I have started and stopped this post three or four times now. How do you sum up the kind of trip I just had, speak to the quality of the people I met and experiences I enjoyed, convey the warmth and generosity of an island full of people and not sound like some gushy schoolgirl? I've tried and I can't. So here it is. I'm going to wrap up the Ireland posts by simply saying; go. Buy a ticket, make some plans (but not too many) and just go. There are wonderful things to see, wonderful people to meet and wonderful times to be had. Go. Please.
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| That'd be "pulp" to you and me |
Signage is a never ending source of amusement when you're traveling abroad. Even when you're in an English speaking country, there will be some dialectic differences that have you scratching your head from time to time. "Orange Juice with Bits" is pretty self-explanatory and "bits" sounds so much more appetizing than "pulp".
"To Let" means "For Rent". Every time I saw this sign I thought it said "toilet".
Driving on the "wrong" side of the road presents obvious challenges to us across-the-ponders, but crossing the street on foot has its own set of ingrained habits with which to kill you. Evidently Dubliners got tired of picking foreigners up off the street and installed the "Walking for Dummies" verbiage in the crosswalks.
I joke, but it is HARD to overcome the decades old habit of looking one way as you step off the curb. My friend The Professor told me to revert to what I was taught as a small child. "Look both ways." Word.
I committed one tactical error while in Dublin. I only had one day to see the city and I wandered into this museum called "Dublinia" that told the story of the city from it's Viking roots up until the Anglo-Normans took over, a span of roughly three hundred years. I ended up spending three hours there and missed seeing the Book of Kells at Trinity College. Next time, next time.
This display explained how trade with the farmers was important to the Vikings because, evidently, they REALLY needed toilet paper!
And here's the hapless Viking taking a dump. This tableau was complete with a looped soundtrack of the poor schmuck grunting and farting out a turd, the appropriately timed plopping noise of said turd, and the Viking saying, "What are you looking at? Go get me some more moss!"
I am not making this up...
Did I mention that during my two nights and one day in Dublin it was FREEZING? Almost literally freezing. It was in the mid-30's, gray, blustery and drizzly all day while I was there. Now, I know I'm from Southern California, and we're renowned for being wimps when it comes to the cold, and I know that you CAN get used to cold temperatures, but some of the people in Dublin were a little too cavalier about the cold, if you ask me.
Other than one Halloween a LONG time ago, I've never worn a dress, but I do remember that a dress is kind of...breezy, shall we say? I saw tons of short skirts and short-shorts around Dublin and Galway and I don't see how they're not freezing, but again, what do I know?
I do like this picture of a street scene in Dublin. The light is interesting and the colors are nice, but that's not why I inserted this picture here. I would like to draw your attention to the two guys on the far left in this picture, walking down the street in short sleeved tee shirts. Ridiculous.
Either one of these two alone would be easy to ignore and would have hardly been picture worthy, but together? They were like a walking optical illusion.
Christchurch Cathedral, too much history to try and fit in here. It was originally founded c. 1030 and has stood here in one form or another ever since. Unfortunately they were filming a movie inside and it was closed.
Christchurch from the other side. I just liked this picture.
Fully electrified and amplified Hare Krishnas, chanting and strolling the day away. I haven't seen these guys around SoCal for a long time, but there they were annoying everyone in Dublin just like they do the world around. Some things are the same no matter where you go.
The beef in Ireland tastes much better (in my opinion) than the beef here in the states. In any case, it tastes markedly different. I was told the main reason for this is that all the beef in Ireland is grass fed and not all hormoned-up like the cattle here. And one upshot of that little fact is that the butter is not that pasty white color like butter here. The butter is bright yellow due to a cow's inability to break down the beta carotene in the grass, thus imparting the yellow color. The butter tastes better, too.
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| Yours truly... |
Sitting in a local with a few of my newest friends and enjoying a hot whiskey.
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| The River Liffey |
The River Liffey runs east/west right through the middle of Dublin and into the Irish Sea. Dublin was originally founded in the 9th century as a Viking fort and remained under Viking influence until late in the 12th century. Dublin is the capital of Ireland and also the city with the largest population at just over 500,000 residents.
Well, my friends, that pretty much brings me to the end of my trip. Hopefully I was able to impart at least a fraction of my enthusiasm for seeing and learning about new places. As I mentioned in an earlier post, it would be a home run for me if I could pique even one person's interest enough upon reading my blog that it would inspire them to travel. Not necessarily to anywhere I've been or written about (although that would be cool) but just
anywhere. Traveling will give you a sense of place in the world. It will help you to realize that, even with all the differences we enjoy, the similarities are numerous. It will teach you. Period. It's way too easy to sit in your living room and tell yourself that you don't need to learn about other places. One of my favorite quotes of all time was provided by Malcolm S. Forbes, and it goes like this: "The purpose of education is to replace an empty mind with an open one." Amen.
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| Cead Slan |
