Visitors!

Very, very occasionally, someone we know from the US will come to Dublin. It's usually only for a couple of days, but it's always fun. Last week, my friends Rutherford and Dimitry were in Ireland for their friend's birthday up in Donegal. Now, they could have headed straight from Donegal to their next European destination (namely, Amsterdam), but I was honored when they told me they'd be taking a bus down to Dublin for a few days! I hadn't spent time with Rutherford or Dimitry for about 12 years so it was exciting to see them again! They wined and dined us, and by the time they left town I felt like a pretty pretty princess.

Unfortunately, their first night in town coincided with my mother-in-law's 81st birthday, so I had familial obligations elsewhere (more on that later). And then the next day, I had to work, which I absolutely could not get out of, so Mark and I met up with them at their hotel after I got out of work. The Clarence is supposedly owned by U2, so naturally I thought it would be as crappy as U2's music. However I was pleasantly surprised that the Octagon Bar (hotel bar) was extremely cozy. (In fact, our friends were quite impressed with their hotel experience there, and recommend it!) They also presented me with a fabulous gift from the US -- a bag full of boxes of Mac & Cheese!!! I nearly ditched them on the spot to go home and make it (ok, not really, but it was exciting).

Then we moved on to Yamamori Noodles on Georges Street, since Juice was closed. It turned out to be a great choice because they had something for both the meat eaters and us veg people. Rutherford and Dimitry live in New York, so I was afraid that their standards would be so high that anywhere in Dublin would be a disappointment, but they seemed happy enough. I enjoyed my bento box thoroughly, though I did learn that I'm not crazy about kimchee. Then we ventured over to The George for a drink. Since it was Monday night, we practically had the place to ourselves. Here's a photo of me and Rutherford underneath Ellen and Freddie:


Ok so here's an embarrassing admission. We walked our friends back to their hotel, and walked home, where I couldn't help but make a box of mac and cheese! Holy moly. I was in heaven. Like being transported back to my childhood!

The next day, I met up with Rutherford and Dimitry in late morning, and we headed over to the National Museum for a gander at the bog men. I bring everyone to this exhibit, and I never tire of it. Here's Rutherford and I pondering one of the bog men:

On the way, we made a stop at the Kilkenny Design Centre, where I have walked by a bunch of times but never really gone into for a proper look. I actually liked some of the things in there, I'm not going to lie! The Orla Kiely homewares were a particular favorite. Mark met up with us at the museum, and though it threatened to rain, we took a stroll through Merrion Square, which wasn't too exciting, but it was nice to be outside and chatting away. Then we couldn't resist bringing them to the smallest pub in town, the Dawson Lounge. I have to admit, it's adorable in there, though I'd never want to go when there's more than ten people inside! The bar man kindly offered to take our photo:

Mark was called away to his university, so we said good-bye to him and the three of us went to The Farm Restaurant for a bit of lunch, which was delicious. I really like that place. I had these crispy beet patties that I can't really describe, Rutherford had a chicken pie, and Dimitry had a hamburger. We left feeling "fat, dumb, and happy," as my father used to say.

Our last stop was into Brown Thomas, a sort of Saks-esque department store on Grafton Street. I don't normally go in there because it's too depressing and reminds me of how broke I am. But sometimes I do go in to do "market research" (aka drool over designer clothes and inspect how the construction). However this visit was a hoot for me because my companions were actual shoppers who intended to make purchases. Therefore I got to live vicariously through them and follow them around the store as if I, too, were an actual shopper who intended to make purchases. We didn't stray into the apparel sections, but I loved sniffing fragrances downstairs and prodding pillows upstairs. But the highlight of the experience were these one brand of candles. I know, candles aren't usually the most exciting things. But these candles weren't like other candles. These were Cire Trudon candles, a French company making candles since the 17th century. I am not joking when I tell you that I nearly cried when smelling these candles. (It's actually worth clicking the link and reading about the history of the company.) Here's a crappy cell phone pic of one of the candles:

At first, I lifted the glass dome and smelled the candle, but Rutherford, who is an expert at all things fragrance-related, sniffed the dome itself, which was way more fragrant! You're probably wondering what was so special about these frickin candles. Well, aside from the merchandising, it was obviously the scents. The "Bougies Trudon" (perfumed candles) are historic, unusual scents (for a candle) that seem to press a button to the emotional memory: "Odeur de Lune" (smell of the moon), mossy stone, hot and crusty bread, burning bush, to name but a few. I could spend half the day on their website. Anyhoo - after that cool experience, I dropped the boys off at their hotel, and returned home for a couple hours. After dinner, Mark and I met up one last time in our neck of the woods at our local favorite, L. Mulligan Grocer. We had a couple of rounds, and then it was time to say good-bye.

