St. Patrick's Day 2005: rollin' Dublin Style
Chuck Williams
Issue date: 3/24/05 Section: Features
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When a UMR student decides to do semester abroad, many questions come to mind, not the least of which is "which semester?" When I finally made my decision to study abroad this spring, the first question I thought of was "Where, and more importantly, in what physical state, will I celebrate St. Patrick's Day?"
Being in London, I naturally decided upon Dublin, the cultural center for this particular celebration. So Thursday afternoon, I set out on my pilgrimage with four female friends from Mizzou to join thousands of thirsty American college students in the city of St. Patrick. Not bad planning for a physics major, huh?
When we arrived, the airport made it abundantly clear that this was drinking territory. Every shop we passed had some kind of Guinness product, from large foam hats in the characteristic color of black with a white foamy head, to boxer shorts and steak marinade (in the same package!).
That evening, we headed downtown to catch all the action. We had missed the parade, but the fun definitely wasn't over. We hit a pub called Bruxell's, and started the night with what else but....a Guinness. Three or so rounds later, we met up with some Irish guys and walked with them to a few other places before ending the night in the historic Temple Bar area, next to the River Liffey which splits Dublin in two.
Friday afternoon we explored the city, including St. Patrick's Cathedral, and arguably a more visited semi-religious site - the Guinness brewery. This excursion was definitely one of the highlights of my Dublin experience - especially the free pint at the Gravity Bar - a circular observation deck with a nearly 360 degrees view of Dublin, and the freshest supply of Guinness anywhere in the world. If you are wondering if the Guinness is better in Dublin, let me put your mind at ease - it is.
Friday night, we set out to see some Irish dancing at the Arlington Hotel. If you are into this sort of thing, it was truly amazing, and probably the closest thing you can get to true Irish culture in Dublin during St. Pat's weekend, as everything else tends to be geared towards tourists. After a stimulating conversation with a local drunk who was adamant about my not swimming the River Liffey, we settled on a place called the Left Bank. After a few pints of Guinness, I was entertained by some live music and my friends, who had made a game out of pinching the men's butts who had been unfortunate enough to wear a kilt out to the bar. I finished the night with a nostalgic Budweiser, to get the pint glass it was poured in, and, being called out by a fellow student who noticed my non-Irish brew, I was obliged to chug. Thankfully, this only enhanced the nostalgia for Rolla St. Pats.
Overall the weekend, for myself anyway, was a bit more subdued than a typical Rolla St. Pats, but a lot of fun nonetheless. It has also given me my best souvenir from my European trip thus far: a Dublin passport stamp from March 17th.
I hope Rolla's St. Pat's was a blast, and congratulations to my fraternity, Phi Kappa Theta, for winning the St. Pat's competition. I look forward to next year's celebration in Rolla. I hear it's going to be the BEST EVER!
Being in London, I naturally decided upon Dublin, the cultural center for this particular celebration. So Thursday afternoon, I set out on my pilgrimage with four female friends from Mizzou to join thousands of thirsty American college students in the city of St. Patrick. Not bad planning for a physics major, huh?
When we arrived, the airport made it abundantly clear that this was drinking territory. Every shop we passed had some kind of Guinness product, from large foam hats in the characteristic color of black with a white foamy head, to boxer shorts and steak marinade (in the same package!).
That evening, we headed downtown to catch all the action. We had missed the parade, but the fun definitely wasn't over. We hit a pub called Bruxell's, and started the night with what else but....a Guinness. Three or so rounds later, we met up with some Irish guys and walked with them to a few other places before ending the night in the historic Temple Bar area, next to the River Liffey which splits Dublin in two.
Friday afternoon we explored the city, including St. Patrick's Cathedral, and arguably a more visited semi-religious site - the Guinness brewery. This excursion was definitely one of the highlights of my Dublin experience - especially the free pint at the Gravity Bar - a circular observation deck with a nearly 360 degrees view of Dublin, and the freshest supply of Guinness anywhere in the world. If you are wondering if the Guinness is better in Dublin, let me put your mind at ease - it is.
Friday night, we set out to see some Irish dancing at the Arlington Hotel. If you are into this sort of thing, it was truly amazing, and probably the closest thing you can get to true Irish culture in Dublin during St. Pat's weekend, as everything else tends to be geared towards tourists. After a stimulating conversation with a local drunk who was adamant about my not swimming the River Liffey, we settled on a place called the Left Bank. After a few pints of Guinness, I was entertained by some live music and my friends, who had made a game out of pinching the men's butts who had been unfortunate enough to wear a kilt out to the bar. I finished the night with a nostalgic Budweiser, to get the pint glass it was poured in, and, being called out by a fellow student who noticed my non-Irish brew, I was obliged to chug. Thankfully, this only enhanced the nostalgia for Rolla St. Pats.
Overall the weekend, for myself anyway, was a bit more subdued than a typical Rolla St. Pats, but a lot of fun nonetheless. It has also given me my best souvenir from my European trip thus far: a Dublin passport stamp from March 17th.
I hope Rolla's St. Pat's was a blast, and congratulations to my fraternity, Phi Kappa Theta, for winning the St. Pat's competition. I look forward to next year's celebration in Rolla. I hear it's going to be the BEST EVER!