Last class day in Dublin

Today started off with our class meeting in the morning.  Our purpose today was to have each group talk about what each learned during their time working for the various companies.  Leadership was the talking point, but we also were each able to speak a little bit about the work projects too.  This really forced me to think critically about some of my takeaways and it was great to hear what everyone else had learned.  It was clear we all came away with many valuable lessons.  I had three main takeaways that I shared with everyone and will share here as well.  First lesson, when you are considering a new product for a company or if you are a new company working on your first product, you have to do your due diligence in your market research.  Which leads into my second takeaway, and that is when you come up with a result that the product does not fit into the market the way you thought, you have to address it.  Even though it is hard to admit that the product won't fit into the market place the way you wanted, it is better to find out when you are doing the market analysis before you get even further invested into developing it and waisting your time and money.  And finally, no matter how cool of an idea you think you have, if it does not solve a problem that will make people want to buy it, it does not matter.  You can't make money off sommething that does not fit into the market place.  In terms of leadership, I learned how to make things work as a team when there is no clearly defined leader.  Although it is probably better to have a clear leader, sometimes you can join together and work through obstacles as a team and rely on each other.

The second part of the day we visited the NDRC, which is effectively a launch pad for entrepreneurship start ups in Ireland.  They were very receptive to us and had 4 different entrepreneurs present to us their proposals that they had already pitched the week prior.  They all had pitched to try to get further funding and it was interesting to hear them talk about their different business ideas.  I was a little surprised to see how much money each of them were asking for to fund the business.  I thought about if I was an investor if I would give any of them money for their businesses, and I only would have given one of them any money out of the 4.  Simply because I did not believe some of them had a great enough idea or business model to truly be successful.  I believe this is a result of so much government funding going on in Ireland for start ups.

After our time at NDRC we had a good dinner together at this restaurant called the Porterhouse.  It was good to celebrate the conclusion of our class and adventure in this fashion, all together one last time in Ireland.  We have a presentation to give on the 16th of June back in Colorado and then we are done with the course!

The Final Product

The final day of the project is here!  After working so late last night, we all agreed to get up and get started an hour earlier today.  Our group anticipated the need for the extra time, and it was a good thing too as we certainly needed it.  All our laser focus is on delivering a valuable presentation for our company and we want it to be the best possible presentation.  As we made our big push to deliver our presentation we discovered some new things at the last minute that required some adjustment in our recommendations.  After all this research we had done, we had to come to some tough conclusions and decide what kinds of recommendations we would make.  What we finally came up with was not easy news to deliver.  Our client had certain ideas and expectations that did not fit with our market analysis.  This market analysis was pretty in depth into the different sports market arena where there are some big players with hundreds of millions of dollars invested into the broadcasting rights.  Presenting these findings in much further detail helped us as we made the tough recommendations on how to proceed.  Our news was not all bad or gloom mind you, but it was still hard to shoot down some of the original premise for what our clients wishes were in terms of their product.  We were able to recommend and come up with some other good ways to move forward for them.  I watched the faces of our clients intently as we presented as well as observed the body language.  Right away I could see the discomfort grow as our presentation proceeded.  But at the end of the presentation there was I believe relief from both us as presenters and for our clients.  They now know what they are up against and have some solid information, and we have completed our tasks.  Not without some battle scars though.  Our clients offered feedback on our project and how we performed.  We delivered what they wanted and needed, but there were some speed bumps we could have avoided.  At the start of our project, we needed a team leader.  I don't believe this is always going to be the case in a small group of 3, but it would have helped us tremendously based on our team dynamics.  The other thing we could have done better was to have clear objectives for what we would have completed by the end of each day.  This would have helped us avoid some of the rabbit trails we fixated on sometimes during the project.  In perspective, we learned so much from this marketing analysis and consulting that our final takeaways will carry each team member forward to better things in my humble opinion.

