Powerscourt, Postcards and Pub Fare

The Statue of Molly Malone in Dublin

(Also Known As "The Tart With The Cart", and "Ireland's Treasure Chest")

A Patsy Stone Wannabe in Dublin...

The Martello Tower, Setting of the First Chapter of Ulysses

The Small Resort Town of Bray, Where Joyce Lived As A Child

On Your Marks, Get Set...

Rear View of the Powerscourt Estate

The Powerscourt Gardens

View of the Powerscourt Gardens

A Winged Horse

A Japanese Garden At Powerscourt

Ham Hocks And Coddle, With A Smithwick's Beer

We awoke on our own this morning without a wake-up call. It was 8:30 a.m., which I thought was very reasonable. We took our turns getting ready and got to breakfast for 9:40 a.m. Unfortunately, breakfast was a bit of a rushed affair on account of our wanting to take the tour of the region south of Dublin. We couldn't order the hot breakfast because it would take too long, so we had fruit salad, breads and hot beverages. It looks like the four whiskeys last night were just what the doctor ordered: my throat was no longer scratchy and sore; however, my cold has moved north and I am both congested and sneezy. But at least I am not feverish.

Before I continue the account of today's travels, I should tell the story the bus driver told us yesterday. In the city centre stands the statue of Molly Malone, peddling her wares. Molly sold cockels and mussels and oysters during the day, pushing her cart. At night, she alledgedly sold other wares. By all accounts, Molly was celibate. According to the bus driver, Molly would "sell a bit" here and "sell a bit" there... (Don't boo me, Nick. I just repeats them...)

Anyway, Troy and I rushed outside around 10:00 a.m., hoping to catch the shuttle bus about ten minutes away on foot, which was scheduled to depart 15 minutes from then. By the time we got to the stop, the lady in the tourist information centre informed us that we had just missed the bus by about 2 seconds. This was just the shuttle bus to get to our own bus, so I wasn't downcast. There was still the possibility of taking a 5-minute taxi cab ride to the right place to board the bus. Troy was a little out of sorts then, and I had to convince him that it wasn't a problem, and that we could still make it. In any event, I finally persuaded him to take the taxi ride, and I think he is glad that we did. We were able to meet up with the double-decker bus moments later, ready for our 11:00 a.m. departure. And, because we had taken the city hop-on hop-off bus tour this week, we were also granted a 7 euro discount on our tickets. Bonus!

So, we gradually made our way outside the city, following a course that brought us along the coast of the Liffey, on the north side. On our way, Troy saw me aim my camera outside the tour bus and snap a photo. He looked out the window and wondered why I was taking a picture of a woman. I showed him the photo I had taken: the spitting image of Patsy Stone from "Absolutely Fabulous", complete with a cut mini, a low-cut blouse, pearls, sunglasses and bouffant blonde coiffe. The resemblance was uncanny, and when I get back home, I will post it to this blog.

Making our way south of the city, in county Wicklow, we hugged the coast of Dublin Bay, getting a great view of Sandymount, the area where Leopold Bloom practices onanism on the beach in Ulysses, as well as the distant crag of Howth Head, which figures prominently in Molly Bloom's monologue. We also saw a house in which Joyce himself lived. As we got into the Victorian seaside town of Bray, we noticed some brave souls swimming in the surf, on this rather chilly late September day. Then we got a few shots of the Martello tower where the opening chapter of Ulysses is set. But despite all these Joycean associations, this tour was not exclusively of my choosing. The destination of the tour was Powerscourt Castle, where Troy was eager to see the site of the Celtic Women concert he has at home on his DVD. So it was a win-win situation. The bus driver also showed us Sinéad O'Connor's house in Bray, and declared that she was in at that moment because her car was parked in her driveway. We had a distant view of what he referred to as the Hollywood Hills outside Bray, where a number of prominent celebrities have homes, including Mel Gibson, Bono from U2, The Edge from U2, Enya, Maeve Binchy and a number of other American celebrities whose names escape me.

We got to Powerscourt around 1:00 p.m., completely famished. Luckily for us, they had planned for us to eat at the restaurant there. Troy sat down to a massive plate of chicken with peppers, tomatoes, parmesan, leeks, in a puff pastry, with a thick slice of double chocolate cake in heavy cream for dessert. I had the Guinness stew with puff pastry, which came with my choice of three side salads. I got the potato salad, the couscous salad and the fruit salad. Yummy stuff indeed. For dessert, the lemon curd cake with heavy cream.

That still gave us about an hour to explore the Powerscourt grounds, including the main garden and the Japanese garden. We took several breath-taking pictures and then came back for a quick trip to the gift shop where I bought my Mom a postcard.

We got back on the bus for our return trip to the city and arrived in Dublin around 3:00 p.m. We shopped for a bit and I bought a bunch of postcards for family and friends. I also got gifts for Dad and Jocelyne. At another shop I got gifts for my nieces. I am still shopping for more gifts, and there are tons of really cool souvenirs here.

Around 4:30 p.m., I told Troy that I couldn't go on like this, and I had to sit for a bit to rest and maybe have a hot drink. I was feely really clammy and miserable. So we stopped at a pub, where Troy got a Jameson whiskey, and the barman offered to make me a hot toddy. Man, was that ever good, and it helped with my stuffed nose. Meanwhile, Troy watched the news on TV (where we heard about the death of Tony Curtis, as well as the bailout for the Irish banks: $50 billion Euros). I took some time to write up some of my postcards. In fact, I got to write almost all of them by the time I looked at my watch and saw that it was 6:00 p.m. So, we got up and continued on our way. Troy still wanted to hit the book store we had seen this morning to try to find the Irish cookbook he has been eyeing for a while now. That one book shop was good, but the next book store we went to, Hodges Figgis, was absolutely stunning! We could have spent even longer in this store, but they were closing at 8:00 p.m., so we had to pay for our purchases and leave. Before I did, I took a photograph of a wall text inside the store that indicated that this bookstore appears in Ulysses. So cool.

