Clublin and Publin: The First Weekend in Dubs

Last Friday night, two girls, another guy, and I headed to Spy Bar, in the Trinity College-area. This two-story club was bumping when we arrived, but a few Corona buckets later, around 1AM is when people really started pouring in. The scene there was pretty indescribable, but in a few words – the girls were gorgeous and their dresses left little to the imagination. Unlike in the states, however, they were surprisingly approachable (take a note, girls at An Tua Nua).

Saturday I went to the local grocery store, Superquinn – which was located just inside a mall-equivalent shopping center with a rather unique open-air courtyard. The food was expensive but with the sales, it wasn’t horribly overpriced. Prices for beer and spirits, on the other hand, were ridiculous. I’m fairly certain that I could snag a handle of vodka from the most expensive store in Boston, and it would still be cheaper than a liter of vodka in Ireland. Mmm… kind of regretting that I didn’t stock up at the duty free in Chicago.

Saturday night epitomized a lesson that I learned speaking to one of my friends who’d been abroad in Dublin the fall semester – go with the flow. I was a little wary when it was already 10PM and our little floor 2 group of BU people had no idea where we were going, it ended up being a grand night. We met up with several of the other students at Blackrock in the dining area and hung out for a while.

It was interesting to see just how many international students were present at Blackrock – I met several people abroad from the US, but also from France, Germany, Italy, and Denmark. The group of us, probably close to 20 or so, all took the bus to a Dublin city-center bar called Porterhouse. It was a three-story bar with a mezzanine overlooking the stage, where the band pumped live rock music all night (until we left at three).

A few of my new friends from all over the globe.

My new Parisian friend Claire and I drinking a couple Porterhouse Reds.

After a brief snack and hangout session in the kitchens (some things never change), several of us went to the seaside rock wall and hung out. It was kind of funny being the only American there, especially the random conversations I got into about how much the Chicago Bears suck (even more hilarious that “Sexy Rexy” was mentioned) and what beer people drink in the states (the Irish kids were appalled).

Ireland, and I’m guessing Europe, is very different in social stratification – in the US, although I have friends who are all ages and don’t mind hanging out with people older or younger, people are very much labeled by their class year. Particularly it’s noticeable with the drinking age being 21 – obviously you can’t go out with your freshman friends to a bar. Saturday night people ranged in age from first year to graduate student and it was simply never even mentioned.

Can’t wait to see what this weekend has in store for me!