After finishing the presentation we all changed and went out to dinner with our clients.  They took us to a very nice restaurant and enjoyed each others company while being able to leave the work behind for the evening.  We also were able to gain perspectives on leadership throughout the dinner as we needed this piece for when we will get back to Denver to present on leadership soon.  All said and done, a good day and good food!  At the end of dinner, Andrew and I both ordered a shot of espresso that was fantastic.  The manager of the restaurant was able to tell me all about the roaster they get their coffee from which was very interesting to me.  It is a local micro roaster in Dublin that does only small batch roasting and sees the art in coffee.  They are called Cloud Picker and I have looked them up to find out more about them.  Very interesting stuff!

Grinding On

Today seemed completely nuts.  Being so close to the end of the project with so much time invested already, we have to avoid running in circles.  It's easy to get caught up in the more broad picture.  Between all the team members and after today we easily have over 84 hours invested into this project.  Our group is passionate about being able to deliver a solid product to our company and feel a huge level of pressure.  But the focus is there, and after a 12 hour day with little in the way of breaks we are getting our "laser focus" back in gear.  When I say little in the way of breaks, I mean we stopped at the store to get some things to make up some dinner, and then it was back in front of the computers drilling away again.  Anna made some pasta and I made some Thai green curry chicken with veggies.  Both were delicious and helped refuel us to keep working hard now that we are back at the apartment.  This is real life, whether we are in Dublin or not, some work days require a lot more hours.  This is certainly not the first time I have put in more than 12 hours of work in a day, haha!  But in a weird way I love the grind too.  Mind you it is not something I want out of everyday, but a good long work day that produces results can be rewarding.  This blog post might be the most raw of them all in its fluid and straight forward nature.  I am trying to re-capture the moments and fluid thoughts as they come right now, so I am not even going back to edit this post.  This day had its ups and downs for sure.  There were moments I wanted to crawl under the desk and lay down to try to get the room to stop spinning.  So much information overload and trying to match information into usable things to drive us in the right direction and keep focused can be one of the biggest challenges to overcome.  One thing pointed out by Bevan that would be helpful would be to have a project leader for our team, even with 3 of us it can be hard when someone cannot fully take the reigns and say this is the direction we are going.  Yet we have managed all the same and with all the head spins we have come out on the other side.  The key is to not get frustrated when you cannot see the light at the end of the tunnel.  So many times we get glimpses and then it will disappear again.  Every time it disappeared today I tried to get us back on track to where we could see it again.  Each of us contributed to this end in reality.  I am grateful that each member of my team has so much to contribute, as this is hard enough.  Without their contributions none of this would be close to where it is at.  After the end of the day today, I feel like that light at the end of the tunnel is a little brighter.  I will be saying my prayers tonight that we can contribute value to our company.  My advice to anyone who goes on this trip to Ireland would be to push through the head spins.  Work through it and don't let it stop your progress.  I know that the value of this experience is beyond measure and that each of us will come away from this with better business sense.  Pictured below is the dinner cooking after our run home in the rain.  This is the grind, because right after this dinner we made it was back to work.

Cliffs of Moher

Today was amazing!  We woke up early at the B&B we stayed at and had a nice breakfast that our host made for us.  Getting a good breakfast helped get a nice start to our morning.  I love coffee so much and she made us coffee using a French press that was so tasty!  We left the B&B and caught a tour bus out to the Cliffs of Moher where we were able to see one of the most picturesque scenes I have ever seen.  Most of today was filled with a lot of sitting and travel back from Galway.  But the Cliffs were so worth seeing!  I am exhausted again after all the travel we have been doing.  Everything in life worth some time seems to require at least some effort.  With little leadership insight and mostly time spent in public transportation, I will make this post short and sign off.  I'll try to post more new good stuff tomorrow night!

