With my hands, I give you my heart, crowned with love.

This past weekend was a blast because it was Jahna’s twenty-first birthday on Saturday so we did lots of celebrating!!

I should begin though by talking about Saturday morning where I went and got another tattoo… yes, that makes three for those counting.

My new tattoo!

I got the clauddaugh symbol on the back of my neck (something I’ve been wanting for a long time!) And what better place to get it than in Ireland!? Originally I was going to put my grand-dad’s initials in the middle of the heart but unfortunately I would have had to make the tattoo much bigger than I wanted so I scratched that idea.

Kelsie and Lindsay had been talking all summer about getting a tattoo so I told them I’d go with and get one also. I didn’t talk about it much throughout the summer though because I was set on what I was getting and where I was getting it. (Where as they talked non-stop about it trying to decide where to put it and what to get.) So I think they were actually a little surprised when I actually got mine since I didn’t talk about it much but that’s only because I was so sure about it.

I kept joking with them all summer that I’d be the only one to leave the tattoo parlor with a tattoo… and I was. lol. They both backed out when they couldn’t decide exactly what they wanted, which I guess is the best thing to do. With something as permanent as a tattoo you sort of have to be sure about it! Lol (Oh and the neck, definitely hurt worse than my wrist or ankle for those wondering. But still, it wasn’t too bad considering.)

A couple different people had told me that tattoos in Ireland are expensive (like everything else here I suppose) so I was trying to decide what my spending limit would be. I decided I would go up to 120 euro (about $170), which I’ll admit was still probably way too much but oh well. That’s what the guy at the tattoo place told me it would be so I figured I would splurge (I’m only in Ireland for this whole summer once, right?). But when I went to pay he only charged me 80 euro (about $110) so it really wasn’t much more than I probably would’ve paid in the states. And now I can say I got it in Ireland! hehe

Anyway Saturday night we went out for Jahna’s birthday and ate at this great Lebanese Restaurant, since she’s Lebanese herself.

Jahna and her brother, Saade, on Jahna's 21st!

Her brother, Saade, flew in on Thursday so it was nice that he got to celebrate with her. Our dinner lasted about three hours (typical for a traditional Lebanese meal according to Jahna) and it was all really good!

Jahna had been in the restaurant once before so they knew her there and knew it was her birthday. We asked for the check but still hadn’t gotten it after a while.

Jahna being surprised on her 21st birthday by yet more delicious treats from the waiter... and 'Happy Birthday' over the restaurant loud speakers! haha

That’s because the waiters came out and surprised Jahna with a great dessert platter that we all shared! Then a little while after that they came out with another dessert platter of all ice cream where they also played ‘Happy Birthday’ over the loudspeakers in both English and Lebanese… Jahna was pretty embarrassed but it was great! Finally they came out a third time with some Persian coffee for Jahna. So an hour after asking, we finally got the check but at least we understood why it took so long… and we got lots of free goodies out of it!

At the Lebanese restaurant for Jahna's 21st birthday!

After dinner we wound up going to the thai restaurant I went to for Rory’s birthday on Thursday. Jahna knew the owners there (she really is one of those girls that makes friends everywhere she goes, I love it!) and so we went to have a few drinks at their bar. We each ordered a couple cocktails that were delicious! And what made them even more delicious was that they were on the house! Considering they were 10 euro (nearly $15!) cocktails we saved quite a bit! Lol We ended the night at the Palace Bar, one of Jahna’s favorite pubs in the city. Jahna knows all the bartenders there really well (of course!) so we stayed past closing and had some drinks.

Sunday was one of the final games for Gaelic Football so we went back to the Palace Bar to watch the Dubs play during the afternoon. (We won of course!) Before that though Jahna and I stopped off at Cassidy’s (another favorite pub) and watched the first half of the game while we had some lunch, which was a lot of fun.

After the game Jahna, Meghan, and I walked around the city for a bit while we waited for Saade to meet up with us (he went rock climbing at one of the local colleges for the day). We grabbed some dinner and then headed back to Palace Bar to finish off our night. I got tired pretty early though so Saade and I headed back to campus around 1a before everyone else. Considering I had work this morning I didn’t want to stay out too late and make it too brutal of a day (all in all work wasn’t too bad though!).

This weekend was actually probably one of my favorites of the trip! Obviously it was great finally getting the tattoo I’ve wanted for so long but I also just had a really great time for Jahna’s birthday. Sitting down for such a nice meal was a lot of fun too and Sunday was a blast. Next weekend we head to Paris, which I’m sure will be amazing as well! Then the weekend after that I’m home… how crazy is that?!

written by

kmr788 on July 13, 2009 from Dublin, Ireland

from the travel blog: Dublin, Ireland

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