I arrived in Dublin around 8:30 Saturday morning, and met up with Katie who had also just arrived, though from a considerably longer flight from New York. We were picked up by Katie's aunt, Angela, and her cousins, Michaela and Clara, who we stayed with, and who are all lovely and fun people. Katie's uncle (I think his name is Gerry or Jerry, or I might be completely and embarrassingly mistaken) was in London visiting their son, Tom (who is rumored to have shot a guy, though I have been told that this is completely untrue), who lives there, so I didn't meet either of them.
Two things I learned during the ride to their house: 1) While, to an American visitor, it might be somewhat shocking to hear Irish people talking about "crack" all the time, they're not talking about the drug--it's actually spelled "craic" and it means "fun", though you might not guess based on the context alone. 2) Katie's Irish family is MASSIVE. She and her cousins drew me a family tree at one point, but I still have trouble keeping it all straight.
When we got to their house (which is gorgeous, and I'm pissed at myself for not taking more pictures of it), Angela made us lunch, including some of the best sausages I've ever had (branching out into meat was totally worth it for these!). I also met their dog, Muffin.
After lunch, I hung out with Katie, Michaela, and Clara, and learned more about their huge extended family. I also learned that, according to Clara's math teacher, Pythagoras was actually Irish and his first name was Paddy Joe (or "Paddy something"), but everyone thinks he was Greek because of a conspiracy against the Irish. This intend to further propagate this rumor.
After napping, showering, and dinner, Katie, Michaela and I went out to a couple pubs, where I met some of Michaela's friends. I also got to see some of Temple Bar, but for some reason it didn't occur to me to take pictures. What I did get pictures of, though, were the fascinating bathrooms in both pubs!
The first pub, O'Neils, had blacklights in the toilet stalls. Check out the glowing toilet paper!
Katie in the Ladies Room lounge at the second pub (I don't remember the name). There's a fireplace just out of shot.
The next day was mostly spent hanging around the house, since Katie and I slept in pretty late (we were both pretty exhausted from long/early flights the day before), and I had to finish up a Powerpoint for a presentation I had to give on Monday (on the Hong Kong airport, which, incidentally, was influenced by the Dublin airport).
In the evening, I went to another pub with Katie and Michaela, and this time I actually remembered that I had my camera with me.
It's a lot nicer than it looks from the outside.
Katie and Michaela, at the Magic Carpet
Katie and Michaela, embracing a giant invisible sandwich
I was told that the symbol on the bus signs is supposed to be a castle, but it looks more like a bee to me
I was advised to photograph this sign. I don't remember why.
We all hung out for while when we got back to the house. There was a Facebook creeping session and more sausages. After Clara and Michaela went to bed, Katie and I stayed up watching Peep Show, since there was no point in going to bed when I had to be at the bus stop at 4 am, in order to make my 6:40 flight.
Katie accompanied me to the bus stop (we saw an adorable little fox on the walk there, which I would have photographed had my camera not been buried in my backpack), then I hopped on the bus to the airport, and I was on my way back to Scotland, with enough time to go home, take a quick nap, put the final touches on my Powerpoint, and then scamper off to class for my presentation.
There were also more pictures that I'm actually in, but those were taken on Katie's camera, so I'll post them once Katie gets home and is able to upload them.
And if I don't get a chance to post tomorrow, happy St Paddy's Day! (Let's hope they don't do the pinching thing in Scotland)
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