Galway adventures

Today was another very long travel day.  Spent time this morning traveling back to Dublin via bus.  We arrived back on the UCD campus and got settled right into our rooms.  Then 4 of us packed up a small bag and headed out on the road again.  We made our way into town on a bus so that we could catch a train to a town called Galway.  All the transferring around all day on different modes of transportation was a little crazy, but we made it to Galway without any scratches.  It was worth all the extra effort and I am grateful that these guys made this side trip up for us.  There are four of us on this little excursion and we are staying at a very cool little Bed & Breakfast right on the coast.  As I type up this blog in this very quant room with all of us working on our blogs I can see the ocean from the windows.  For dinner we went into town and explored the main downtown area.  We ended up at a great Italian restaurant called Cooke's and had a great meal.  My starter that I had was a delicious seafood chowder, followed by chicken and potatoes.  All of it was very flavorful, and after dinner we stopped at Gino's for some Italian gelato.  Gelato seems to be a theme for us no matter where we are at in Ireland.  We all seem to really love it!  Now that we are back at the B&B it is nice to sit back and relax.  I am ready to take some R&R and actually do just a little internal reflection time.  Gotta recharge my batteries a little bit.  Our internet is very, very slow, so my pictures for this post might be a little bit later.  Slán go fóill!

Fish of Knowledge

Today was a tour and then free time after the tour.  This means a little less to report and more pictures for everyones enjoyment to view!  Our tour consisted of seeing all the sites on both sides of the peace walls.  There are war type murals on both sides, the pro-Ireland and the pro-British sides have murals that include the flags of each.  Also, there was a very cool castle that I really wanted to take a look at the inside of, but the tour bus only stops there for a few minutes so that was a no go.  Still cool to see the outside and the beautiful scenery (pictured below).  This castle area is very close to where they also film one of my favorite current running shows Game of Thrones.  So cool!  The afternoon has been kinda chill and just what I needed.  We had a good lunch, then came back and have been chilling at the hotel.  Beven and I also went for a run, and it was so nice to get a good solid work out in.  Second workout of the trip for both of us and glad to have a workout friend while I am here.  This next week we plan on hitting the gym more consistently.  Also, we have committed ourselves to getting in shape when we get back to the states and plan to stay in touch to see how we both progress.  The goal for us both is to get a six pack.  I am really going to have to work on what I eat and drink.  I want to look good for when I get married soon!  So when I get back, I am cutting back on drinking big time.  One time a month I will have a "cheat" day for drinking alcohol.  Food cheat days will be Sunday and will be limited.  Gotta get those abs!  Before and after pics and a blog will be done on it (I already have the before pics).

In the evening we went to dinner at the mall area and had really good pizza.  After this we hit the pubs for some drinks.  I was really excited to find Staropramen at the bar.  It is a really good Czech beer and I snapped some photos there too.  We also met some awesome Irish people at the bar that we were able to chat with for awhile.  Good times!

The Fish of Knowledge.  Legend has it that when you kiss the fish of knowledge that you absorb its knowledge.  I also decided to take it for a ride!

Didn't notice this until after jumping up on the fish...whoops!

Belfast

We traveled to Northern Ireland today, the city of Belfast.  This post is a little late in getting up, but better late than never!  I have tried to write this blog several times and keep getting interrupted.  Here it is finally!  The day started early in the am with a bus ride from Dublin to Belfast.  It didn't seem to take too long and when we arrived our agenda was ready to go.  Our fearless leader Jan has had this trip well organized and planned out.  Our first order of business was to see the dry dock where the Titanic was created.  This dry dock and legend left behind of the Titanic is quite impressive!  We didn't get a lot of time to explore the dry dock and I believe it is something worth checking out for anyone who ever has the chance.

After this we had several entrepreneurial speakers lined up to present to our class, one of whom has been a big game changer for Ireland.  He helped bring in and was a key influencer in making Ireland a hub for the fiber optics.  The other speakers were of outstanding as well.  But in the spirit of making things fresh and new, I have some bullet points of what I think are important take aways from the different presentations.  These take aways relate to both being an effective leader and also relate to being an entrepreneur.