As I was hungry, and it was late, we made our way to O'Neills pub, a quaint pub we went to yesterday during our pub crawl. I ordered the ham hocks with coddle and Troy got the leek and pork sausages. My meal, even by Dublin standards, was mammoth! The picture took was misleading: my dish was not a plate, but a bowl. Just keep that in mind when you see the picture! It consisted of a huge ham hock, the size of a small pork roast, with three scoops of mashed potatoes, parsnips, cabbage, cauliflower with cheese, and the coddle: boiled potatoes, onions and sausage. It could have easily fed the both of us. I had a Smithwick's to wash it all down, and my meal -- as usual -- was absolutely delicious. But no room for dessert.

After dinner, we walked out into the pleasant Dublin evening, and Troy told me we were going straight to the hotel so that I could blog and then go to bed. I have a really hoarse cough, so I will do the Dristan thing and get to bed. Troy says he is too tired to blog tonight, so I will end here.

Good night all,

M.

Pints, Pubs and Poets

The Pancake Breakfast
Inside St. Patrick's Cathedral


St. Patrick's Cathedral

The Notorious Anna McGoldrick Musical Tour Bus

Casks of Guinness

Troy Pours A Perfect Pint

Guinness Pork and Leek Sausages

View of the City from the Guinness Storeroom,

With A Joycean Quote in the Window

A Snotty Joyce Quote About Dubliners...

Memorial to the Irish Famine Victims

When our wake-up call came at 7:30 a.m. this morning, I awoke with a bit of a scratchy throat. I guess I have finally caught the nasty bug that Troy has had all the time I've been here. Nothing truly nasty, just a tickle and coughing.

We headed down to breakfast where this morning I had pancakes and maple syrup and Troy enjoyed crustless French toast. I have to say that we have been truly blessed during our stay in Ireland thus far. Although it was a bit chilly in the dining hall this morning, we have not had any significant amounts of rain or unpleasant weather during our week.

We decided to make our way today to the Guinness Storeroom which, according to our guide at the Book of Kells exhibit yesterday, is the number one tourist attraction in Dublin. Troy suggested we get on the hop-on hop-off bus to make our way to the storeroom, and that way we could save time. I suggested that since we were headed that way anyway, perhaps we could first stop off at St. Patrick's Cathedral to visit the building.

The architecture was amazing. We ventured inside and took several pictures of the stainglass windows and the ancient heraldic banners hanging from the buttresses. We also saw the tomb of Jonathan Swift, author of Gulliver's Travels and dean of St. Patrick's Cathedral in the eighteenth century. We missed his death mask, but marvelled all the same at the wonders inside the church. We also took photographs of a marble slab that was unearthed outside the church under six feet of dirt, under which was found a small well which, according to legend, St. Patrick used to baptize the first Christians in Ireland in the 500s.

Outside the church we found the location of the well which has long since dried up. We also found a long wall on which were hung plaques commemorating the great writers of Ireland, including James Joyce. I know he would have loathed being remembered anywhere near a church. The highlight of my day was when a bus pulled up at St. Patrick's Cathedral, and we noticed that it had a sign indicating that it was a coach for the Anna McGoldrick musical tour of Ireland. Troy stole the words out of my mouth when he quipped: "Look at the age group of the people on this tour!" When that bus stopped in front of St. Patrick's, only one brave tourist stepped off the bus to take a photo. The others seemed content to view it from the comfort of their seats, or were perhaps physically unable to get up.

A short hop-on hop-off bus trip brought us to the Guinness Storeroom. I couldn't help but think the whole time I was there that this was like a Duff Gardens tour from "The Simpsons": "Duff beer for me, Duff beer for you..."

On the first of the seven levels of the museum is a space reserved for the 5 main ingredients of Guinness: water, barley, hops, yeast and Arthur Guinness. On successive floors we got to see how the barley was mashed, the liquid extracted, the hops added, the yeast put in, the liquid fermented, the liquid distilled, etc. We also saw how the barrels were made, the beer was poured in and exported around the world. On the third floor, we could sample a quarter-pint of Guinness. We also saw the various advertising campaigns for Guinness over the years and even testimonials from the medical establishment that Guinness was a healthy addition to your diet.

On the tour we were each handed a ticket which allowed us to do one of two things. Troy chose to pour his own pint of Guinness, helped by the barmaid who instructed him in this fine art. We both enjoyed the fruit of his labours, and he got a certificate for pouring a perfect pint. We then stopped for a late lunch at the Guinness restaurant. Troy ordered the seafood chowder with smoked salmon on Guinness bread; I got the pork and leek sausages in Guinness sauce, with mashed potatoes and red onion compote. For dessert, I sampled three small offerings: the Guinness chocolate mousse, the Bailey's cheesecake and the raspberry crême brulée. The whole meal was exquisite, all except for the crême brulée which we both thought was revolting.

