How I Celebrated my 24th Birthday!

Well, my birthday came and went.

This new year is off to a great start!

I celebrated my birthday in style over this past weekend with a three-way birthday party! Two other girls in my program- Alyssa and Anni.

We started off with a casual get-together with a few of our close friends in the program before moving the celebrations to a club in Shoreditch. 

Birthday Girls 

It was a great time celebrating with friends from both within and out of the MPA program!

First Year Buddy

Brett and Me

These Kids

And on Monday- my actual birthday- I was prepping for the final capstone presentation. Yet, I got to grab a pint with Alyssa and Susannah at London's oldest Irish pub! 

It was an awesome way to ring in my birthday!

Father- Daughter Eurotrip: Day Five

The truth is...I spend a lot of time in Dublin. It has only been a little over a month since I was here last.

Trinity College

Dad and I had a fairly early flight out of Heathrow on Friday to the Emerald Isle. Once we landed, we learned that all pubs were closed on Friday due to it being Good Friday. That also limited a lot of the tourism activities that we could. Yet, that did not stop us! 

Once we checked into our hotel, we headed down to St. Stephen's Green and Grafton Street. We decided to spend some time looking around Trinity College and the surrounding area before ending up at St. Patrick's Cathedral. I stayed at Trinity College in 2010 when I was on the ten day course through Syracuse! Ah memories!

In Dublin's Fair City...

Dad and Molly Malone

We were lucky to get inside St. Patrick's Cathedral before they closed down for Easter Services. I had not been inside since 2010, so I was excited to see the progress they had made at restoring parts of it.

Dad and me inside St. Patrick's Cathedral

St. Patrick's Cathedral

Before we stopped for an afternoon snack, we stopped at Christ Church Cathedral.

Christ Church Cathedral

And, finally, I can officially say that I've eaten at the Queen of Tarts. It's been on my list to try in Dublin for quite some time, but it has always been too busy to get a table. It was a bit chilly outside on Friday despite the sunshine, so we were glad we could warm up with some tea.

Before we headed back to the hotel, we strolled through Temple Bar. Since everything was closed, we did end up dining at the hotel. Yet, it may have been best as we had a fairly early day on Saturday!

Dad at the famous Temple Bar!

Ringing in 23!

I turned 23 today!

It's hard to believe where a year goes and what happens in just a short period of time. The last year has been incredible, and I cannot wait to see what happens this year. 

For now, I leave you with some photos of my birthday celebration from last night!

Oh, and Happy St. Patrick's Day too!