• Be a life long learner and be a life long learner of Leadership
• Continue to reshape yourself as a leader intentionally.  Listen, Learn, then lead.  Rinse and repeat.
• Find people you can lean on and can deeply trust.  Those who will remind you of who you are and what you are capable of.
• Discipline requires a constant effort.  And every aspect of life requires good discipline.  Our human nature goes naturally against discipline and fights it every inch of the way.  Yet, whether it is having the discipline to work out, eat healthy, or be a good leader, it always requires of us to have discipline in each and every aspect of our lives.  If you really want to have effective change in a particular area of your life, you have to force yourself into the mode of being disciplined to make it happen.
• In the beginning! - A nugget of an idea becomes a product and eventfully a business
• No one ever seems to raise enough money.  The takeaway - always seek to raise more money.  Do it early, do it often, and raise more than you think you need.
• Fail Early and Fail Often
• “I have not failed, I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.”
• Pour energy ONLY into building “the best customer experience” you can
• The first 10 hires will make or break your business - Its okay to say no
• A CEO is NOT a glamorous position - no friends and you must be first to go home at the office party
• Business Consultant usually have only ever studied the history of running a business - do not let them over influence your own judgement
• Do not let work come between you and your health.  Exercise and leave work at the office

The last part of the day was great too.  We went to a local Irish Restaurant and Pub for dinner.  The food was great, and I loved the Burger I tried there.  They do burgers right here for sure, but certainly tastes a lot different from the burgers we have back home!  We had a band that jived there, and the only way to describe it is with video and pictures.  Enjoy! :)

The jiving band as I like to call them. Just a family get together at the pub to jam out!

Below, our brewskis

These pictures are posted up on the walls and I think depict some interesting traits about Northern Ireland and the things they have been through. But don't let my words overpower these very powerful photos.

Below is dessert. A traditional Irish toffee caramel one with vanilla ice cream...sooooo good!!

Our second stop

Work day #2

So another work day down.  It was a long work day for our group today.  We had our ups and downs today with the type of work we are doing.  This is to be expected in helping such an early start up try to vet through some of the different issues.  With each road block our team handled each moment really well, and although at times all our heads would feel like they are spinning out of control it seemed to me like we would always break through it and end up better on the other side.  As we continue to work hard for our client there is a big motivating factor to deliver a great presentation for them at the end.  Not just that though, we want something tangible and usable for them.  Each member of the team brings their own talent and abilities to this project so the value is there for sure.  From my team members I am certainly learning so many things!  And also we all are getting so much hands on, real world experience that cannot be replicated in the classroom.  This is why I am here in Ireland on this trip.  To learn and to learn in this environment.  I chose this trip for this very reason, and I am humbled to be apart of all of this and more.  I could not have possibly asked for more.

After a long work day, over half the group met up for dinner.  It was a good evening and very enjoyable.  I am really appreciating all the great food here and the many great restaurants Dublin has to offer.  Dublin has many if not more great restaurants when compared with Denver.  Not much else to report and we are getting up at 6 am so time to sign off for the day!  Ciao!

Work day #1

Some learning points from our first work day!

Providing good leadership means providing clarity to your team.
A good leader is able to anticipate change and to guide the team to make those changes.
Hiring can be key to providing the company the right future direction.

Also, I've been meaning to mention the poem IF by Rudyard Kipling.  It is worth checking out.

Our first working day we spent about half the day learning about our company and clarifying a lot of different things.  The second part of the day we spent doing some key research and getting our presentation together so that we can remain on the right track.  Tomorrow we will need to spend a lot more time diving into the things we are now engaged in as well.  Can't talk about too much with the company, but I can tell you that we are doing some good work!  Super excited to get more of a go at it tomorrow and also my whole team is very energized by what we are doing.  Our group dynamics are amazing and I am feeling very blessed to have a group that syncs together so well.

The second part of the day after work was good too.  Bevan and I also got a workout in at the gym, felt good to hit the weights after all the beer and bad eating I've been doing (not that I haven't enjoyed it!)  The food and beer here is phenomenal!  But Bevan and I have made a pact that in the next three months we are going to both get fit.  So that will be a fun way for us to stay in touch after the trip is over.  Even though we worked out, we had some good eats and treats tonight, totally worth it!  Check out the menu and pictures below.  Tomorrow should be another good work day and I can't wait for day 2 with our company!  Cheers!