We were sad to see Rutherford and Dimitry go, but happy to have been reunited and caught up on each other's lives. They were so gracious and generous to us while they were here that I felt as though we were the guests and they the hosts. One day I hope our fortunes take a turn for the better so we can return the favor. For now we'll bask in that warm glow of friendship and feel the joy of being on the receiving end of kindness.

This week has been Heritage Week here in Ireland. Basically, all week long there are events all over the country in Tourist Offices, Libraries, Office of Public Works Sites, Heritage Centres & Historical Societies, Museums, Bus Eireann Stations, and Various Hotels, plus a bunch of other places. These events celebrate Ireland's history and educate people about the country. Actually, it's pretty awesome. So far, we've gone to three events. The first was at the Cabra Library, and a woman from the Dublin City Library and Archive on Pearse St to talk about genealogical research. Boy do they have a lot of resources I never even thought of! So it was definitely an hour well spent, particularly for Mark, whose family is from Dublin.

Yesterday we biked over to the National Museum on Kildare Street for a lecture on the Sheela Na Gigs of Ireland: "Mr Eamonn P. Kelly, Keeper of Irish Antiquities, NMI, will discuss the origins and functions of the mysterious sheela-na-gigs." The lecturer relied maybe a bit too heavily on his powerpoint presentation, so it was a bit more dry than I was expecting, but then when the audience started asking questions, his answers were a bit more off the cuff and more interesting.

Then we hopped on our bikes, and stopped for a quick bite to eat. I now have a dilemma! Remember my post a few months ago about Pablo Picante and their fantastic burritos? Well, I have to admit that Boojum gives it a run for its money. Now, the bean burrito at Boojum is like 2 euro more than the one at Pablo Picante, but it's a hair bigger. It was a really satisfying burrito though, and I am overjoyed that there are now THREE good burrito options (the third is Cafe Azteca, on Lord Edward St. which also have nice burritos) in Dublin. Hooray!

Due to a small wardrobe malfunction (note to self: don't bike around on a men's style bike with a pencil skirt), we stopped home for five minutes, then scooted back to the Cabra Library for Joe Lee's documentary film, "Bananas on the Breadboard," about the women traders of Dublin. It was a great movie! If you're into local Dublin history, I highly recommend this film, which is available from all the city Libraries. He covers a lot of ground in a short amount of time, but the women traders that are interviewed really steal the show. Tough broads with great senses of humor, for sure.

Anyhoo - I'm really looking forward to having a bit of a "me" day today -- I'm going to do some creative work, clean up my work space, go for a run, and then tonight I'm going to a literary event, followed by a gig at Seomra Spraoi, which I've just been asked to DJ (after the bands). So it'll be a late night for me, but a fun one I'm sure.

So my friend Stacey from high school and UNH (I won't say how many years back that's going), was in town for a couple of days, and it was so much fun! I got to be an unabashed tourist in Dublin. She got into town late Wednesday evening, so we grabbed dinner at Fortuna, a Chinese and Korean Restaurant on Parnell Street. I enjoyed the food, and found it to be better than Charming Noodle a few doors down. Then, since it was already 10:30pm and the bars close at 11:30 here, we went to Brannigan's Bar, where I'd been with Mark's Dad after "Comedy of Errors." It was great to chat and catch up!

Then Thursday morning I met Stacey at her hotel, and after I topped up my mobile phone over on Henry Street (an area kind of like Downtown Crossing in Boston), we caught some fresh juice at Nude Cafe, then went over to the National Museum because I wanted her to see the bog men, which I think are just so cool. I took some photos (ssshhhh):



Then I took her up for a quick jaunt through St. Stephen's Green, then down Grafton Street (a shopping area more like Newbury Street). We admired the pretty things in Karen Millen -- so inspiring. We decided on some key sight seeing destinations for the day, and agreed that paying for one of those tour buses would be a good way to get around town and see them. Not realizing that we could catch one right where we were at the Tourist Center, I made us walk all the way back to O'Connell Street! But we caught the tour bus there just the same, and although it was raining, there were a couple of dry, covered seats on the top level. I snapped a couple of photos. Here's Stacey, and the empty seats behind us:


We got off at St. Patrick's Cathedral, but they were charging 5.50euro to get in, and honestly neither of us wanted to pay that. So we got as good a look as possible from outside the cash register, and then got on the next tour bus, headed for the next stop: the Guinness Storehouse. The Guinness Factory hasn't been in use since 2001, and the building was converted into a museum, where they give the tours, and let me tell you it is pretty high-tech and elaborate! At the end of the tour you get to sit up on the seventh floor with these panoramic views and drink a free pint. During the tour I took a lot of photos because there were a lot of unusual objects!

