Lost in City Centre

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April 20, 2018

It came to be Friday morning, which meant that I had to be completely responsible for myself and how I got to the office. And to be quite honest, I woke up just fine on my own, had breakfast, and took a nice walk to the tram station to hop on. What's most important here is trying to remember on which side of the tram railway that you're supposed to be on to go in the direction that you want. Fortunately, if you're paying attention, you'll see the sign that updates the times of the tram and what their next destination is.

Friday was honestly a pretty easy day, but it was topped off when Niall (another trainer over me and the second most recent addition to the company) took me to go get an Irish sim card so that I didn't have to suffer without a phone, and kindly bought me a milkshake. My excitement peaked that day because I ordered the most delicious chocolate shake with a Kinder Bueno bar mixed into it. I definitely did not have my inhaler on me at that moment, but that shake would've been worth dying for (obviously didn't die of an asthma attack). Niall and I did a lot of talking and getting to know each other more. It was nice to be able to just sit outside and soak in the sun without having to be in the office setting. I was pleased to find out that his oldest step-daughter is just as obsessed, if not more, with makeup than I am. It was fun to be able to help him pick out an eyeshadow palette that he planned on buying for her while he was doing demos in the states (we end up deciding on the Tarteist Pro Palette from Tarte). I've learned that Niall is probably my strongest ally until I become closer with the employees that are my age (you wouldn't think it, but I can be shy sometimes in brand new environments). With about an hour left, we went back to work and I organized how I would spend the rest of my day.

As I left work, I decided that I would return to the mall that Niall took me to to get my phone in Tallaght (pronounced "Tal-ah"). I was still in need of a few things to survived, and there was a Flying Tiger Copenhagen store that had the things I needed (in the cutest versions at that) for suuuuuuper cheap. Can I add that picking up over-the-counter drugs here is also an inexpensive shopping experience in Ireland? Despite having a blast in the mall, I decided that I would travel into City Centre. City Centre is known as the center of Dublin and is known as the most popular area to shop and go out. I knew that this would be the ideal area to check out the Penney's and other local stores such as Lush Cosmetics. No spending money, Teddi, but you can look.


Riding into City Centre was probably the longest tram ride that I have experienced yet in Ireland, but I met a really friendly couple who were also from the states! FOR ONE MOMENT, I was not completely alone. I never learned their names, but the wife was so sweet and talkative the entire ride there. During our conversation, I learned that the husband worked for American Airlines and that they had traveled nearly everywhere together, and that New Zealand was their next trip. Once the husband retires, they are going to be traveling 99% of their time, which is cool as hell that a couple gets to spend the rest of their lives together around the world. That's all I would want anyway. After an hour on the tram, we made it to our final destination at the Jervis stop in City Centre. I quickly found the Penney's thanks to Google Maps. My dear, Penney's is a wonderland for anyone who steps in, mainly meant for the millennial and Gen Z demographics. However, you could find a lot of things here ranging from hair care to luggage and clothing to snacks. It was so hard to keep myself restrained, but I only walked away with a perfume that was only one euro. Departing Penney's, I decided to walk all around City Centre. Although I didn't get anything to eat, I was able to see the Dublin Parliament House (and you know I can't wait to get in there as a guest and watch the whole process), and it was such a gorgeous building. I'll get pictures when I visit again, but trust me when I say it was a dream to witness the beauty. Near the Parliament House was Templebar, which is an extremely popular area to party, especially for tourists.



To my own surprise, I ended up getting lost trying to find my way back to back to the Jervis stop and asked so many damn people if I was in the right direction or not. Thirty minutes, three people, and two tram stops later, I was able to find the correct stop to be able to get back to my hotel. Luckily, I met a young woman who had gravitated towards me as a group of drunk men started coming near us. Shockingly, I never got her name either, but she kindly reassured me that I was where I needed to get on for the next tram and entertained conversation along the way. Thankful as hell for her, I was able to get back to my room without a hitch.


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