Dublin's bustling streets and gave us our first look at the country back roads that we will be exploring more in the coming days. We arrived at Gendalough and again were passed off to a local expert who educated us on the history of St. Kevin and his monastery which today lies in ruins outside the town. Following the walk through the monastery ruins and cemetery, we had more free time to explore the town on our own. Julia and I, along with an Australian tour group member, took this opportunity to grab a late lunch at the local cafe before we headed back to Dublin.

We all had a quick bite and hopped back onto the coach heading back to our hotel in Dublin. The drive took us about an hour through the rural hills of County Wicklow which had some amazing views. We arrived back at the hotel and decided to relax for a bit before we headed out for a late dinner at a gastropub a few blocks over from the hotel. We just got back to the room and are now packing up our bags to prepare for an early breakfast and checkout tomorrow morning as we head out of Dublin (finally!). As much fun as Dublin is, both Julia and I are much more excited to visit and explore the rural country side of Ireland which we get to start doing tomorrow.