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| Peter, the guide, sitting in front of the door behind which the amazing Jonathan Swift was born. |
On the tip we met a some kids and all decided to get some pub grub for lunch. Once again we found ourselves at O'Neills (where we had dinner the first night), and once again it was amazing. I branched way out of my comfort zone and got Irish Beef and Guinnes stew with cooked carrots, potatoes and cabbage. Just thinking of it right now is making my mouth water in reverie. I don't know how the obesity rates in Ireland are not higher. They're food is so rich, but you can't stop eating it. It reminded me of the pot roast and cabbage dinners we have out at the cabin, except ... better (sorry to any family reading this...) Which brings me to the conclusion: I need to learn how to make Irish food.
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| Irish Beef and Guinness Stew |
After lunch, we headed back to the National Archeology museum where we learned a lot about the Vikings in Irish history. Then we crossed over to the National Library where they had a Yeats exhibit. We went up to the reading room. It was beautiful. I found a book that just listed all the names of people who died in the Northern Ireland conflict throughout the years. It was basically a book of obituaries. Some light reading for vacation, right? The Yeats exhibit was really cool, though. I was surprised. It was very well put together. I'm not really a Yeats expert. I'm not really a poetry expert for that matter. But this definitely got me interested in him. His life would make a great film... hmm, idea perhaps?
We returned to our hostel where we met our roommates Lauren and Chantel. Lauren's from Belfast and Chantel is from Australia. They all wanted a bite to eat, so I accompanied them to McDonald's. I didn't indulge though. I refuse to. (But fun fact, Irish McDonald's has "twisty fries", and another fun fact, they're delicious). We were there for quite some time discussing the cultural difference between the three countries. Did you know toilets in Australia flush the opposite direction? The more you know...
We realized how late it was and made a bee-line for Temple Bar. We had agreed to meet up with some people from the tour there. This trip to the bar gave me some revelations:
1. Swedish people are awesome in nearly every way and their English sounds very Americanized.
2. Bars in Ireland are way cooler than any bars I've seen in America and/or Italy.
3. I know every word to "Whiskey in the Jar" which every Irish band and their mother cover.
4. Getting drunk in Ireland; way more fun than getting drunk anywhere else, until..
5. I start to think way too much when I'm drunk. Seriously after I've had two Jack and Cokes (yes, I'm that much of a lightweight), I am a goddamn philosopher/expert on gender relations.
So we walked home, well Kassie walked, I sort of stumbled home, and crawled into bed.
