I'm a surfer. Not the water kind (that will come if we ever get stationed in Hawaii). So one day in late December, I was checking out flight prices on Ryanair. I came across super cheap flights from Milan to Dublin. I've ALWAYS wanted to go to Dublin. I called up the hubby to see if he was on board. After I confirmed that yes, Dublin was the home of both Guinness and leprechauns, he was ready to pack his bags. Since bar hopping is not recommended for 5 and 7 year olds, we figured we would let them home and just enjoy some adult time. We decided to invite friends of ours along, and make it a couples weekend.
I have heard mixed reports about Ryanair. I was prepared on the luggage part. I packed lighter than I did when we went backpacking through the Appalachian. Even though we didn't pay the extra 7Euro for preferred seating (we figured the 7euro/person X 2 airplane rides equaled at least 6 pints of Guinness), we still were able to sit next to each other on the plane. Since it was an early morning, we both catnapped for the three hour flight. Did you know that on Ryanair flights, they have a tape recording of cheering and clapping when the plane lands? At first I thought it innappropriate for a company to cheer landing. What would the recording be if the plane didn't land safely? Would they play the sounds of booing or at that point would it not matter what sounds they played? Turns out the recording was because the flight was ontime. Ryanair has some 99% on time record going.
After getting off the plane we hopped on a bus to head to the hotel. It was the oddest thing watching the cars driving on the wrong side of the road. I'm a pretty fearless driver (having lived in DC and Atlanta before coming to Italy), but that just looked insane. Traffic circles...mind boggling!
We checked into our fabulous hotel and hit the streets looking for a bite to eat. We found this cute Irish pub (quite a few in downtown Dublin), and enjoyed our first traditional Irish meal...hamburgers and french fries. Just kidding. I had fish and chips and AJ had some Irish stew. My friend ordered a Jameson and cranberry. She offered me a sip, and I was hooked. What a lovely beverage. And to think that cranberry juice is good for you! Bonus! For the rest of the weekend, it was Jameson all the way.
In the spirit of spirits, we visited the Jameson Distillery. While waiting for our tour, and in hopes of warming our bones (Ireland is freaking COLD), we sat down to an Irish Coffee. Irish really like their alcohol. They cook with it (guinness stew) and they put it in their coffee. Nothing like a shot of whiskey to warm you up. I can't say I learned a lot about how they make it (other than the fact that to the Irish, angels are a bunch of drunks....they say the alcohol that evaporates from the barrels as it's aged for the 5 to 12 years it sits is for the angels in heaven). I didn't learn much, but I can say I am now a fan.
Somewhat tipsy from our tour (never got tipsy touring Hershey's Chocolate Factory or Sturgis pretzels) because of course a sample of their finest 12 year whiskey was part of the tour, we headed out to see the town. We decided to hit the main pub street. It was heading towards evening, and the streets were filling with partygoers. Unlike the States where every place charges a cover, here the pubs were free to pop in. Aaaahhhh....the fabulous tunes of Ireland....wait...that isn't Irish folk music. That's the Cranberries, and James Taylor, and Meatloaf? If I wanted to hear American music, I could have saved my 48Euro and stayed in Italy! I came here to hear the Unicorn song (ya got your green alligators and your long necked geese....)! Finally, I couldn't take it any more. This guy was walking by who looked Irish (short, green skin, orange beard). I asked him if he knew of any pubs that actually played Irish music. He asked where we were from, to which we replied "Texas." His response, any other state in the USA, they say, USA. But not Texans. They always say "Texas"!
He said he'd happily take us to a real Irish pub...with Irish music and all. We were not disappointed. There were two guys sitting up front. One was playing a string something or other and the other guy played something else. (Or maybe it was four guys...not sure...too many Jamesons). After enjoying the music for a bit, we went upstairs where there was an open patio. Having donned lots of layers to stay warm, it had gotten a bit toasty in a room full of people. We sat and he told us about his job with the Irish Parliament. Oh...and get this...he has a kid in READING, PENNSYLVANIA!!!! Small world....so if you see any greenish looking little kids with little red beards running around Reading, it may be Ultam's! Of all the places in all the world our little leprechaun could have knocked someone up, it had to be Reading!
A little while later, this guy comes up to us and asks if we were American. Uh....duh! (J/K Scott). He joined us and told us about his adventures touring around Africa and Europe. The five of us just drooled with jealousy over his tales. It was such an awesome night...we just hung out and chatted and enjoyed the relaxation of it all. Paybacks were yet to come.
Well, it's late..I have plenty more to tell about Dublin, but that will have to wait until tomorrow.
Ciao' for now!
