St. Paddy's Day in Eire

It was one of those epic days that starts early in the morning and ends way too late. Glenn and I decided to watch the parade that winds through City Centre and set off an hour ahead of time to get a good view along the route. It was a beautiful sunny day. After walking the entire route through a sea of people we realized that an hour early was not nearly early enough. The city was packed with revelers with painted faces, giant hats and foam fingers (?!) and we had no chance of getting close enough to the action to see any of the parade. Everyone was wearing their green proudly - so festive! On to plan B - watching the parade on the giant screen TV at O'Neill's Pub . It was a stroke of brilliance and we saw the entire parade from beginning to end from our unobstructed perch. Of course since we were taking up prime real estate at the pub, we were obligated to have a few pints.

A note on the Dublin St. Patrick's Day parade: it doesn't make a lot of sense. There was a float with a NASA rocket, another with a mad scientist and monkeys, and yet another with what looked like a tribe of indigenous people from somewhere in the South Pacific. Not really sure what any of it had to to with Dublin or Ireland or St. Patrick. Sure was colorful and fun, though.

After the parade we headed back out into the sunlight to people watch. Things were getting a little crazy at this point. There were teams of drunk Americans and Irish alike swarming the streets. We took refuge in The Banker's Pub as it wasn't yet a mob scene.

Continuing our pub crawl, we met several of Glenn's co-workers and their partners at a cool bar called Hogan's in the middle of the bedlam. Our now larger group (we weren't a drunken team yet) moved on a beer hall - The Bull and Castle - where they were serving steins of bright green beer (yikes) and some much needed grub. I'm fairly certain that this is where Glenn sat down with a Norwegian couple (who spoke very little English) and learned a new card game.

Things started to go downhill from here. We were all chastised by the management for playing quarters at this bar and quickly moved on. Now officially a drunken team, we went to The Czech Inn in Temple Bar. A few of us peeled off to listed to a great (and so very loud) band in one room while others sat down to a game of poker. Glenn, not really into the super loud music and not willing to embarrass himself with his semi-pro poker co-workers, found his way to the room with the Foosball tables. Here he managed to loose 100 Euro on one game (I told you things were going downhill). Luckily, when Glenn went to pay up the guy let him off the hook.

The smarter folks in our group began to head home from the Czech Inn. After all it was a Tuesday and most people had to work in the morning. What did we do? We left the bar and went in search of my rugby pals. We found them at the Front Lounge just down the road. We had so much fun chatting and dancing with the girls. Glenn tried to set up some free Hurling and Gaelic Football lessons with our coach friend. They have yet to get to the park together, but Glenn is tenacious and I believe he'll get his lessons.

At about midnight, we finally headed for home, via the chip shop of course. A fantastic day and night. The next morning...not so great. Glenn finally got to work around 11:30 and managed to make it through the day but just barely.

Can't wait for next year!

More Macs in Ireland

I am such a blog slacker! It has been almost a month since Glenn's family members were here and I haven't said a word yet. Needless to say, we had a blast with Malcolm, Arlene, Alicia and Brendan. Glenn and I are so lucky that we have travelers in our families. Life in Dublin has been blessed with their visits.

Far from smooth, this trip was certainly exciting. First the bad news: Alicia arrived with a sore hip or back (I forget which). Glenn came home early from work the day after the group arrived with some sort or Irish plague which dogged him for the next month. Poor Brendie got sick, too. Alicia and I both started to come down with the cold/flu situation, but managed to fight it off somehow. I aggravated a shoulder injury at rugby practice to the point where my left arm was useless for the better part of two weeks. Arlene had a fall and ended up with a good-sized egg on her forehead just before coming down with the yucky cold. Did I leave anything out? Only Mal made it through unscathed. We were a big mess of sneezes, ice packs, pain killers and every kind of cold medicine available. Despite all that, we managed to have a great time in Ireland.

Alicia and Brendan actually took a side trip to Italy to visit with Alicia's friend, Soosie (sp?). They got to go to Soosie's parents' farm and Brendan had a blast with the farm animals and Soosie's big bulldog, Bullo. The pictures were fantastic and I can't wait to go with them next time.

The gang took a trip to the North and visited Belfast and Giant's Causeway. Glenn had to work and I stayed behind to catch up on some things at home. We all went out to various pubs and parks. We walked all around Dublin and spent some downtime watching movies (if you haven't already seen Wall-E, I highly recommend it) and snacking. We took a road trip all together to south to Kilkenny, Wexford and Enniscorthy. What beautiful country it is down there. I loved touring around aimlessly and seeing the sights.

Glenn and Brendan standing watch at Kilkenny Castle

We also visited Newgrange, a stone age passage tomb northwest of Dublin. Chris and I stopped here years ago and it was just as awe-inspiring the second time around.

Newgrange Tomb entrance

There were lots of other cool adventures, but most of you have probably heard of them already. Needless to say, Glenn and I were completely spoiled having Brendie and the rest around for so long. Once they left (and we napped for four hours), we were lonely for them. Going from the chaos of a full house to the quiet of just the two of us was a letdown. We can't wait to see everyone again soon.

February Come and Gone

I can't believe it is March already! February was a crazy month and it flew by. We were so lucky to have a gaggle of visitors for the month. First, Glenn's mom visited for two weeks. It was so wonderful having her here. She really helped me get this city figured out and was happy to walk miles and miles with me every day exploring. We are still enjoying here amazing cooking.

Our trip to Belgium with Linda was excellent. It was cold and snowy, but it didn't detract from the magical city of Bruges. We loved it. Glenn was ready to start looking for a house on one of the many canals right then and there. We took a canal tour, a two hour chocolate walking tour of the city (so cold, but so yummy and full of chocolate and city facts), toured the last working brewery in Bruges and walked all over the place. I especially loved the hot chocolate at De Proeverie Tea Room and recommend it to anyone making the trip to Bruges. It was the best I've ever had. I've been trying to recreate it at home. I'm coming close, but without a milk frother, I'm afraid I'll never quite get there. Guess we'll just have to go back to Bruges one of these days.

A note about Rayn Air: we were warned repeatedly about the terrible customer service, unreliable flights, and squished seating on the Ryan Air planes. Everyone was right. Our flight to Belgium was delayed for 7 hours with no announcements on the status. The seats were cramped. We landed in a small airport an hour from anywhere. BUT - I would fly Ryan Air again. Round trip, our flights were 20 Euro. It was easy to book, easy to check-in and, despite a very auspicious beginning, an overall convenient service. You get what you pay for, right? Hopefully our next experience will be a bit smoother. We'll remember to bring our playing cards, though. Just in case.

We were sad to see Linda go the day after we returned from Belgium. We had one day to "flip" the house and then the next visitors arrived. But that's food for another post....