Leadership and self reflection

One of the reasons I chose this trip was because of the educational aspects it offered. Some of the other study abroad trips didn't seem to offer the best solutions to my educational aspirations. Already this trip has exceded my expectations in this department and we haven't even started working yet! The work that we will be doing I am confident will teach me a lot and I'm excited to get going on it. One thing I hope to gain from the actual work we will be doig is hands on international experience. Also I am glad that it will offer some hands on experience in entrepreneurship! One thing Jan has been pushing us towards is effectual leadership. So it's at this moment that I want to take the time to talk about my goals and reflect a little bit on how I think I can become a better leader and where I'm headed in my future.

The first thing I have latched onto is love. I have always had a love for people and my career path/goals since I started in the Navy right after high school has been geared towards helping people out of my love and passion to help them. So this concept was easy to grab onto when we've talked about it and seen it in our readings. And in the context we talk about it, to think about love as being an intrigual part of how to be a good leader just makes perfect sense to me.

As I continue to grow in my leadership capabilities, the other thing I am constantly reminded of is what kind if legacy I want to leave behind. And not just in any one area of life either, but in all aspects. So as I pursue a career in international business and marketing, I want to be ever more mindful that I need to not only develop myself, but also help mentor and be mentored as well.

A very smart Senior Chief in the Navy once told me that he is always trying to work himself out of a job. And also that he relentlessly pursues to take on the type of duties that the people above him have, so that he will already be prepared for the next mission. We heard something similar in one of the presentations yesterday and this is an approach I would like to remember to use in my career. I have used it once before when I was coaching a masters swim team.

That's my thoughts for the day on leadership and the pursuit of leaving behind a legacy I can be proud of when God calls me home someday.

Irish Parliament

The second part of the day we spent at the Irish Parliament. We were unable to take pictures inside but it was cool to check it out! We saw first hand how their parliament is similar to ours in the U.S. and also how it is different. They had some design and architectural detail inside that mirrors some of what we have in the U.S. parliament and White House. They also have a flag posted up inside that was given to them by JFK a few months before he died. It was from the civil war and was from a New York regiment composed primarily of men from Irish decent. The symbols and the flag were very Irish, and you could tell they were quite proud of it. And also they were certainly proud of the Irish men who served well in a tough time in U.S. history. Posted below are pictures from this part of the day (outside of course)

After our visit, Bevan and I did a little walking around and shopping.

Department of foreign affairs and trade Visit

The dept. is located in the Iveagh House near the city center. It was first purchased in 1736 for 250 pounds. It has gone under several redesigns inside and is a very beautiful building both inside and out. It was donated to the State by the Guinness family in 1939. The room where we met for the day was in what's known as the music room (pictured below with our speaker and Jan). The rich history involved here is very cool and I enjoyed seeing this building as well as having the opportunity to spend time with our speaker today. This opportunity was also amazing in the fact that not many people are granted this kind of access to the department or the house. No normal Ireland citizens are allowed in, and no tourists are allowed in either. We were granted access because of our affiliation as business students.

We learned a lot today from visiting the dept. here in Ireland. Many interesting things as to how the dept. is involved in business and the promotion of not just Ireland, but creating pathways for Ireland's future in the world market place. Here are my main takeaways from what Ireland is doing to build a better and more sustainable future:

- They play a crucial role in supporting the government's trade and tourism and investment strategies

- The embassy plays a large role in coordination priority market plans

- They are networking constantly and building this network to bring in support for Ireland through investment and promoting the Irish culture as well as promoting a flourishing business market in Ireland and through key partnerships across their targeted market

Also I learned so much about how the dept. is engaged on every level in it's role to promote this better future through things like media, promotion of food and the like to be influential. Our speaker touched on all areas.

The road to recovery has been a big focus for this dept. to promote to the rest of the world and to assure the world that they are on the right track. This has led to more investment in Ireland and attracting new business to Ireland.  Also learned that 72% of investment coming in from the US to Ireland is coming from California. St. Patricks Day has played a large role in how the dept. also targets themselves into promoting Ireland and the culture they offer.

