That's right, folks. We let our hair down, opened our wallets (a crack), and said, "Take us, Dublin".
It kinda started Wednesday night. Brian's summer school was hosting a "traditional Irish Music and Pub night" in the city, and after finding out I'd have to pay 20 Euro just to come along, I opted out. We are going to be one cheap old couple, that's for sure. Pity our kids and grandkids--they can anticipate many Christmases and birthdays in the future where they receive an inexplicable, obvious re-gift, like a stained doily or a Women's Weekly magazine from 1984. Anyway, the pub night. I felt very ashamed once Brian left for it--why didn't we just pay the money? I had talked about going and seeing a movie by myself while Brian was out, and although I felt pretty crappy about being such a tightwad, I forced myself to go. I'm glad I did. I saw Mamma Mia--my first time going to a movie alone, and in a new city at that--and it put me in a chipper mood. I don't even like musicals, but this was canceled out by a) Abba, b) the Greek island setting and c) Meryl Streep (rolling around, jumping, doing the splits, and other things normally reserved for people half her age--amazing).
Just after boarding the bus home, a body moved from the back and slid into the seat beside me, and it was Brian! Purely by coincidence, we'd gotten on the same bus. We shared stories about our evening apart, and it turns out I didn't miss much at the pub night. What the 20 Euro charge was for is still a mystery. It didn't buy food, drinks, or cover into the venues. It may have paid for the "traditional music" played by two guys, one of whom clearly had a Manchester accent and was therefore far from "traditionally Irish".
Thursday morning, like all of the mornings before it, was spent on campus. UCD, if you're curious, looks like any North American University--sprawling, with lots of buildings straight out of an engineering student's sketchbook... if they were drawn while drinking Absinthe... and without any regard for the people who would have to navigate their way through and around them. It does have a really nice fountain though, in front of the library.
Brian skipped Thursday evening's speaker (the evening sessions are not mandatory), so after having lunch here at the residences, we got on the bus into the city centre, with the intention of seeing a film (The Visitor--might be on DVD in Canada) at the Irish Film Institute. When we got off the bus downtown, though, the streets were abuzz with shoppers, tourists and the odd local, and we were sucked in.
We found a few cool shops we'd never seen before, grabbed a cup of coffee to walk around with, and sat for a while on the steps of the tourist information centre, drinking our Americanos and hashing out a few ideas Brian had been mulling over for the next day's seminar. In the course of our walk, we actually parted with a few Euro, buying a decoration for our new apartment, a box of notecards that were designed precisely with me in mind (if you're reading this, you'll probably get one at some point, and you'll know what I'm talking about), and a glamorous, oversized ring to rival the one on my left hand (at a fraction of the price, and without the meaning). Check it out:
After a while, we started feeling peckish and found our way to one of the restaurants that had been recommended to me by the receptionist at the salon where I got my new head-suit. Her idea of cheap, it turns out, is not in line with mine. The entrees were each around 14 Euro, and none of them were tempting enough to make us want to spend that much. We politely left the restaurant before ordering anything, and hoofed it to another place the salon girl had mentioned, and which we had passed earlier that day and approved of the prices. We each got a savoury pie for 9 Euro, Brian's filled with Guinness-braised Beef Shin (I know, shins!?) and Mushrooms, and mine with Lamb Moussaka, Roasted Aubergine and Minted Potatoes. They were to die for, but they were pretty small for our North American-grown gullets. Besides, we'd spied a Häagen Dazs
on our way to dinner and our internal compasses were pointed that way ever since. We treated ourselves to a sundae at one of their courtyard tables, and people-watched while we indulged.
Today will be pretty uneventful, but we'll have something to share with you by Saturday night.
It kinda started Wednesday night. Brian's summer school was hosting a "traditional Irish Music and Pub night" in the city, and after finding out I'd have to pay 20 Euro just to come along, I opted out. We are going to be one cheap old couple, that's for sure. Pity our kids and grandkids--they can anticipate many Christmases and birthdays in the future where they receive an inexplicable, obvious re-gift, like a stained doily or a Women's Weekly magazine from 1984. Anyway, the pub night. I felt very ashamed once Brian left for it--why didn't we just pay the money? I had talked about going and seeing a movie by myself while Brian was out, and although I felt pretty crappy about being such a tightwad, I forced myself to go. I'm glad I did. I saw Mamma Mia--my first time going to a movie alone, and in a new city at that--and it put me in a chipper mood. I don't even like musicals, but this was canceled out by a) Abba, b) the Greek island setting and c) Meryl Streep (rolling around, jumping, doing the splits, and other things normally reserved for people half her age--amazing).
Just after boarding the bus home, a body moved from the back and slid into the seat beside me, and it was Brian! Purely by coincidence, we'd gotten on the same bus. We shared stories about our evening apart, and it turns out I didn't miss much at the pub night. What the 20 Euro charge was for is still a mystery. It didn't buy food, drinks, or cover into the venues. It may have paid for the "traditional music" played by two guys, one of whom clearly had a Manchester accent and was therefore far from "traditionally Irish".
Thursday morning, like all of the mornings before it, was spent on campus. UCD, if you're curious, looks like any North American University--sprawling, with lots of buildings straight out of an engineering student's sketchbook... if they were drawn while drinking Absinthe... and without any regard for the people who would have to navigate their way through and around them. It does have a really nice fountain though, in front of the library.
Brian skipped Thursday evening's speaker (the evening sessions are not mandatory), so after having lunch here at the residences, we got on the bus into the city centre, with the intention of seeing a film (The Visitor--might be on DVD in Canada) at the Irish Film Institute. When we got off the bus downtown, though, the streets were abuzz with shoppers, tourists and the odd local, and we were sucked in.
We found a few cool shops we'd never seen before, grabbed a cup of coffee to walk around with, and sat for a while on the steps of the tourist information centre, drinking our Americanos and hashing out a few ideas Brian had been mulling over for the next day's seminar. In the course of our walk, we actually parted with a few Euro, buying a decoration for our new apartment, a box of notecards that were designed precisely with me in mind (if you're reading this, you'll probably get one at some point, and you'll know what I'm talking about), and a glamorous, oversized ring to rival the one on my left hand (at a fraction of the price, and without the meaning). Check it out:
After a while, we started feeling peckish and found our way to one of the restaurants that had been recommended to me by the receptionist at the salon where I got my new head-suit. Her idea of cheap, it turns out, is not in line with mine. The entrees were each around 14 Euro, and none of them were tempting enough to make us want to spend that much. We politely left the restaurant before ordering anything, and hoofed it to another place the salon girl had mentioned, and which we had passed earlier that day and approved of the prices. We each got a savoury pie for 9 Euro, Brian's filled with Guinness-braised Beef Shin (I know, shins!?) and Mushrooms, and mine with Lamb Moussaka, Roasted Aubergine and Minted Potatoes. They were to die for, but they were pretty small for our North American-grown gullets. Besides, we'd spied a Häagen Dazson our way to dinner and our internal compasses were pointed that way ever since. We treated ourselves to a sundae at one of their courtyard tables, and people-watched while we indulged.
Today will be pretty uneventful, but we'll have something to share with you by Saturday night.
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