So Many Animals!!

Since April it has been warmer here in Dublin. This sudden change in the weather inspired me and my friends to venture out in Dublin. We decided to go to Phoenix park (which happens to be the largest enclosed park in Europe!) for a picnic. We decided that this monument would be a great place to eat, so we climbed the slanted steps to the top. From the top we could see people playing football all over the park while we ate our lunches.


After lunch, a few of us decided to go to the Dublin zoo. This was a lot of fun! We saw an adorable baby orangutan that I fell in love with! We also saw a baby elephant which was beyond cute! The zoo was really huge. It had a whole African safari where there were rhinos, hippos, giraffes, zebras, ostriches, and plenty of other animals! The chimp exhibit was really cool too, it was outside on an island in a pond that had little tree houses and fun things to swing on! I really loved the penguin park of the zoo and there was even a petting zoo in it which had ponies, bunnies, cows, dogs, cats and so many other animals that I never thought I'd see at a zoo!

My friend Ali and I spotted a gorgeous flowering tree by the Red Panda exhibit. I thought this tree would be the perfect tree to pose under if I was going to prom and even though neither of us were going to the prom, we decided to take a picture underneath anyway!

Later, when we were in the petting zoo we spotted this wishing chair! I was very excited about it, so I wasted no time getting to the wishing chair and making a wish! It was a lot of fun!! I especially liked the painted sheep on the background!

After the zoo, I had a few friends over for dinner at my apartment. We managed to cook chicken, stuffing and mashed potatoes. I was really impressed with our meal, especially considering I did a good portion of the cooking and it still came out edible!

The next day, my friends Colleen, Tara & I went to church in the city center. The church was gorgeous, but I have to admit, the service was not all that impressive. After church, we had heard about some event in Dublin involving horses, so obviously we were very interested! We took a walk down Henry St all the way to the Old Jameson Distillery when we saw hundreds of horses in a square! It turns out this was a horse selling/trading event that happens the first sunday of every month! I cannot even explain how much I loved it! There were horses of all shapes and sizes! I met one man who had a lovely red horse! He asked me if I liked his horse and I told him I loved it. He then told me I could have her and take her home to New York with me! We ended up talking to the man a while and he even let me hold onto his horses reigns. It turns out his horse was named Peggy. He had brought 5 horses to sell that day and had already sold 3 by 11am! Peggy, he told us, was his most expensive horse and would easily sell for 2500 euro, but I could have her for free! He told us all about the trading and selling. I really enjoyed talking to him and learning about horses and the farming suburbs of Dublin. I especially liked petting Peggy!

Lately it's been very busy here on the DCU campus as next week is the last week of school! I've been writing a lot of papers and studying my fair share. I am very excited for the last week of classes! I am even more excited for my 20th birthday which is occurring on the 26th!! Also, my friends Ali, Hillary and I are taking a trip to Barcelona and Alghero from April 28th-May5th as a bit of a break before studying for exams! I'm really excited to see Spain and Sardegna. I have never been to either place, so it should be loads of fun!

As always, I hope everyone is doing well! I'll be home in a little over a month!! See you soon!