I also asked two questions that led me to understand and come up with some key takeaways in both networking and then the role of networking and leadership paired together. Both these main points are things I want to incorporate in how I will work towards building better networking and leadership skills.

Networking requires 3 key things:

1. Be good at listening, use your two ears more than your one mouth

2. Target the people you need to know

3. Get out there and actually meet them!

Networking and leadership

1. Make networking a priority and get yourself to the right places

2. Get your people there too, you need your people on the ground making the connections

3. Make sure you are at the events and even possibly making promotional events

This short meeting was my favorite learning part of our trip so far and I'm glad I have the blog going to not only share it, but also to have this record of it now to remind myself of it.

Time to get to work!

Today we got started into work mode!  We checked out of our hotel and headed for the University College of Dublin..aka UCD.  Funny how my university shares the same initials with them.  We had 4 speakers today.  All of these speakers were leaders in business here in Ireland.  Our first speaker was Andrew Parish whom my team and I will be working with on his new start up.  My two teammates Bevan and Anna are fantastic and I know we are all excited to get started soon!  The company is exciting and the dynamic of our small team should be really good.  Both my teammates are very talented and have a lot of good ideas already!  Also, both were very engaged with the speakers and the things being shared I could see a lot of maturity from both of them.  Although I think after lunch we were all having that afternoon slump where we were in need of all the caffeine possible, haha!  The main thing I learned from Andrew was that the CEO is a singular position, and it can be pretty lonely if you are not careful as the CEO.  The other big take away for me was that Attitude is great than education (Attitude>Education).  He had other great points, but these were two leadership qualities and honest points I found really helpful.

The other speakers were great too and I had many take aways.  But the other biggest lesson I learned today that I have heard before, but I have forgotten was the TSP.  Be...Timely, Specific, and Personal.  This is a great way to reward people when you genuinely see something done well.  It doesn't even have to be from your employees, you can give this feedback to someone serving you at a restaurant or in others normal life situations that warrant it as well.

The last part of the day Bevan and I spent time figuring out the campus, getting dinner and some laundry done.  We are chillaxing now in the common area of our 6 person dorm we will call home for a few days.  Posted below is the view from our common area window overlooking Dublin.  It has been good getting to know Bevan for sure, and we share a good camaraderie on many levels.  Truly blessed to be making such great friends on this trip.  Honestly, I like everyone on this trip and hope that I can stay in touch with all 15 members of the group.

Looking forward to posting some more good stuff soon!  Ciao!

Strolling around on campus at UCD earlier in the day 😝

Ireland 2.0

Day 2 festivities.

Today was our second day here and another free day.  This morning we went to Howth and had a great morning checking out the scenery there.  We spent time on the water and then checked out a local Catholic church.  We might a cute couple there that had been together for over 45 years, and they had toured much of the U.S.  They gave us some really good tips and insights.  It was inspiring to be in their presence and hear some of what they had to say.  We then caught a quick bite to eat, I had a delicious open faced crab sandwich.  All the food was so fresh and we really found out how cool of a wharf Howth is and also its quite beautiful there.

To sum up the afternoon, we came back into town and purchased our tickets for the soccer match this afternoon.  The match didn't start until 6, so we came back and had some time to kill before going back to the stadium.  I found a cool cafe and had a great cup of cappuccino in the afternoon and also did a little shopping for some necessities.  The game was so much fun and the stadium is very impressive.  I really enjoyed the stadium and the atmosphere.  Alas, I would recommend that anyone visiting Ireland should try to attend a soccer match and I hope to do it again soon!  The one different thing about attending a game in Ireland, you cannot take a beer you buy in stadium to your seat.  Very different from the U.S. where they not only let you, but also try to sell it to you with vendors that walk up and down the stairs.  Although I don't miss the vendors much!  After the game we all went and had some authentic Italian Gelato, my fav!  I couldn't help myself and went for two scoops, one flavor was a berry cheesecake and the other was white nutella.  Now I am back at the hotel after all this typing away and getting ready for what tomorrow holds!

Arrival and some Guiness

Okay, so I started writing this post last night while sitting propped up in bed....and I fell asleep while typing, haha, wow!  So here is the finished version....

