Ireland! Fiddle dee dee, Potato!

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Arriving in Dublin, Ireland with no sleep was then not condusive to catching the correct airport bus...but after 2 or 3 misadventures, missed bus stops and a very exhausted walk, I arrived at my hostel and put my bags away. A few calls home to various friends and family were in order and afterwards I went out to explore the local streets. In typical Irish fashion it began to rain, and as I had not brought my umbrella and was famished, I ducked into the first place I cold find that didn't look like a rowdy pub. Turned out it had great traditional music, even better soup and soda bread, lovely hot tea and free wifi (and a cute and attentive waiter). So having checked all the boxes for a great place to have lunch, I emailed Mal, the Irishman I had met last year on my trip to Vietnam to see if we could catch up for a drink as he was studying in Dublin on the weekends. Luckily he was nearby and could decifer my bad directions so 10mins later he turned up to have a chat over tea!

Afterwards he offered to show me around town so I could get my bearings before he had to catch a bus back to Galway. Over the bridge of the Liffy (Dublin's River) we headed into town to see the giant millenium spire which was actually completed after the millenium (can't rush the Irish!) it also has a few nicknames (as all non-serious monuments/statues in Ireland do). Stiffy by the Liffy, The Spike, The Binge Syringe, The Stiletto in the Ghetto, The Nail in the Pale, The Pin in the Bin, The Erection in the Intersection and The Rod to God, just to name a few. Mal had a giggle at me exlaming at how large the sea gulls are too so I had to get a photo of me with a giant gull.

We wandered into the university grounds to see some beautiful old buildings and then off to the local park, which had a horse drawn cart! It was the first time I had seen one in Europe and luckily Mal was happy to play photographer for me. The gardens were full of people and families and Mal and I reminised about our farming adventures in Australia. He had been a jackeroo on a farm out in Western Queensland for a year before we met in Vietnam and had plenty of stories about adventures 'out bush'. The following story is by far my favourite, although I may later be in trouble for telling it...

We had been swapping stories on dangerous animals we had come across in our Aussie travels and had discussed snakes, spiders, crocodiles....etc. Then Mal told me that one night on the farm he had gone out when it was really dark, into the bush to do something and heard something creeping up behind him. He was alone and not too close to the farm house so he started to worry as the rustling noises were getting closer. Mal said he was in a panic (artistic licence used here) that it might be one of Australia's most dangerous birds, a kookaburra!!! "Those things can chase you for miles and kill you with their feet!" At this point I started asking about the size of the ferocious 'kookaburra', Mal told me it was HUGE! At least human height, with a long neck, blue head and clawed feet. After disolving into fits of the giggles, I told him he might have meant a CASSUARY, rather than the tiny, cute oversized kingfisher bird called a kookaburra. In truth I had already said more than a few stupid things, and had a few major blonde moments on this day, due to (hopefully) lack of sleep, so it was nice to not only be the one making a slight error! :-) Definately one of my fav memories Mal! Please don't kill me for sharing it!

We headed off then for the town centre and Mal showed me the shops (he must know me well!) 15 minutes were happily spent listening to an amazing busking group who were rocking out some awesome Irish tunes, especially the flute player, before Mal left for the bus and I found my way back to my hostel via a tapas bar for dinner. Definately a great first impression of Dublin!

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