On the seventh floor, I used my own ticket to get a free Guinness while admiring the incredible view of the city. It was a 360 degree view of Dublin, unobstructed by any walls. On the glass windows were different quotes from the works of -- you guessed it -- James Joyce, positioned near the geographical locations where the descriptions were meant to illustrate. I got a decent shot of Howth Head, where Leopold Bloom first seduced Molly, and where the real life James Joyce seduced Nora Barnacle. Kate Bush sings about all of this in her song "The Sensual World".

After doing the gift shop on the main floor, we exited the building around 4:00 p.m. So much for the guide book telling us that it was a two-hour visit. And so much for visiting the Museum of Modern Art this afternoon. We then decided to see a few other tourist sites, like the James Joyce bridge (which I described as "Playtex introduces the James Joyce bridge with wings"), as well as the house that features in Joyce's short story "The Dead".

Making our way east on foot, we arrived at the spot where an artist has commemorated the Potato Famine with heart-wrenching sculptures of the afflicted. A truly moving monument to a horrible time.

As it was still relatively early, we figured we could still do the Literary Pub Crawl tonight, which was set to start at 7:30 p.m., so we had a quick bite to eat at McDonald's to make sure we had time to get there. In terms of Irish additions to the McDonald's menu, Troy noticed onion rings, as well as deep fried cheese.

We bought our tickets for the pub crawl and met our hosts for the evening, Frank and Colm. They did an excellent job of interpreting key scenes from Beckett's Waiting for Godot, Joyce's Ulysses, a letter from Oscar Wilde, as well as a whole slough of other Irish writers we only discovered tonight. The people on our tour were also very friendly and we chatted a bit with a couple from Oregon and with a travel reporter with the Chicago Sun Times. She laughed at my James Joyce finger puppet. Part of the evening was also dedicated to a literary quiz, with the prize of a Literary Pub Crawl t-shirt and, as a consolation prize, a bottle of Bushmill Irish whiskey. Despite having partaken in four drinks of Irish whiskey during the evening (three Jameson and one Bushmill), I was able to do quite respectably. In fact, at the end of the night, I won the t-shirt, thanks in large part to Troy's help in identifying Frank Sinatra as the entertainer who was serenaded by Bob Dylan singing a version of an Irish poem. I was very pleased.

By the way, four drinks is not all that much, considering that Ireland has decreed that men should not consume more than 21 drinks a week. So that means, I still have 17 to go... Women, on the other hand, should limit their alcohol consumption to 14 drinks a week...

We then made our way back to the hotel and we got a little lost on our way back, but nothing too serious. All in all, a very good day.

And now, as Monty Python would say, for something completely different, here is Troy with his additions to today's post.

Sláinte, (which I have discovered is pronounced: slawn-chuh)

M.

On the way back to our hotel this evening I suggested that instead of putting my words into Marcel's fingers, I should actually write a post or two myself. I do promise to give you the Reader's Digest version, focusing in on my simple insights of what we did during the day. Besides, Marcel has already given you most of the details!! LOL

Thinking back, I have to say three things really stood out in my reflections today. First was the "just plain" fun of pouring my own Guinness. I have to say I was immeasurably proud of myself when the bartender informed me that I had done a fantastic job of pouring that deep rich porter!! I felt like a kid that had brought home an "A" in math.

Second, was the melancholy that descended on me as I viewed the sculptures dedicated to the people of Ireland during the potato famine. One in particular made me pause. It was a man, grief portrayed in his expression as he carried his small child over his shoulders. To me it looked as if the child had died, and yet the father continued to bear his offspring in the hope that something could be done to save him or her. The vivid descriptions told to us by the "raconteur" of last evening's venue, of how the potato famine affected the poor of Ireland and how the landowners of that time used it as greedy way to rid their lands of tenent farmers, really made us think seriously about what this memorial meant.

Lastly, I have learned that you are never too old to enjoy learning something new! LOL. Tonight's "Pub Crawl" was something I was not too sure about. After listening to Marcel read the ending of Joyce's Ulysses (and yes I said yes I will yes) and responding with "Didn't his English teacher correct his punctuation?!", I was sure this literary pub crawl would be way over my head. And to be honest at times it was. But I did learn things. I learned about Ireland, its conflicts, and how this has influenced some of the world's best authors. I mean, it produced Oscar Wilde, how much more could you ask for? Him I understand, (the sarcastic little popinjay) LOL

Anyway, that is enough of my waxing eloquence. Cheers.

Forays, Faith, Food, Folklore and Fairies

Troy in the Dining Hall of the Schoolhouse Hotel

Another Irish Fry

A Gorgeous Set of Knockers

Trinity College

Lunch Was A Rushed Affair

Christ Church Cathedral

The Brazen Head Pub

Johnny, the Host of the "Food, Folk and Fairies" Evening Tour

Troy and I at The Brazen Head

A word about the hotel we are staying at. Oh my God! Is it ever gorgeous. We are staying in a renovated old schoolhouse, and we have our meals in a restored classroom. The building is made of stone and it is very cosy and quaint. I get the impression that the Harry Potter novels could have been set here. Each room bears the name of an Irish writer, but our room, #332, is actually the room of the former headmaster and headmistresses of the school. Is it ever beautiful! Photos will follow once I get home and load them onto this blog.

It was a late night last night because Troy had to load up a new security programme on his laptop and it took forever to download. Consequently, I didn't finish the blog entry before 1:30 a.m. That meant that this morning, we only got up around 9:30 a.m. We showered, got ready and went downstairs for an amazing breakfast. Troy had the smoked salmon omelette, and I had yogurt and fruit salad before the traditional Irish fry.

