Dublin, Part 1

I'm very fond of Dublin already. There are lots of colorful, lacquered doors and colorful, lacquered pubs. There is music everywhere--some Irish music in the pubs, a lot of good-looking young men playing guitar and soulfully singing KFOG's playlist. One guy in a horse head and Super Mario overalls playing video game themes on a keyboard.

And it rains here! Brilliant.

Day 1

We arrived in Dublin late Tuesday morning, and were at our apartment by 1 o'clock. We're at StayCity apartments, sort of a corporate housing deal, and it's sparse. But fine! We actually have a great view, WiFi, and cable TV, and we're a block from the Liffey, just across the Ha'penney Bridge from Temple Bar.

Our view

Simon expounded on the need for all of us to stay awake until bedtime, and the kids and I took a two-hour nap anyway, because unlike Simon, none of the rest of us can sleep sitting up on the plane.

We ate Italian food that night, which was ridiculous, but close. We slept like stones until about 3:30 a.m., at which point Amelia and I had some warm milk and looked at maps for an hour until we could fall asleep again.

Day 2

The double-decker, hop-on-hop-off bus was fantastic, and I plan to do one every time I'm in a new city. You get an overview of everything, and then when you don't have time to visit it all, at least you've seen it. 

Here we are on the bus. I saw this picture and said, "I'm a lot better looking in my head," to which Simon replied, "That's a GREAT picture of you!" And now I feel bad about myself. (The correct answer, of course, is "That's just a bad picture--you look MUCH better in person.")

Henry and Meghan on the bus

We only ended up hopping off at St. Stephan's Green. After much prodding, the kids finally decided they were not actually too cool for the playground, and then it took forever for us to get them out of there. Then we ate lunch at Starbucks. To be fair, we stopped in for bathrooms and a cup of coffee, and then realized while in line that we hadn't had lunch. But still, Starbucks? We are really the worst possible tourists. 

We had planned to see the jail (the gaol), but tours were sold out by the time we got there. This is what happens when you don't leave the apartment until noon.

That night we met Simon's colleague Will and his family in Temple Bar for drinks and dinner.There was actually some confusion because Simon thought he said THE Temple Bar, so we went there for a pint and wondered where they were. 

Happy Meghan, sad Henry at The Temple Bar

The Temple Bar was awesome, and there was a duo playing/singing traditional Irish ballads, and a few young women singing along tearfully throughout the bar. I even let the kids get a Coca-Cola. (The caffeine came back to haunt us at bedtime. Note to self: never again with the Coke.)

In spite of the soda, the kids HATED The Temple Bar. Henry's eyes started welling with tears even before our drinks arrived. "It's too loud!" he wailed (to which Simon replied, "If it's too loud, you're too old," and that was not at all helpful).

So I sat in the Temple Bar alone, while Simon took the noise-sensitive children outside, because you can drink on the sidewalk, too.

Finally, Will and this wife and three kids arrived, and not only were his children dressed nattily in collared shirts and seersucker shorts, while Henry and Amelia were in jam-stained T-shirts, but immediately after introductions, Amelia turned to Henry and loudly proclaimed, "I'm going to punch you in the balls!" Everything they've heard about American children was proved true within 30 seconds of meeting.

Fortunately, Hugo, Will's youngest, threw much of his banana split on the floor during dessert, so that made me feel better.

Did I mention that Claire, Will's wife, is a doctor? So it was just an evening of inferiority all the way around.