If we didn't have bad luck, we'd have no luck at all..

Day #3: Today was our day of rest.. the past two days and nights had taken A LOT out of us.. so we slept, discussed our future travel plans and went to get food at The Porterhouse. Porterhouse is its own brewery, so we tried a few of the local brews.. and shared a sandwich (everything seems bigger in Ireland.) Needless to say, I wasn't feeling very good- so the drink and food consumption wasn't really working for me. We were scheduled to leave the next day for London, and then on to Paris for NYE but we were REALLY enjoying Ireland and the Irish and none of us had the urge to continue on. So, in Smith fashion, we cancelled our plans and made reservations at Jury's Inn near Christchurch cathedral to ring in the New Year- Dublin style.

Day #4: Woke up, packed our bags and traveled the small distance, literally less than 1km to Jury's Inn near the beautiful church. We got to our room and decided we would go out shopping for a little while to replace certain lost items; a jacket, a digital camera. We headed to the shopping district- Mary's Street which was absolutely packed. Prior to getting our shopping fix, we stopped at The Church Restaurant for a little lunch since the past few days had been one meal a day, followed by multiple beers. The Church is an amazing venue- not only is it a historical site, Mr. Guinness and his wife were married in this church, but it has two famous figures buried somewhere on the grounds. It also doubles as a nightclub and bar at night. Decent meal, good service, and we were re-energized. Off to find sales, which included a 7euro jacket for Jenn, and a new camera for 100euro at this random electric store. Literally, you flip through a catelogue, locate the item you wish to purchase, write down a number, pay for it and then your number is called and you pick up your item. There is no merchandise on the floor. Sometime during this day, Jenn started to feel really sick. So we headed back to the hotel to sleep it off.

Day #5: Through the night Jenn got really sick, so Brenda decided to take her to a pharmacy that hosted a 24hour doctor on premise. They recommended the E.R, so they took a little trip there.. turns out she had the flu and was advised not to travel. Good thing we weren't, but that solidified our decision not to continue with our trip. Thankful she was able to stay in bed, and get better.. wishful thinking for our NYE extravaganza but with the help of Jury's Inn and their accomodating staff- tea, OJ at any time of the day, directions for medicine, etc. we were able to get her up and well in only 3 days. This day was spent in bed by most of us..

Day #6: NYE, we took the day portion slow, hoping that if Jenn rested enough we'd be able to go out for a little while.. Brenda and I went out to look for soup and breakfast and found Grafton Street which is adorable area of Dublin. Lots of little cafes, cute stores, and pleasant Irish. We decided later that  night, we'd attempt to relocate this area to go out.. Jenn was still sleeping and sweating off her terrible symptoms and we all relaxed, downloaded pictures and enjoyed each others company in a small, cramped, flu infested hotel room. Let's face it, by this point, we were definitely getting on each others nerves. You can't blame the sick one for being sick, or the one that snores, for snoring.. So you chalk it up to traveling stress. That night we got ready, and dressed for NYE- went and had a delicious dinner at a Tapas bar in the Grafton area, and then headed back to the hotel to ring in the New Year. Our logic was that amateurs party on big holidays, the rest of us professionals drink the rest of the year. On a side note, I have NEVER had a kickass NYE- I always feel like there is so much pressure to have a good time, look beautiful, get drunk- and it never seems to work out that way. I'm feeling good about 2012 NYE. When we arrived back at the hotel, there were mobs of people and police officers.. apparently Christchurch outside of our hotel is responsible for ringing the bells at New Year, for the past year, into the present year.. It was so cool to see so many people from other cultures all greeting each other, wishing each other well for the New Year. It was a surreal experience to be in Dublin, Ireland- a 5 hour time difference from my family and friends in US, and a 1 hour difference from my friends in Holland and celebrating the start of 2011. Best wishes to my friends and family for a healthy, happy, prosperous 2011!