We decided to start off the day by going to the double-decker bus terminal to take the hop-on hop-off tour of the city. On our way, I saw a couple of distinctively-coloured Dublin doors with nice brass knockers on them and I told Troy I had to stop to take a picture of a nice set of knockers. (I know, Nick, "boo, hiss"). We hopped onto the bus at St. Stephen's Green and made our way around the city for what was almost a full circuit. The tour was very informative and brought us to places we had never seen before like Christ Church Cathedral (the Irish pronounce th's as t's), the Irish Museum of Modern Art, the Dublin Zoo, and the Guinness Storehouse. We even saw a booze store called Next Door which makes home deliveries of wine.

But we are starting to have our doubts about being able to do everything we wanted to do in Ireland. In fact, it doesn't look like we will get much of a chance to get out of the city because there is so much to do here in Dublin! If only we could stay at least another week! We will need to discuss our plans for the rest of our stay here because the end of our trip on Sunday is coming fast.

We hopped off the bus for this part of our foray into the city when we got to Trinity College. I was moved when we got onto the grounds. When I looked back on my university days studying English literature and remembering my most cherish dream to visit the lands of all the poets I studied, and when I realized that I was on the campus here associated with Jonathan Swift (author of Gulliver's Travels) and Samuel Beckett (author of Waiting for Godot), I got choked up. Troy asked to borrow my camera to check out the panoramic function, and I was pleasantly surprised to see the end result. Man, did I ever buy myself a nice, fancy camera!

We took the tour of Trinity College with a young student of the College who graduates next month. (I think he said his name was Kieran). He showed us the sights of the Protestant College, which was commissioned by Queen Elizabeth I to replace the old Catholic monastery that her father, King Henry VIII, ordered demolished. We were then invited to enter Trinity College to see the Book of Kells on our own.

The faith portion of our day was getting to see the Book of Kells, an illuminated manuscript of the four gospels, created off the coast of Scotland around the year 800. It was handwritten on velum (dried skins) by an order of monks. We got to see the exhibit showing how the manuscript was created as well as the two displayed pages from the book. I found it very moving and it complemented well my seeing the manuscripts of the Mont St-Michel in 2004.

On our way out of the exhibit, we ventured into the Great Hall, where the library books are proudly displayed. It was a wondrous sight to behold. The College has a legislated mandate to acquire copies of all books printed in Ireland and it is one of the most important repositories in Europe. Unfortunately, photographs were not allowed, but the postcard I bought gives a great glimpse into this marvellous building.

We ended our tour in the gift shop where I bought my first gifts for family and friends. Mam, I got you your gift here.

We left the grounds of Trinity College around 4:00 p.m. and neither of us had had lunch yet. I was very famished and starting to get moody so we just stopped at a grocery store to pick something up for a light snack. We knew that tonight we had made plans to see the "Food, Folklore and Fairies" tour, so we didn't want to spoil our appetites. I got a Diet Coke, a bag of Chilli Doritos and a Chicken Salad sandwich. I was surprised to discover that there are no regular potato chips in Ireland, only flavoured kinds. The sandwich also surprised me, because it wasn't a "chicken salad" sandwich, it was a chicken "salad sandwich". In other words, chicken and salad in a sandwich (lettuce, tomatoes and cucumbers). It was OK, but nothing fancy.

In anticipation of our tour, which only started at 6:40 p.m., we walked around the city a bit to pass the time. We made our way to Christ Church Cathedral for a closer look and took tons of photos. The old Dublin city wall is built along one side of the church. On our walk we also found the Church of the Immaculate Conception, and on the sign, underneath the name, was the caption: "(Adam and Eve)". Not quite sure how Adam and Eve are considered part of the Immaculate Conception, but anyway... (A few days later, I would discover that this is the church mentioned in the opening line of Joyce's enigmatic work, Finnegans Wake: "riverrun, past Eve and Adam's, from swerve of shore to bend of bay, brings us by a commodius vicus of recirculation back to Howth Castle and Environs.")

We then tried our luck at finding the tomb of Saint Valentine at Whitefriars Church. When we got there, Troy suggested we weren't going in: I hadn't noticed, but there was a funeral procession heading into the church. Oh well, this will be added to the impossibly long list of things we still want to do (and I'm chewing my fingernails as I type this).

We shopped for souvenirs along the way, and Troy got some cough syrup because he has a nagging, persistent cough. (As I am reading this out to him as I type, he suggested just now that I add annoying).

We got to the Brazen Head pub, alledgedly the oldest in Ireland -- even though they all seem to say that -- at 6:40 p.m., as recommended. We made our way to the third floor where we were seated at a table with a group of lively young ladies from Florida who were supposedly using their time to further their education in Europe. They told us they planned to go to Capri and Amsterdam, so we wonder about their intended scholarly pursuits, which seem to be centered around drink and fashion. They told us that this sidetrip to Dublin was intended for them to each present her own personal project to the larger group. One young lady took a dance class last night and will be reporting on Irish dance. Another will do a report on Irish castles after seeing Dublin Castle this afternoon. I am not sure what kind of degree they are getting, but all signs seem to point towards an American degree. The poor woman from Montréal who was seated at the end of the table, among this gaggle of girls, looked desperately out of place, as if she longed to be involved in a different type of conversation. I thought it was quite coincidental that they were here in Dublin, considering that Pamela Anderson had given a lecture at Trinity College a few years back. Oddly enough, no one seems to remember what her talk had been about.

