Burgers and Nightlife.

Thursday we decided to go on an adventure to find this burger place for dinner that my friend Caitlin had been to before. It's in Dun Laoghaire (DUN-LEER-EEY) and it's called 'Real Gourmet Burger'. I decided it had to be phenomenal because who would name a restaurant that if the burgers were not real or gourmet. Burgers are also one of my favorite foods so I was chomping at the bit to get on the bus and go find this place. I had bought a bus pass for 75 euro, which grants me 30 non-consecutive days of unlimited bus rides per day. If I had not bought this pass I would have paid almost 11 euro in fees for the bus, but got to ride the whole day with swiping my card. So far a good investment. We get off the 46A bus at the last stop and see this gorgeous view of sailboats in a marina on the water. I didn't have my camera, but my roommate Lisa took a picture and I'll post it once she uploads it. It was so picturesque and the view seemed that it should be on a "wish you were here" post card. Right down the street on the right was the burger joint. I was in heaven when I smelled every kind of savory topping and the smell the emanated from the bowls of fries on people's plates next to me was quite possibly one of the best scents I have witnessed to date. The eatery was small and packed. Our group of seven had to split up to get tables but it was fine. All I was concerned about was the menu and what it had to offer. I ended up ordering a grilled chicken burger topped with relish, lettuce, tomato, Swiss cheese and chili. It was awesome to say the least. I coupled my burger with some skinny fries that I devoured in under five minutes. I was sad after the meal cause I did not savor it like I had originally planned. I also had planned to take half home to make a meal out of it, and that didn't work well either because the entire burger was in my stomach in twenty minutes. It was excellent and lived up to its name. I recommend it to anyone who has a burger craving, or is just a human in general and likes good food for a great price (huge, I mean giant burger and large side of fries for 13 euro).

Stomachs full and in a full food coma, we rode the bus back to campus. We got ready to go out and ended up at this club called Dicey's. It was packed. It had an inside with two bars, and then an outside courtyard as well. We took our own table in the back and just sat and talked. I am constantly amazed by the nightlife of this town. We always end up going somewhere new and vastly different from the last place. The clubs and pubs are so lavish and extravagant I can see why the prices for drinks are so high. I have made the conscious decision to not spend money on more than one drink in an effort to keep my spending on frivolous self-gifts to a minimum. Hours seemed to fly by while everyone is drinking and dancing their nights away. We left aroudn 1:30am and made what seems to be an all to familiar run to McDonalds in an attempt to calm the hungry stomachs of all my friends. What amazes me is the skyrocketing prices of fast food. A five-piece chicken select meal would run you about 5 or 6 dollars back in the states. Here, the meal costs about 10 euro. But when people are under the influence anything goes for burgers, friends and milk shakes.

The past couple days I have had the privilege to go running outside campus. The weather has been gorgeous so I used it as an opportunity to finally get off my butt and explore the suburban residences of the city. I ran for about an hour each day going different directions each time. The first day I ran down past all these gorgeous brick condominiums. What's awesome about these brick establishments is that the residents paint their doors. So each door is a different color adding character to the houses which all look the same. It's adorable and so popular here, ranging from the city center to suburban areas. The second day of running I ran to the beach. It's an amazing feeling running and to the left of you just seeing water and to the right are crowded cobblestone streets with brick homes. I just hope this weather lasts a little longer so I can explore some more.