Dublin

We are back in the land of Leprechauns and the greenest greens you can imagine. The weather looked like home: sun breaks in between rain showers, temps around 64*. Both Michael and I got escort duty on the same excursion. There were two buses and 51 people going and he snagged 29 of the people for his bus. My bus driver and guide complained that he was diverting passengers to his bus!

Michael did a morning walking tour of downtown Dublin in quest of an ink cartridge for the bridge room printer while I stayed on board to save my energy for the afternoon excursion.   We went to Malahide Castle on the north Dublin coast, the medieval home of the Talbot family who continuously occupied the castle for 800 years until 1975, at which time the last remaining Talbot turned it over to the State.   Fine examples of period furniture and paintings were on display. There were 250 acres of lush greenery, and an Abbey and cemetery on the grounds.   Michael got to explore the gardens while I was busy herding strays. Come on, don’t you think grown-ups can figure out where to meet on time??? Grrrrrrr.

We stopped at the charming and upscale seaside town of Howat for an Irish coffee at the 11th century Abbey Tavern. It was dark, the ceilings were low, and the inside as well as the outside walls were stone. There were several fireplaces that were quite functional. We did enjoy a brief program of Irish music from a local fiddler. I do not like coffee; I don’t like anything that has mocha in it, on it, over or under it. But I decided that I would taste the Irish coffee because, after all, I am on an adventure and have to try the local delicacy. Ick! Irish coffee is coffee, sugar, whiskey, and cream. Double Ick!

The countryside was bucolic, and the coastline was craggy and rugged. The towns and villages were neat, clean and tidy.   In fact, the villages compete annually for the title of the cleanest village (the village of Malahide is a perennial winner).

I did learn some interesting facts about Ireland. The isle has been inhabited for over 8,000 years. One third of the population lives in the greater Dublin area. The west side of the island gets 225 days of measureable rain a year, while the east gets half as much (sounds like home). Palm trees grow in Ireland! Ireland is known for their painted Georgian-style house doors. This came about as a rebellion against the British when it was declared that all doors be painted black in mourning for Queen Victoria’s death. Gas costs $8 per gallon. The cemeteries were old, quaint, crowded, and a riot of color as almost every marker had colorful bouquets of flowers. The harp is the national emblem. There are over 100 golf courses, although with all the rain I imagine it might be wise to use waders instead of golf shoes. During the pogroms from Russia, Jews were told they were going to America, but disreputable captains dumped them in County Cork. Thus, there was a huge Jewish population early in the 20th century until the Jews figured it out and made their way to America. And finally, liquor by the bottle is prohibitively expensive; liquor by the glass is cheap. The state heavily taxes the bottles so patrons drink at the local mom and pop pubs, thus sustaining an important industry.

Again, I must say the Irish are the most personable Europeans I have ever encountered. They have such a great sense of humor and can laugh at themselves. I guess they have to in order to survive famine, a lousy economy, no jobs and high gas prices.

Tonight was an excellent meal with new dining companions. Tomorrow is the first of two sea days before we reach Reykjavik. Our first bridge game had 11 tables and we look for more tomorrow. We are heading to Iceland and out into the North Atlantic Sea. The captain said to expect rough sea tonight. I am keeping my fingers crossed that (1) I will sleep through it, or (2) he doesn’t know sh*t. I am opting for #2.