Late last night I arrived in Dublin after an amazing trip in Paris and Venice.  Not without some more travel trouble of course!  Without going into too much detail about that,  I will say that I will NEVER again fly on Ryanair or any other similar airlines.  So they are part of the reason I had to sit in an airport for over 12 hours yesterday and then catch such a late flight.  All is well now that I am in Dublin though!  But before I start chatting about Dublin, a few thoughts I will share with you now about my time in Europe so far.

Firstly, this is not my first time in Europe.  In fact, prior to this trip I had been to 16 countries already.  I am happy to report that my total is now at 18!  Woohoo!  Paris and Venice were both awesome cities and both were also very romantic places for my girlfriend and I to spend time together.  We met up in Paris and this is part of the reason for the panic with trying to connect on my flight out of D.C.  We both felt that we enjoyed Venice a little bit more than Paris, but both cities have so much to offer in their own unique ways that it is hard to compare the two.  Another reason we both might be feeling a little more drawn towards Italy could be the fact that we just got engaged there!!  Yes indeed, I am now engaged with the love of my life Irina and couldn't be any happier!  But while that is not the point of this blog, I do plan on posting some updates, pictures, and thoughts about all of this experience.  We got engaged on a gondola just past the famous Rialto bridge in Venice.  Then we had a nice evening dinner...it was super romantic and an incredible evening neither of us will ever forget.

We started off the day with a visit to the famous Kilmainham Gaol prison museum and learned about its great importance in Ireland history and some of the politics that were involved in this historic place.  It reminded me of the struggles the U.S. endured for its independence.  The scars that still exist from these struggles are an important lesson for not just Ireland, but mankind.  The photos posted here show a brief picture of what I saw there, but words cannot explain the somberness I felt from this place.  I feel strangely connected and tied into this when I consider the connections our U.S. history has to Europe and independence forged by my forefathers in many wars.  Since I have recently found out that I have Irish in me from my Grandfather on my moms side, I am interested in learning more about Irish history and the struggles of those in my bloodlines from this side of my family.  I also want to learn more Irish history now and I am feeling a strong connection with Ireland now that I am here that I cannot explain.

After the tour, I was separated from my group and then because I knew we were headed towards the Guinness brewery I made my way there.  It was another awesome tour and I learned some new things about the brewing process and what makes Guinness unique.  It is a very tasty beer and I had a blast with my new group/friends checking it all out.  We enjoyed some of the food as well and it was some very good local flavors.  I also purchased a Guinness long sleeve shirt...guess I got caught up in the fun!

After the tour we had a group dinner that included everyone again, and this organized dinner was a three course meal.  It was so good and I was impressed that they had gluten free items on their menu. I take notice of this thing because my mom has to eat gluten free, and she would have really enjoyed this spot.  It is hard for her to travel to Europe and I can't wait to pass along to her that Ireland is a great place to visit and she can enjoy being here without worrying as much about food.  After dinner we visited a bar called the International bar and watched a fûtball match they were showing there as we sat around and chatted.  What a great day and great fun with new found friends.  Then I came home and crashed as I wrote this blog, hence the post today.  So now I am caught up and ready to keep sharing this amazing experience with all that care to read about this trip!

Ireland 1.0

Can't believe I am here and already on my second day in country! Time is already flying by! I tried to type up a post for this blog last night but after a long day of touring around and also some great food with beer for dinner I fell asleep while typing! Haha! I'll be posting more details about my time in Paris and Venice when I am back in front of my laptop. But let's now get caught up on yesterday and then I'll post again about today! Right now as I type this some of my group and I are sitting in a cool little seafood lunch spot on a peninsula in a city called Howth.

Yesterday we started with a tour of the jail in Dublin. We learned so much history there! Then we went to the Guinness brewery. Dinner was fantastic too and the people in Ireland are awesome to chat with! Today we are at this fisherman's wharf area, all very cool! After this I think we are going to a soccer match and I can't wait to check that out! More to follow soon!

Serving up some brewskis of Guinness!

Dinner time!