Alive in Dublin

I landed in Dublin earlier today, making it through my first two flights without being strip searched. A few initial impressions:

1) About 150 years ago, some ancestors of mine and a few dozen million other Americans left Ireland because they were dirt poor and starving to death. All this time later, I can see why: Dublin is very, very expensive. Mcdonald's value meal french fries may end up being a steady source of nutrition for me, and in the event of a potato famine I may not be able to survive here.

2) All those movies I saw growing up with rolling green fields, constant drizzle, pious Catholics and miserable people don't seem to have been set in Dublin. The people here do seem to enjoy drinking, but aside from that they seem prosperous and happy; the city (at least near my hostel) doesn't have very much greenery; and in light of recent events, the Church isn't overly popular or visibly present at the moment.

3) Traveling alone (as I am for this first leg) is fun. It would be nice to be exploring this city with my friends, as I will do for most of the trip, but there's a certain freedom and excitement to setting out by yourself. The first place I went here (after walking through Trinity College, across the street from my hostel) was the first place I saw offering a meal for under 5 euros: an actual Irish pub, where I was the youngest person by at least 10 years (25 if you don't count the bartender), could count all the other patrons on one hand, and couldn't understand a word any of them said (it might be harder to communicate with the English-speaking Irish than any other people I come across this month). I ordered a 3 euro roast beef sandwich with "stuffing" on white bread - I'm still not exactly sure what stuffing consists of - and a pint of guiness and struck up a conversation with the bartender, James, about where I should be visiting in Dublin. I spent probably 45 minutes talking with a complete stranger, and at the end he told me the coffee was on the house and to enjoy myself in the city. While it's possible he was simply stricken by my boyish good looks or American charm, I think he was just being kind to a solitary traveler in a strange place who was polite to him. Talking with him in the bar for 45 minutes might be the most authentic immersion I get on my entire trip.

Among other interesting tidbits I picked up from James: the EU is great for Ireland, but it expanded too much (in his words: "what the fuck do we have in common with Bulgaria besides we're both white? The fuck's the point?") and is facing the consequences; Dublin's fun but most of the stuff worth seeing can be done in 1-2 days, and much of the rest are tourist traps; and most intriguingly, there's a great Irish comedy festival in Kilkenny this week that's absolutely worth seeing.

Personally, I don't know what to go see. James told me the Book of Kells (which is literally across the street from my hostel) isn't that exciting and is a waste of money. I had been interested in Cork and Galway based on what some friends had said back in the U.S., but so far most Irish people I've spoken with heavily recommend Kilkenny instead. I had thought about seeing the countryside, but James said that cows are mostly the same in America and Ireland so I shouldn't waste my time looking at them.

What are your thoughts? If you've been to this island before, tell me what I should go see and do.

(Thanks to Allposters.com for the photo.)