mylifeinireland

That's right, Happy St Patrick's Day everyone! Some would say it's to late to say it, but in my opinion it is just better late then never. :) I hope you enjoyed the holiday, because sure I did. I'm going to tell you a little more about it, but first... My flight! Well, there's not really that much to tell, but it was not like ordinary flights, that I can tell. I guess some people didn't know it was St Patrick's day that day, they didn't wear anything green! At first, I was very surprised, but of course, some people just don't want to wear it, or they don't have something green at home. In my closet I actually didn't find anything green and I got a mini panic attack. Silly me, right?;) Luckily I found an ordinary deep green t-shirt in my sisters closet. Green is not my colour, but hey, I didn't want to be pinched. I was surprised how it worked with a pair of jeans, perfectly! Anyway, I got into the plane, found my seat, and the moment I was going to sit down I noticed something really weird. When I was going to check in I just saw ordinary people who didn't wear green simply things, circulating with my thoughts if it had to do something that most of the Irish people is catholic and Swedes is protestant. I guess not, some people is, but that so many people is conservative is hard to believe, just because St Patrick's Day is a part of the Irish culture to. I was so absorbed by my thoughts, that I didn't saw the whole costumed people! Head to toe, all green.


The hats looked just like the hats abowe!
While their hats, shaped like big massive shamrocks, where sticking out behind the front row seats they replayed a song, at least 10 times during the flight. And the odd thing was, nobody was reacting. Everybody just sat on their seats and were liking it. It would be wrong to tell you guys that I didn't enjoy it. I liked the song really much actually, specially when they sang “ Mush-a ring dum-a do dum-a da, wack fall the daddy-o, wack fall the daddy-o, it's whiskey in the jar!”

The song is very cozy isn't it? Love the accent!

Either way, I was surprised by the Irish people. Yes, I been very surprised before, almost with everything that has to do with Ireland and my trip over here. I guess I didn't believe that Irish people is good raised and cheerful in their way to hang with people they know, or correctly, people they don't know! :)) In Sweden it's a totally different environment, we are more shy, unlike they are! Yes, my hole festival was like that, and that made me totally in love with it. I decided it would be a good idea to have a personal guide, so I booked one (although it was VERY hard, I found one). As we arrived to the centre of Dublin, we was told to wait a hour. Luckily my guide, Paul, told me it was plenty of other things to do on St Patrick's Day. He started telling me, that they celebrate St Patrick's Day to honer the patroon, who kind of brought Christianity to Ireland. Some people don't like that the day is celebrating, because your supposed to honer the great patroon of Ireland. I was very curios to know why the shamrock is so meaningful for this day. As we walked down street and stopped by a big dance show, Paul told me that St Patrick explained the Christian Trinity to his disciples, and had the shamrock as a help because it has three blades, which is actually one. Clever, isn't it? :)

I remember how he said he would be right back, and came back with two big glasses filled with green bear and two cups, with lam stew, exactly what I wanted on this trip! Sláinte, he said, you have to have eaten a traditional St Patrick's Day meal! We ate the amazing lam stew, sat on a bench watching the dance show. They danced to The Cranberries – Zombie. It was really good, a quite modern dance, with strong messengers. The dance was really long, and it was perfect timing to the festival. We found good places and when the festival started I was totally blown away! It looked something like this, but far better, in my opinion! :

Sometimes I actually thought it was a bit scary, haha! I don't know, why, but I think the enormous dark things scared, oh no I'm sorry, wait, the things that moved! Like it was one massive all-coloured bird that had a head that was circulating. That was just creepy. :S I had never seen a parade like that in Sweden. This things that were showing here were huge, guess they worked a year on the things. I was wondering how the parade would be in the flight, and was trying to make my own pictures in the head, so I don't have to high expectations. Fortunately, they didn't. But one odd thing I became aware of after a while; Nobody was screaming as I thought they would, just like in the flight, and sometimes, like in Sweden. You scream and scream, and then when the parade starts everybody just get a little bit quiet, not much, but still enough. When I stood there in the St Patrick's Festival, with Paul beside me it hit me, like I said. Everybody was singing, screaming and all of a sudden get taken away by the beautiful art the artist made for the Festival. You could see how they struggled, and made an effort into something that means a lot to the Irish people. I could take a bite of that amazing cake many had waited for, and I was just as blown away like their were. We stood there, with are beers in our hands, the colourful festival in front of us, and good old Irish music, like 20 meters away. :D Though we didn't talk, somehow, it felt like we did.

It really was the ideal end of an incredible, marvellous day and I'm already looking forward to my next adventure... Cork, here I come!