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Discovering Dublin

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  Safe to say, today was very eventful. We were awoken by the extremely relaxing sound of a fire alarm, caused by some burnt toast. Downstairs awaited a vast variety of breakfast treats ranging from fruit to (unburnt) toast and sausage rolls (to feed 10,000!)  We then prepared ourselves for a thrilling boat ride, with Tour Guide Gerry, Skipper Tony and Driver Mark. We spent 45 minutes traversing the river Liffey, learning about Dublin’s history, architecture and 21 bridges. We were infuriated to hear that only one of them was named after a woman- Rosie Hackett, an inspiring (4 foot 11) Trade Union Leader. After that, we ventured out into the streets of Dublin to grab our lunch, with some choosing to taste Dublin’ finest cuisine, and others going to McDonald’s for lunch a few people also enjoyed bolognaise back at the hostel.   We had a brief break, before the fun resumed, and we embarked on a mystery scavenger trail around the city. We had to find a range of statues, buildings, plaques
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Oh we do like to be beside the seaside !

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Today started with breakfast. On the menu were fresh sausage rolls, salami, ham and fruits along with cereals and toast. It went down well with everyone and we all enjoyed a feast. After we were all ready, we met at the just after scheduled time of 10:20. We swiftly put all 27 tickets through the machine and got on a DART train to Bray.  The journey took around 30 minutes but it went quickly with all of our friends around us to chat to. When we arrived, we chilled out on the beach admiring the view. A cub leader named Orlaigh came to join us. We gathered to listen to what she does in her meetings and the differences and the similarities between ours and hers. She left promptly afterward (hopefully we didn't scare her off too much!) . The tranquil waters calmed us and consumed our thoughts.  Some of us braved the cold and went for a paddle! The freezing water formed calm but powerful waves that brushed against our feet.   The scorching sun beamed down onto us. Looking into the dista
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The adventure begins

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Tired.   Cold.   Bewildered.  T hese aren't always how adventures start but what can you expect at 4:30 am in the morning in the church car park?! We started the morning off with the one-and-a-half-hour coach drive with Greg as our driver, arriving at Terminal 5 at Heathrow airport just in time for check-in. After all the security checks, we finally managed to get on board the plane and have breakfast. We were all delighted when we finally arrived at Dublin after a very short flight.  However, we were still very tired and many of the guides and rangers fell asleep on the bus journey to the hostel. After arriving, and putting away our bags, we started the task of finding a place to eat lunch. We split into different groups going in different directions. Most of us were splitting into groups with the people we were bunking with. Whilst wandering around in our group of 5, we discovered a Subway; our previous plan had been to find our way to the McDonalds that we had seen coming back
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