Indoor waterfall:

Silk Hops display:

These held a lot of beer:

Old bottles:

A miniature ship with Stacey in the background:

Who is...

And here's me after the tour:

But the final room of the tour, just before the exit might have been most dramatic. It amused me so much that I took a little video. have a look here - there's sound, and let me tell you - it's dramatic!

After the Guinness tour, we went for a nice vegetarian dinner at Juice Restaurant, which was fantastic. After dinner, I thought we would head over to see some comedy at the International. But for some reason in my head I was thinking of a place over by the Liffey. But as we were walking over there, I spied H, from Seomra Spraoi. She informed us that we were headed the wrong direction to go to the International. She was telling us how to get there, but then she asked to join us, which was great!

H and Stacey outside the International:


When we got in there, I was a little shocked at how small it was, and additionally how many people they were packing into it! We managed to get seats and waited for the show to begin with much trepidation. I started to wonder if I'd brought us to the right place! But actually, while some of the jokes were not to my taste (a smattering of homophobic, racist, sexist jokes), there was some good material, and I laughed a lot and it was a good time.

I had wanted to take Stacey to The Long Hall pub, but as it was past 11:30 when the comedy show was over, they were closing. So we went across the street to Hogan's Bar, which was open late although the music was too loud. I admit that I'm not sure that everything I said made *complete* sense, given the beer we drank, but the three of us had flowing conversation on a wide array of subjects from politics to media to wrinkles! A full day, but so pleasant and fun.

Then this morning I met Stacey for breakfast at one of my preferred restaurants, LovinSpoon. This was my third time there, and it didn't disappoint. We both got the vegetarian breakfast, which was scrambled eggs on a pancake, baked beans, sauteed mushrooms, and toast. The coffee was nice and strong -- just what I needed. After that we traveled only a few steps to the Ambassador to the Bodies exhibit. I've gotta say that while I don't have any philosophical problems with the exhibit, and had always been mildly curious about it, first of all, I do not recommend seeing it on a full stomach. Secondly, if you have an overactive fear of death as I do, I also do not recommend this exhibit, as it consists of actual human bodies. Now, if you are a person who can separate these things in your mind (meat eaters, I'm looking at you), then maybe you're all set. But for me, I kept imagining that the bodies were my own body, and thinking about the fact that I will have to die and not be in my body anymore, and that my body with not be animated, and well, let's just say it takes me to a dark place on any given hour of the day, let alone standing in the middle of an exhibit full of dead bodies and body parts. I took a long trip to the bathroom to kill a little time.

Once we were out in the open air, it had stopped raining! So we walked up to Temple Bar and checked out that area, which isn't my favorite, so I took Stacey up to Georges Street through the Arcade Market and then through the shops over that direction, where the Powerscourt Arcade is. We went up to the Design Loft to check out the vendors, and there is some really cute stuff. This fabulous hat maker, Dessislava, made us try on all these hats, and we convinced Stacey to get a fantastic headband -- it looked amazing on, and I can't wait to see photos of her out and about in Boston with it on! Here's a shot of Stacey in one of the brilliant hats. It looked so good on her!


Then we walked back to the hotel over the Ha'Penney bridge through Moore street (the Haymarket-like area; she bought some bananas), and fetched her luggage and caught a taxi back to my apartment where Stacey's rental car was parked. I guess our parking space is good for something after all! But in order to avoid Friday afternoon traffic, she had to head out immediately, so we said our good-byes. She has a load of photos on her camera of our day together, which I will have to add later on. But it was fantastic to have someone from home visiting, and someone so much fun to be with, especially. I hope she has a fantastic weekend, completing her tour of Ireland. She now officially knows more of this country than I do, having driven all around it!

UPDATE: Here are some of Stacey's photos from our tourist fun in Dublin!
In St. Stephen's Green:

On the tour bus:

Drinking our free pint:

Me trying on a fantastic hat:

More hats! I made her buy the one she's wearing!