& She's back!
My apologies for not being able to post for a few days. I had my trip to Dublin, and then upon returning, I went straight home to Riverside to celebrate the birthday of my dear friend. Check her out! Her website, Instagram, Facebook, and Etsy shop are here! She's one of the sweetest, most genuinely caring people I've met in Riverside, and she just turned 21 :) If you are reading this, please go shoot her a happy birthday!
Here are some photos of my trips, because pictures are worth a thousand words :)
Anyhow, the girls and I went on a Girls' Night Out, and this was my outfit:
Pardon my funny face, I don't know how to take non-awkward selfies, even if it's through a mirror, haha. If you follow me on Instagram, you probably saw a sneak-peek of it on my Instagram, haha. We had a lot of fun just walking around. We had gotten to our rooms and had a little nap... but little did we know that Saturdays in Ireland closes down everything except pubs, clubs, and bars by 7pm. We got food, and everything was closed :( But here are some snapshots of our walk!
I know I've mentioned before that I love the architecture and greenery of UK (and kind of Europe in general). I loved the eerie feel of the first picture. It's one of the few pictures I got that night because it felt increasingly more dangerous as the day wore on... but more on that later.
I actually really love the picture of the brick wall, and I'm not really sure why... there's just something so beautiful about the rugged, aged look it has that draws me to it. Plus, the trees just beyond it makes me happy. I like trees. And plants. Hehe.
The last picture is of such a stunning building. Though it's currently undergoing repairs, it stands so majestically near the city center, and I couldn't help but be captivated by it. Not shown in the picture is a gilded clock that chimes every hour. It truly is a wonderful site, and I wish I can go back to take a picture of it post-reparations.
I completely fell in love with colour palette and florals of Dublin. Look how pretty the houses are!
Unfortunately, there is also an un-pretty side of Dublin. As I mentioned before, it got increasingly dangerous as the night went on. We went on the day of a huge soccer game between Dublin and Mayo, which happened right across from our hotel.
While that was really cool to be a part of, it was not cool that after the game, the streets became filled with drunkards. Literally, everyone was drinking, and I had a glass bottle thrown at me (by accident, because... drunk). Since we were in Ireland, we had thought to find a bar to drink a little and go dancing. Little did we know that we would meet a strange, un-gentlemanly guy who brought us to a dimly lit, sweaty, and unlively bar that we didn't enjoy very much. I don't drink very often, so I thought getting a beer would be safe. Nope, I was tipsy after just a few sips, and I ended my drinking there. As we walked back to our hotel, we were astonished by the amount of people crowded outside of bars, drinking and laughing, and obnoxiously hitting on girls. During the day, it had been fairly okay (and even ideal) to j-walk. However, we were scared of drunk drivers once the night settled in, and we honestly did not have much fun.
But all in all, I am really glad I got to explore Dublin :) Without this job, I would never have the opportunity to travel half as much as I do, now. I hadn't gotten any trips in September, unfortunately, but it was a great time of rest: to explore, and eventually move into my new place. I hope October brings more travel, but regardless of where God does or does not take me this month, I had one heck of a time in Dublin, just getting to hang out with the girls and get to know a couple of my coworkers better :)
And of course, it was my dear Coco(nut)'s birthday, so I flew straight after my trip back from Ireland to Los Angeles for my "weekend", where my friends Joyce and Brian picked me up.
They're such sweet friends. We got hotpot, and then headed over to Riverside to surprise Coco, who had no idea I was coming back to Socal! She will kill me for posting photos of her, so here's the fail cake I got her instead:
And I got to stay over for a couple days and grab sushi with her and a few others :) I am seriously getting old; I was the weakest link. I got full so fast, and I used to be the champion at eating a lot, hahaha. But regardless, I'm glad that I got to spend time with my dear Coco on her birthday. There is not much better than good fellowship with dear brothers and sisters, and being able to see them grow up.
I hope you all had a great weekend <3
I'll talk to you all soon! Have a great week :)
<3 Sharon