Not going to lie. Spending Thanksgiving in another country, particularly the UK was just plain odd. Not only for the historical reasons, but also because it was sans family. On our flight to Ireland we discussed the things that we were missing most about Thanksgiving at home. We got lots of looks from those who don’t celebrate Thanksgiving, a couple people were nodding in agreement though.
We only spent a day and a half in Dublin before we left for Edinburgh, so we were resolved about getting the most out of it.
On Thursday our first stop was obviously Starbuck’s. Italians don’t believe in chain coffee stores. I love them (the italians), but they feel like they have the best coffee. Don’t get me wrong, they do have good coffee, but every once and a while a girl just needs a taste of home.
When we made our way to the hostel, we discovered that Vanessa, who was meeting us for our stay in Ireland, had missed her bus and would be late. Kelsey and I wiped our tears and then began our wanderings around Dublin. Erica, Kelsey and I had an awesome afternoon. We saw lots of cute little streets. The best part of the afternoon was by far finding an Irish grocery store. Erica knew that the UK had Dr. Pepper, so we were on the hunt for it. So we found a grocery store and scampered in. Sadly we did not find our fizzy drink of choice there, but we did find other goodies like Doritos and cheddar cheese, and some chip Erica had in England and really liked. We also saw other things that Italy does not have that sent us into squeals of delight. There was BBQ sauce, real brown sugar, gallons of milk, and cranberry juice!!!! Italy is really dropping the ball by not having these things.
On our way back to our hostel we found a convenience store type thing that had Dr. Pepper for Erica. As an added bonus they even had root beer AND Reese’s peanut butter cups. The man at the register laughed at us. Realizing that he spoke English (WHAT?!?!) we were able to explain why we were so ecstatic. He smiled and laughed and told us to enjoy.
Back at the hostel we unwrapped our block of cheese and and passed it around our little circle. I must say, after months of white cheese (though delicious) it was really nice to be able have cheddar cheese.
In the middle of our cheese/chip feasting the door knob jiggled. Kelsey and I both jumped up (expecting it to be Vanessa) in preparation of the worlds biggest hug. We were right, and the three of us soon became entangled in a massive hug (Erica was still feasting on the cheese like a very cute gerbil).
After our mini reunion we decided we should eat a real meal, not just chips and cheese. So we went to a restaurant that we found in our wanderings. It was a cute little Irish pub and we all (sans Vanessa the vegetarian) ordered fish and chips. Best fish and chips that I have ever had. They were crispy and tasty, and the french fries all salty and delicious dipped in catsup.
Since we knew that Ireland was known for its live music we wandered until we found a place that we liked (ie. the music sounded good from the street) and grabbed a table. The place that we decided on had a guy on a guitar doing covers for popular music. Much to our delight (mainly Erica and I) he looked exactly like a young Collin Firth.
Overall it was a good Thanksgiving. It was filled with fun, good food, and friends. The only thing it lacked was family. Although who knows if there would have been space at the table, I heard my spot was stolen AND someone else helped my mom cook. I feel as though I have been replaced.
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