Fortunately, we were seated across from Brendan and Charlotte from Sydney, Australia, an absolutely charming, intelligent and witty middle-aged couple that we really got along with. He is a writer and she is a practitioner of natural medicine. Ironically enough, Charlotte is an avid fan of James Joyce and has a degree in English literature, as well as a life-long love of ABBA. We got on swimmingly, and even talked about our astrological signs. We mentioned possibly all going to the reading of James Joyce on Thursday night, so we might see each other again there, where Troy just informs me that he intends to escape next door for a decent cup of coffee during the reading.

The evening of food, folklore and fairies was wonderful. We were served our choice of dinner menus. Troy and I both had the fish cake and beef and Guinness stew, after we had had Jameson whiskey. I had a pint of Guinness with my meal. The storyteller who hosted this evening feast started the evening by telling us about the importance of the potato in Ireland, and continued to regale us with stories about the history of the people of this island. After the appetizer, he returned to tell us about the spiritual world, including leprechauns, fairies, banshees and the like. It was really mesmerizing to listen to him speak, and I was absolutely enchanted with the whole thing. Just before dessert, he came on again and spoke to us about the Irish art of storytelling of which he is obviously a master. He told us two rivetting tales about the evil eye and about the rescue of a young lady from the clutches of the fairies. I would definitely recommend this evening to everyone coming to Ireland.

We then walked home and had a lively debate about politics in Canada, even though I hate debates. We got home after close to an hour's walk and I am ready to hit the hay.

We are concerned about the limited time we have here and all the things we still want to do. We will need to prioritize as best we can.

Good night all,

M.

PS- I never get tired of people calling us lads.

My Carbolicious Day

The Schoolhouse Hotel

Our Hotel Room

The harp-shaped Samuel Beckett Bridge and the Ferris Wheel on the River Liffey

Me Giving the Statue a Helping Hand...

Statue of Oscar Wilde in Merrion Square.

The Locals Call It "The Fag on the Crag".

Shamrocks in Merrion Square

A View of Merrion Square

Cornbeef and Cabbage,

and a Pint of Guinness for Lunch

A View of St. Stephen's Green

Statue of James Joyce Looking Down His Nose At Us

in Davy Byrnes Pub

Troy Imitating James Joyce

A Huge Serving of Irish Stew at Davy Byrnes Pub

Before writing today's entry, a few additions to yesterday's:

- Ironically enough, James Joyce's last living nephew, Ken Monaghan, died early last week.

- Overheard at breakfast yesterday morning. An irate American tourist: "They promised us porridge, but this is oatmeal!!"

- For my friend Darren's benefit, I noticed what car Troy was driving because I recognized the logo. We were driving a Peugeot.

- My comment to the waiter at the restaurant last night: "We have a hate-hate relationship with Americans." His response: "Who doesn't?" LOL

And now, on to today's blog entry.

The wake-up call came this morning at 7:00 a.m. because I was determined to spend some time writing my blog. However, I was not that motivated and slept in until close to 8:00 a.m. I then got out of bed, showered, got dressed and made my way downstairs to the computer. I finished working on yesterday's blog and met up with Troy for breakfast at 9:30 a.m. It was pretty much the same as yesterday's breakfast, but without the black blood pudding. After our meal, Troy went to our room to pack all his things because today is the day we were leaving the Jury's Inn hotel for our new quarters at the Schoolhouse Inn, south of the Liffey. In the meantime, I was determined to go back to the computer to make a few additions to yesterday's blog entry, but both computers were then being used. In fact, I never managed to get to the computer terminal before Troy came down to the lobby to join me.

So, we paid for the hotel, got into the rental car and drove ourselves to our new hotel where we dropped off our luggage. Then, Troy and I drove to the car rental place where we returned the rental car. We were then free to set out on foot to explore the new area I had never been to. It was around noon, but because we had only finished breakfast around 10:00 a.m., we weren't all that hungry. But Troy did feel like having a cup of coffee. So, he stopped at a small cafe, and I had a look at the small shop next door, which had a sign in the window advertising a reading from Ulysses on Thursday night. When Troy came out of the cafe with his coffee in hand, I pointed out this sign, and he noticed there were books inside, so we decided to go in. Turns out that this place was actually the chemist's that appears in Ulysses, where Leopold Bloom buys a bar of lemon-scented soap. And I was very excited to discover that I could buy a bar of lemon soap there!! It was so cool, and to think that we just happened upon this shop!

Continuing further on, we arrived in Merrion Square, where we took pictures of the Oscar Wilde statue lounging on a huge rock. Near there, there were two small pillars with engravings of quotes from Wilde. I couldn't help but think of my friend Nick when I saw the following quote: "The well-bred contradict other people. The wise contradict themselves." So, if I am a creature of contradictions, that would make me wise, according to Wilde.

We were getting hungry for lunch in the middle of the afternoon, so I turned to Troy and quipped: "If I were writing 'Eat, Pray, Love', my version would be 'Eat, Eat, Eat'". We stopped at a small pub where Troy ordered the chicken, ham and leek pie. I ordered the cornbeef and cabbage, with a Guinness. We shared our meals so that we both got to sample the amazing cooking. But we were both pretty full by the time dessert came around: whiskey bread and butter pudding with homemade toffee ice cream.

As a sidebar, I recently learned that Irish whiskey is spelled with an "e" and is distilled three times; Scottish whisky is spelled without the "e" and is distilled only twice; and American bourbon is distilled only once.

After lunch, a quick tour of St. Stephen's Green, an incredibly lush and verdant park within the city. It was very magical and I understood why Ireland is known as the Emerald Isle.

