It's MY island...

I have landed in Dublin, Ireland. This country is probably mostly known for its rolling green countryside, amazing seacliffs, and general beauty of the land. Ya, well I didn't get to see any of that. Mostly because I just stayed in Dublin the entire time. And had a blast doing it. I did see the greenness from the plane though. Nice.

Ended up staying with Katie's step-brother, Sean and his partner Annette. Both really cool people and very lay back. There was an Italian girl staying with them too, so it was like I was staying in a very exclusive hostel. I was a bit tenative about staying with them, seeing as I really didn't know them. But it all turned out for the best. We got along fine, and you know what? Turns out Sean likes beer too. Who would have thunk it? But as much as he likes beer, he loves Whiskey even more. He took great pride in showing me his collection which was not just for looking. He let me sample them as well. A couple of times, into the wee hours of the morning, as we had long annalytical discussions about the world. How he put up with me, I will never know. Nice man.

They both took the time to show me around Dublin and hung out with me. Very curteous of them. The weather was not as bad as I had imagined and allowed for outings just about every night.

Also got to meet their friends, niether of whom are Irish. But that was ok, because there's one thing about Ireland that you might not be aware of... there are lots of Irish. And boy do they talk fast. Whew! I thought Spanish people that you piss off at a train station talked rapidly. Well they have got nothing on the Irish. Everybuddy think green for a second. "Aye, shur itbe trrue. Bit all ye havtoodoo is tik a quik lissen, and dyel befine... " And hearts, moons, clovers to you too.

Gotta share this one with you. I had a map of Dublin in me pocket for help gett'n around. Well, on that map, there is a place called Temple Bar. I had read about it and lots of Irelands' more famous peoples, like James Joyce, would hang out there. Also people had told me to definately visit there. So it really sounded like the place to be in Dublin. Plus, IT'S A BAR. Right, well I walked all over the city. Never saw it. Went along the river, which is where it is, and never saw it. Asked someone and got directions, and never saw it. On my map just looking at the area that this bar takes up, its about a 3block area. How could I have missed it? I mean I know I can be dense sometimes, but come on.

So I was out and about when Sean and Annette texted me and told me to meet them at the Palace Bar. They gave me the address and told me it was at one end of,... you guessed it... Temple Bar. Great! Well I just happened to find the street and walked along it looking for either one of these places, when I found the Palace Bar I was quite happy with myself and felt reassured that my powers of direction were not thrown off by being on this cold island. So later I mentioned my ordeal to Sean and he quickly informed me that although there is an actual Temple Bar, the area denoted on my map was just that; an area. Not a 3block sized bar. Ohhhhh. So that big yellow trapazoid on my map is just a collection of bars, resturants and places to hang out called The Temple Bar? Gottit. Then we all had a good laugh at my expense. Nothing Im not used to. So if any of you are thinking of going to Dublin, let it be known, that those Irish are tricky with their maps and quick speak. But serious about their Guinness.

By the way, a proper Guinness takes around 4 minutes to pour. You might be asking yourself, "How can this be?" I counted. BRILLIANT!

Till next time all you crazy kids. Hey does anyone know why 'Czech' is spelled with a Z in there? Probably the same reason 'know' is spelled with a K; I guess.

Euroguz out!
comment away all you blog bashers.

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