Ireland -
I was thinking about Ireland today because it's been raining on and off all day and everything has turned a vivid green, all the piazzas seeming to shimmer. Everything is absolutely green in Ireland. It is one place where the grass is actually greener. Which is why people associate green with the Irish, it's not actually their national color (which is blue). Everything is green because they get more rain than England. One of my tour guides told us that last may it rained the whole month, every single day! Luckily for me it didn't rain the three days I was there.
I stayed in the city center of Dublin on O'Connell St. at "The Bunkhouse" which was a pretty nice hostel, even though we were in the 15 person room. Served the best breakfast, we had a fried egg, beans, ham, two kinds of sausage and toast and tea. Super good, much better than the breakfast in Paris...but that's another story.
It was so strange to just hop on a plane and an hour later be in Ireland. Once we stashed our bags at the hostel we went to the Guinness Storehouse. Which was worth it. I'm glad I bought my ticket online though cause the line was ridiculous. The Storehouse is shaped like a pint of Guinness and it's a self guided tour up to the top where the "Gravity Bar" where you can get a free pint. It was really neat to see how it was invented, how it's brewed and learn how to taste and pour a pint.
Pouring my own pint was my favorite part! I got a certificate and everything! It makes me want to have Guinness on tap at my house... but Guinness is the national drink of Ireland. You get off the plane and you get a pint of Guinness. Just like in London, you get an umbrella and in Paris you get a baguette. Not really, but you might as well. . .
We went to a pub and got some grub I had a chicken and stuffing sandwich which tasted like Thanksgiving, and mushroom soup and tea. Irish tea is different than English tea, and I almost prefer it. It has a more full bodied less astringent taste, and sweeter. The boys had beer with lunch but since I'd already had a pint of Guinness before noon I stuck with tea.
Nick and I bummed around the Temple Bar district which was a pretty friendly atmosphere. Though we did turn a corner and see some guy getting arrested. He was way drunk but was manging to throw off two Guardia. The Guardia officers were beating him with batons (they don't carry guns in Ireland) and then two more Guardia showed up and joined into the fray. That's when we decided to make ourselves scarce, we didn't want to be too near four people wielding clubs... But the music and performers were really fun to watch and we stopped into a pub called the "Vat" that served whiskey. I did have a whiskey on the rocks. And I liked it. Sipped it's a nice cool and smooth and it's fun to swirl your ice around in the glass (to get it to melt and dilute the whiskey)!
On Saturday Nick and I took a bus tour out to the Wicklow Mountains, the garden of Ireland. If you ever go to a new country make sure to take a trip to the countryside. Because that's where you see the soul of the place, the major cities are usually a world unto themselves. Ireland is in the biting winds of Wicklow Gap, the clear iridescent blues of the lakes, and the endless billowing seas of green grasses.
Well, I will continue recounting Ireland tomorrow, for now I have a paper about frescoes to write...
Ciao!