We then headed towards the National Library, a stunning building in the city centre. Troy and I took a host of photos. It was only later in the evening that we discovered that we left the book store of the National Library minutes before Dame Judy Dench turned up there. Troy lamented the fact that we missed seeing M. from the James Bond series.

We then kept onwards until we reached the Davy Byrnes pub, the pub where Leopold Bloom eats a gorgonzola sandwich with a glass of burgundy in Ulysses. I was just going to have a Jameson whiskey, but when I saw and smelled the amazing Irish stew, I had to order some for dinner. Troy ordered the salmon pie. Yet another amazing meal. We engaged in conversation with the couple beside us, an elderly man and woman from New Jersey. At one point, the man said that meals in Ireland were delicious, but that he had to be careful with carbohydrates at his age. Then, looking at me, he added: "It looks like you're starting to have that problem too". Gee, thanks a lot...

In the evening, we did a bit of shopping. I bought some books from Sheridan Le Fanu, Bram Stoker and John Millington Synge, all Irish authors. Then Troy and I both bought traditional Irish sweaters (mine is green for St. Paddy's Day). We also saw things we may come back to buy, like plenty of Christmas ornaments and other crafts.

We ended our day at the Cobblestone Pub (which Geneviève Couture had recommended to me), where we got to listen to live jam sessions of traditional Irish music. Troy had a chocolate beer, and I stuck to rum and diet coke. We really enjoyed the music.

We left the pub at 10:30 on foot, but the walk home was very, very long for someone like me who desperately needed to pee! When we got to the hotel, I called dibs on the toilet, Troy got his laptop out, and I was then able to write all the day's adventures. This is the only way to travel!

All in all, a great day!

And (don't tell anyone), but I think I am enjoying Ireland even more than Sweden! The thing is that the music, the food, the hospitality is all so reminiscent of the east coast, and in many ways, Troy and I both feel like we are home in Moncton.

Good night all,

M.

From Corpses to Drag Queens

A View of Glasnevin Cemetery, With O'Connell Tower

Nice Light Lunch: The Turkey and Ham Dinner

Belvedere College, Where James Joyce Went to School

Troy and I Enjoying A Quiet Dinner Together

Ha'Penny Bridge At Night

It felt like it was still the middle of the night when the telephone rang for the 7:00 a.m. wake-up call. What a difference since I was in Iceland and the sun never seemed to set! Troy got up and got ready for his last day of training, and I debated for a while whether I was going to get up too or whether I was going to keep sleeping. I had had ten hours' sleep, but it still didn't feel like it was enough. I was a bit slow getting ready. I watched "Sesame Street" for a while and decided that Elmo was equally annoying in Gaelic.

After showering and getting ready, I got to the breakfast buffet around 8:30 a.m. For brekkie this morning, I had a bowl of porridge, a croissant with strawberry jam, and then the traditional fry: fried eggs, scrambled eggs, Irish bacon, fried sausage, and two types of blood pudding, the black and the white. Breakfast was scrumptious. I felt adventurous tasting the blood pudding: the white reminded me of creton, or head cheese, which was one of my favourites as a child; the black blood pudding reminded me of mince meat. I figured I could have the blood pudding; after all, it could not possibly be worse than the hakarl (raw, putrified shark) I had had in Iceland.

After breakfast, I got my backpack from my room, as well as the map of Dublin my friend Geneviève Allard lent me (un grand merci!), and gradually made my way to the Glasnevin (Prospect) cemetery. The receptionist at the hotel suggested I take a bus there, but I really wanted to explore the city on foot instead. I arrived at the cemetery some time around 10:00 a.m.

The cemetery was huge! I immediately saw the towers built inside the cemetery walls, which were designed to allow guards to patrol the grounds to make sure that no one could rob the graves to bring corpses to the medical schools. One of the reasons I wanted to see this cemetery is that many famous Dubliners are buried there. But another important reason is that a chapter of Ulysses is set here. In fact, Leopold Bloom arrives at the cemetery around 11:00 a.m. for Paddy Dignam's funeral, and as 11:00 a.m. rolled around, I thought it was fittingly appropriate that I be there at that time.

The cemetery was huge, and without the benefit of a map, it was very difficult to locate the tombstones I planned to see. But I did find the tombstone of Michael Collins, Irish revolutionary, fairly quickly. It was amazing for me to note all the names in the cemetery that I see so frequently back home: Mullin (spelled "Mullen"), Nolan, Murphy, Hackett, Kennedy, Gaynor, etc. I was not having much luck finding the other tombstones I wanted to see, so when the museum opened at 11:00 a.m., I went in and inquired about them. And I also bought the Ulysses map of the cemetery. Armed with this knowledge, I located the tombs of poet Gerard Manley Hopkins, Amnesty International founder Sean MacBride, James Joyce's parents John Stanislaus and Mary Jane Joyce, and a few others. I left the cemetery on foot a little after noon and slowly made my way back to the city centre, without once consulting my map and without getting lost!

I was looking for a place to have lunch and found a quiet little pub closer to the city centre on Lower Dorset Street. For 16 Euros (around 21 dollars), I had a Smithwick's beer and the turkey and ham special. The latter dish consisted of a thick slice of double turkey breast laid on top of a thick slice of baked ham with stuffing in between the two, three scoops of potatoes, one scoop of turnips, julienne carrots and grated cabbage, as well as a deep fried ball of mashed potatoes, and tons of gravy. It was, as the Irish are fond of saying, fan-feckin-tastic. I definitely want to bring Troy here.

