Tony in Ireland.

Tony came to Ireland the Friday after Thanksgiving. The poor kid didn't know he had to endure a whole day of travelling and then a whole day of walking around Dublin with me. Ha.

Hey, check it out, Tony's in Ireland!

It was nice to have my brother in Ireland, we have loads of fun together. And we did have loads of fun together. These are all the pictures I have from my camera, we took a bunch in Dun Laoighire, but they were all on Tony's camera. Thanks to Mom I have a new fabulous camera that I'm very excited about. Thanks Mom! So this is what I did with my brother.

Friday:
Tony came into Dublin and made friends with someone who we didn't see again. After a long bus ride home we dropped off his stuff and set out for the day. Our first destination was the Guinness Storehouse for a tour of how they make beer. After walking to a wall with a sign that said "Guinness" we continued to walk along that wall until Tony realized the storehouse was up a few blocks. I thought Tony needed a walk anyway.

Ireland had suggestive advertising.

Tony found where they keep the fifth ingredient to Guinness, Aurthur Guinness.

Here's to drinking early in the day!

Tony found this sign really amusing.

After Guinness we had lunch at the Brazen Head pub, what is claimed to be the oldest pub in Dublin. It was also recommended by Dave King, so we had to go. It was delicious. Then we went to the Jameson Distillery and learned about how whiskey was made. Very interesting. I became an official Irish whiskey taster and also learned that I prefer Paddy to Jameson. The things you learn abroad!

I'm official!

After drinking throughout the day Tony was tired. So we took a nap for awhile and then cooked dinner. I decided to become a master chef this weekend for Tony and Friday night we had chicken curry and rice. De-lish! But very spicey. That night we went to the student bar for a few drinks and then Jessica and Steve came it. It was a late but very chill night.

Saturday & Sunday:
See blog below.

Monday:
I had class for most of the day and decided to let Tony to sleep for a bit. A bit turned out to be until 1 o'clock. I made him pancakes and pushed him out the door. That'll be the last time I send someone into a strange city and tell them to have fun. Poor Tony wandered all around Dublin. Thankfully he made it home and we made dinner of delicious pasta and sausage. That was another quiet night as well considering I had a final in Irish history on Wednesday.

Tony and his sausage necklace. Isn't he cute?

Tuesday:
Tony and I had a nice lie in and then went out for the day. We explored the shops of Dublin looking for a pea coat for Tony. Unfortunately they either lacked the right size or buttons. So we bought a sweater and a hat instead. It was wonderful. After that we made our way to Dun Laoighire to wander around the bay. We walked out on the break water, towards the lighthouse, and got some sweet views of Dublin Bay. Tony conspired with the Irish Sea and told me to go touch the sea, when really he knew the sea was going to attack me. I had one wet foot for the rest of the trip.

After our excursion to the bay we went back to UCD where Pete made us a delicious dinner and we got our drink on. This is because it was Tony's last night and we had to give him a good ole' Irish farewell. We met up with some of my roommates and friends at Doyle's and took up residence for the night. Good times were had and we tried Baby Guinnesses for the first time. Delish! My first ever fancy shot. At bar close we made our way home and Tony made friends with some bushes outside my apartement.

Tony made friends with the swans in the UCD lake.

Tony made friends with Hannah.

Tony drank all the Guinness and didn't make friends with Jordan.

The next day we got up and got ready for the day. I took Tony to the bus stop where I would give him his delightful send off back to jolly old Duluth. He made it to the airport ok, but not exactly Duluth. Silly weather. I then took to studying for my 3 hour written final for Irish history. What a long time to write! My hand was dying.

I'm very happy that my brother got to see Ireland, especially more than just Dublin. He's good fun to hang out with, and I wish he would visit me more. One of the best things about being here is that visiting me is a good excuse to go to a country people have never been. So thank you all (Mom, Dad, Tony, Steve, and Jessica) who have visited me!