Other things I've been up to

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While drinking pints and wandering around lost have been two of my top pasttimes while in Dublin this trip, there's been quite a lot else going on as well. More than anything else, I've spent a lot of quality time at home and in the city with Lynnsie, Cara, and Donal, as well as with Kiri and Brian. I have to say, it is quite a pleasure to have a real home to go to every night-actually, two homes-I've been splitting my time between Lynns's and Kiri's. It makes a foreign country a lot less foreign, and I'm sooo thankful to them. Plus, there's nothing like catching up with people you've known your whole life. On days when sight-seeing doesn't work out, it's a great excuse to shrug and say, well, now I get to spend more time with people I love- getting to see what their daily lives are like, and meet the people they spend time with. Truly a win-win tourist situation.

Since eating goes along swimmingly with quality time, I've had the pleasure of dining in a host of my hosts' favorite restaurants, and trying out some new ones as well. I have to admit that, in coming to Ireland, I was expecting to eat a largely meat and potato based diet. To my surprise, Dublin's restaurant scene is cosmopolitan, with everything from delicious vegetarian and organic restaurants to Thai, Italian, Mexican and a slew of others. In fact, I have yet to even have a chance to try some traditional Irish stew- something I plan to remedy before I leave. The most Irish thing I've eaten has probably been fish and chips (which happened to also be the most flavorless meal I've had). The two fanciest meals have been Thai, and were worth every Euro. I have to admit though that, even with all the fancy and sumptuous meals I've had, my favorite is still the fresh baked petite baguettes I've bought for breakfast day after day- and the croissant I indulged in one morning. You can find fresh baked bread and pastries in every mini-mart and cafe here, which is something we in the States just don't value enough to do apparently. We are definitely missing out.

While I had high intentions of getting up early every day this week to do a frenzy of sight-seeing, I've actually only gotten in about 3 half days- chalk that up to the realization that this is supposed to be vacation- not tourist boot camp. And besides, the more I don't see this time just leaves me that much more of a reason to come back and explore again. Most of the sites I've seen have been museums- the Irish Writer's Museum, the James Joyce Center, the National Gallery (lots of Renaissance period art, some modern art, and Irish artists- most impressive really was the building itself- it looks like a palatial mansion, but from its construction in the mid-1800s was always intended to be an art gallery), a traditional Georgian house, redecorated and furnished with the everyday accoutrement of a 1800's typical wealthy family, and the Chester Beatty Library, which houses some 35,000 original manuscripts that span centuries and continents, including ancient Korans, Japanese scrolls, Turkish verses, and even Leonardo DaVinci's work. All in all, I'd say it's been a fairly art and literature heavy tourist experience- maybe next time I'll make it to the churches and castles.

As I mentioned before, there's also been a wee bit of drinking involved. For starters, I went to the Guinness Brewery. The first time I went, I didn't have the Dublin Pass (a discount card that allows you to pay a really low price to get admission to most the citie's sights), so I decided to hold off and return when I had the pass. The second time I went, I made it through about half of the 6 floors that take you methodically through the process of making Guinness, and give history about most every aspect of the place before I had to head to the top and collect my free pint of Guinness and be on my way to meet Kiri. The third time I went (I discovered that I could go there for free every day that my Dublin Pass remained valid) I took Brian along with me since he happened to have the week off of work. We made it through most of the exhibit, but got hungry (we went before eating breakfast or lunch), and so headed to the top to enjoy another free pint of Guinness in the glass encased bar at the top that gives an impressive panaramic view of Dublin. Brian mentioned what an amazing venue the bar would make for a party, and after we finished and grabbed a cab to avoid the torrential downpour, our crotchety Irish cabby informed us that the place could actually be rented for 4,500 Euro a night- guess I won't be throwing a bday parties there anytime soon. Probably the quirkiest fact about the factory is that Arthur Guinness signed a 9,000 year lease for the land- think he must have realized his beer would be popular. The tour takes place in what is actually the defunct brewery, as the more technologically advanced brewery is located across the street now. As Brian pointed out, rather than let the enormous brewery go to rot, they shrewdly converted it into a cash cow of a guide to the history and process behind the making of Ireland's favorite brew- with cafes and loads of merchandise to boot. I'd say that, for a dedicated Guinness fan, it would be easy to pass 4 or even 5 hours milling about the place (or more if you stopped for a pint or two at the 5th floor before heading to the top).

There was also the literary pub crawl, which was highly entertaining, with two professional actors performing snippets of plays and spouting off obscure but fascinating information about Joyce, Wilde, Beckett (and possibly more, though I can't recall) at every new place they shepharded us. Regretably for Kiri and I, who shared a bottle of wine over dinner before even beginning the pub crawl, much of what they shared with us was lost in the noisy din of the Guinness, Bulmers (fantastic cider drink), and Jameson that filled our heads in the 5 bars we visited, and by morning all that remained was a hazy recollection of the facts they shared. Good thing I had taken on the Writer's Museum in a sober state.

A couple of days we slated to head out toward the sea to a town called Dalkey, but between lack of sleep (Cara is cute, but typically wakes Lynns up 2-4 times throughout the night- I'm obviously not on baby alert, as I sleep soundly through the night) and the (not surprising) inclement weather, that hasn't transpired yet. Rain or shine, I'm headed on Monday for a three day journey around Southern Ireland with a company called Paddywagon Tours. From what Kiri says, besides the scenic sights and tourist stops, it is rather like a cross-county pub crawl, with the drivers taking the group to local pubs that are off the beaten track at regular intervals. Should be a hoot.

Today Lynnsie and Donal took me along with them to visit his parents and sister (who is weeks away from popping out a cousin for Cara), and then to a barbecue at the house of a childhood friend of Donal's, Phil. The sun decided to shine it's brightest for the entire afternoon, which was quite a treat for these Dubliners. It was a great to while away the sunny afternoon chatting and laughing, but I have to say that it did make me a bit nostalgic for home.The house was filled with lots of Donal's friends, and also Phil's parents, and, visiting from Brooklyn, Phil's sister, niece, and nephew. You know you're officially grown up when there's babies and 3-year-olds at a friend's barbecue.

On that note, I can't say enough about how cute little Cara Cat is- all long legs and endearing smiles (pictures soon to come for family at home). It never fails to amaze me how a baby's littlest smile can capture your heart in an instant. She's as sweet a baby as you could ask for, with her cute button nose and fluffy hair that hasn't fully grown in yet. She's a bit on the serious side, and has spent many a car trip pensively and unblinkingly contemplating me with her bright blue eyes. That said, I find myself doing the goofiest things to make the little leprechaun smile. And just in the last few days she's begun to laugh for the first time as Donal holds her high in the air and swoops her down for a kiss. The day I arrived she got a new toy- a bouncer that hangs from the door frame. She LOVES to bounce, and joyfully bounds up and down, spinning her bouncer while cooing delightedly. it's about the cutest thing I've ever seen in my life. I say she's a shoe in for Irish dancing.

Off to bed now- tomorrow will be filled with either a trip to the beautiful Wicklow Mountains (and a spa that happens to be there) or, if the rain decides to pour, another day of delving into Dublin's many historical delights.

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