After lunch, I wanted to see Belvedere college, the place where Joyce went to school. I had seen the school on my tour yesterday but hadn't been able to take a picture of it. It was close to 1:30 p.m. by then, so I headed towards the hotel, where I had made plans to meet with Troy at 2:00 p.m.

I waited for him for what felt like an eternity. Troy was caught in Dublin traffic, and with no way of getting a hold of him, I started to worry and imagine the worst. I was sitting at the computer in the lobby when he arrived 40 minutes later. I was relieved to see him. But Troy informed me that he had accidently left his bag at IKEA, so we had to drive back. This wasn't so bad, because I got to experience driving in Ireland. Troy sat at the steering wheel on the right-hand side of the car and I on the left, as we started heading down the street on the left-hand side of the road. It was pretty damn unnerving. It felt like any moment an on-coming car might smash right into me! The IKEA is incredibly massive, as Troy had told me. He showed me around and I couldn't believe how busy it was, even more than the time I brought my friend Darren in on the Labour Day weekend! Troy was ecstatic to finally be on vacation.

We left IKEA and drove back to the hotel. Troy still has the car until tomorrow morning, but we parked it in the hotel parking lot and decided to venture out once again on foot. Troy was starting to feel hungry because he had skipped lunch, but I was still stuffed from my Christmas-like lunch. So he grabbed a bag of crisps as a snack.

The first place we went to was the James Joyce Centre again, because I wanted to buy some more souvenirs. I got a James Joyce finger puppet with a magnet inside, so that I can stick it on my fridge, and I also got four bookmarks. We left the centre around closing time at 5:00 p.m. and continued sight-seeing. Troy suggested we go south of the river Liffey, an area I had not yet been to. The area north of the river, where our hotel is located, is dodgier; south of the Liffey, the neighbourhoods are nicer and more affluent. It is also here that Trinity College is located. I got to see plenty of sights, including a plaque that marks the site of the old Newspaper Office where Leopold Bloom and Stephen Dedalus meet in Ulysses.

We decided to stop for dinner at another pub south of the Liffey. It advertised traditional Irish food, so we decided to eat there. We shared a fish cake as an appetizer. I got an orange soda, and Troy got a Guinness. He then had a pint of half-Guinness, half-lager, which I think he called a black and tan. I tasted both and they were delicious. Troy had the beef and Guinness pie with mashed potatoes, and I had my first fish and chips here. The atmosphere was cosy in this pub that has been open since 1933 and we both enjoyed our meals.

It was after 8:00 p.m. by the time we left the pub, and we wandered the streets again, visiting the various shops and the many Carrolls stores through the city. I swear there is a Carrolls on almost every street corner, and they sell souvenirs. Plenty of interesting handicrafts here! I am sure I will buy plenty of stuff for family and friends.

We went back to the hotel so I could drop off my bag and we could decide on our next move. I really wanted to hear the traditional Irish music at the Cobblestone Pub, and Troy wanted to see the drag queen show at the George, the gay pub. I wasn't too sure, because I thought that was something we could easily do anywhere like home or Montreal or Toronto, whereas the traditional Irish music would be more authentic, I guess. In any event, I agreed to go to the George, because we were told that there was only one drag show a week. In the end, the performers were better than others I have seen, but it is still guys dressed up as girls, lip-synching pop and torch songs. The show ended at 11:00 p.m., and we only hung around long enough for me to finish my mojito and Troy his cider. We walked all the way back to the hotel, taking pictures of the lights under the bridges reflected in the Liffey. We stopped to hear street buskers playing traditional Irish music, mandolin included, and watched a small group of drunken, smoking lads dancing to the music. A very unique experience.

We got to the hotel close to midnight and while Troy read, I promptly fell asleep. It was a much needed rest after a very busy day!

M.

Later That Evening...

My First Dinner in Ireland: Beef and Guinness Stew and A Budweiser
And Dessert...

Well, after the last post I went out to find a bite to eat. Along the way, I stopped for a spot of shopping. Just browsing, mostly. There are tons of nice souvenir shops with lovely traditional Celtic music playing. I tried to find a Quann family crest for Kara, but to no avail. Speaking of Kara, she would absolutely have a fit here in Dublin! She always thinks that I take huge risks as a jay-walker, but man! the people here are a million times worse than I am!

I am feeling very fortunate to be here in Ireland, especially so soon after having been to Sweden and Iceland. As I was bussing my way into the city this morning, I thought the Irish would say that I am "so feckin' blessed" to be here!

I found a nice-looking restaurant near my hotel and ventured inside. I tried to order a Harp beer, but they didn't carry it, so instead I got a Budweiser. For my meal, steak and Guinness pie, with a side mashed potatoes and mashed carrots. And for dessert, fresh apple pie with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Man, was that ever good!

After that intake of alcohol and sugar, my jet lag is much, much worse. But it is close to 9:00 p.m., so I figure I can read for a bit, or watch some TV and then call it an early night. Troy was telling me that it rained cats and dogs two days in a row, but today was a nice, sunny day (13C). They are expecting more of the same for the next three days. I'll take it!

Good night, John-Boy!

M.

My Joycean Day

Saying Goodbye to Fricot Before I Leave for My Trip to Ireland

And Saying Goodbye to Sarriette Too...

My First Lunch In Ireland: Bangers And Mash

Entrance to the Joyce Family Home Where James Joyce Lived in 1902

Keel, My Guide for the James Joyce Walking Tour,
Standing Next to a Statue of Joyce (1882-1941)

View of O'Connell Street, Dublin, On My First Night In Ireland

Well, I am safe and sound in Ireland.

I got to the airport with three hours to spare (as recommended), and then boarded my flight to Philadelphia at 6:00 p.m. When I got into the States, I had two different songs playing in my mind: "Philadelphia Freedom" and "The Streets of Philadelphia". I tried to get my Mom a postcard, but they wouldn't take debit, only cash, and I had no American money. The connecting flight at 9:05 p.m. was a little delayed, otherwise no problem. I was exhausted and wanted nothing more than to sleep, but that wasn't possible right away because they decided to serve us dinner at 10:30 p.m. (which, in Dublin time, was 3:30 a.m.). I did manage to sleep 3 hours before we arrived in Ireland around 8:30 a.m. local time. The flight was the most turbulent one since the one to the ACA conference in Fredericton. (I am sure a lot of my readers from LAC who were at the ACA will remember that flight!)

I waited forever for my luggage at the caroussel, and it was among the last pieces to arrive. I was relieved to see it finally show up. At the gate, the tourist information officer did little to answer my questions, and instead just presented me with dozens of more options of things to do in Ireland, passes to buy, etc. So in the end, I didn't buy the Dublin Pass right away and simply bussed my way to the hotel. She actually dissuaded me from buying the Dublin Pass, saying that nine days in Dublin was too much, and that I really should get out of the city to see the "Real Ireland". I had my doubts, because I think there is too much to do in the city...

The hotel Troy is staying at is the Jury's Inn on Parnell Street, the same hotel where my colleagues Lorraine and Marcelle stayed at in 2008, but (as I discovered later) a different branch. We will stay at this hotel two nights only. Then, Troy's training will be over, and we will head out to the Schoolhouse Hotel, south of the Liffey river.

When I opened the hotel room door, I was startled to see that Troy was still in his room, and Troy was surprised to see me arrive so soon. His training session was only scheduled for 1:00 p.m. this afternoon, and it was about 11:00 a.m. by the time I arrived. It was good to see him again, even though he was going to be in his training session all day until 10:00 p.m. tonight. And needless to say, with only 3 hours sleep, I wanted to sleep away my jetlag, which is a definite no-no. So, we both got ready, he went to his work, and I slowly made my way to a restaurant for a bite to eat. My breakfast only consisted of a turnover on the plane, so I was more than a little hungry by lunch time.

I went to a sports bar near the hotel and ordered what I thought would be traditional Irish fare: bangers and mash. This was two huge beef sausages on a large bed of mashed potatoes, smothered in beef gravy with onions. Yum! I made sure not to have any alcohol or sugar because the jet lag is making me tired enough as it is.

After lunch, I successfully located the James Joyce Centre on North St. George Street. When I inquired when the Joyce walking tour would begin, they said it was in 5 minutes. What perfect timing! Our tour guide was Keel, a young PhD candidate with a heavy Irish accent. Turns out he is from Louisiana and has only been here 4 years, but there is no trace of a Southern accent at all. He says his family and friends constantly tease him. (Funny, I've been in Gatineau for 12 years, and I don't think I picked up a Québécois accent). Keel said that we would soon begin the Dubliners walking tour. I said that I was hoping it would be the Ulysses walking tour because that was the novel I had reread recently. Although I had read Dubliners, this was some 20 years ago, and I hardly remember it. In any event, since we were only two participants -- me, and a 50ish man from Arkansas -- Keel added a lot of the Ulysses tour into our Dubliners tour. It was incredibly informative and I had an absolute blast. The tour, which usually lasts 75 minutes, lasted 120. Along the way, I saw the Jesuit school Joyce attended as an adolescent, the house the Joyce family lived in in 1902, the house on Eccles Street where the fictional characters of Leopold and Molly Bloom live in in Ulysses, the hotel that appears at the end of the short story "The Dead", a statue of Father Matthew which had its fingers blown off during the Easter 1916 uprising and a statue of James Joyce. At the end of the walking tour, I made my way back to the James Joyce Centre (which I found on my own without a map), and bought a few items from the gift shop: a copy of the one play ("Exiles") and the poems that James Joyce wrote, and a mug that quotes part of Molly Bloom's monologue: "and yes I said yes I will yes". When the cashier rang in my purchases, it took her forever to find the pricetag for Exiles and Poems. "I'm sorry," she said, "No one's ever bought this book before." I had to laugh!

I came back to the hotel and brought my purchases to the hotel room. I still have about 4 hours to kill before Troy gets back from his training, and I think that with my jet lag, I will have been in bed for a long time by then. So, I am going to go out for dinner and call it an early night. Troy is still out for training tomorrow, this time from 8:00 to 1:00, so I may decide to visit my dead people tomorrow. Most famous Irish people were expatriates, so there are very few famous Irish people buried in Ireland, but I will try to visit the tombs of Saint Valentine, Jonathan Swift (author of Gulliver's Travels), Gerard Manley Hopkins (Catholic poet), Michael Collins (Irish rebel), Charles Stewart Parnell (Irish politician), Sheridan Le Fanu (Victorian Gothic writer), Sean MacBride (founder of Amnesty International) and John Millington Synge (author of "Playboy of the Western World").

When Troy is free some evening, we would both love to do the "Evening of Food, Folk and Fairies", the "Dublin Literary Pub Crawl" and the evening of music at the Cobblestone Pub.

So, that's it for now and I am off for dinner and a pint before bedtime.

Cheers,

M.