made it

Okay, it has to be said straightaway: the Brits understand some things about travel that others just don’t grasp. Flew British Airways for the bulk of the trip, and aside from the airport saying a very adamant no to the plastic crochet hook (which I then just jammed into my checked luggage), the flight was comfortable, the food was good, the attendants friendly, casual and calm, the movie selections (yes, I got to choose from 5 or 6) totally workable, the travel kit cute and usable. I even caught a few zzz’s! Heathrow is an absolute joy. More so, I think, because of (in spite of?) the hell that was De Gaulle. Excellent signage, easy transfer to terminals...not a hassle in the least. They’ve even set up these little smoking “cages” (new since the last time I was there) that offer a nic-fitting connection seeker a little civil reprieve. So, so nice. Caught Air Lingus from there - a bare bones quick quick flight - and made it to Dublin within an hour. Caught a bus from the airport that brought me to Trinity College, where I asked directions and promptly got lost - dragging my luggage around for an hour (but finding a number of gorgeous things I’d like to remember to revisit) before finally sitting down with my map, a smoke and figuring it out. Blooms is a perfectly-located hotel - right smack dab in the middle of Temple Bar - even if the TV doesn’t work and there’s no coffee maker or kettle in the room - and they serve Continental breakfasts...can’t go too far wrong. And there’s a bathtub! Bonus!! Hooked up with M (whose luggage was ‘delayed’ from TO) and S and A...decided to wander around the city, get M some emergency underwear, and get some snacks before a little nap pre-pub. Scary thing was that I had become the navigator - having seen so much already and scoped out some potentially affordable shops. Gonna go back to Penney’s: a seemingly popular shop with cheap wares and some cute little items...Already found a coupla potential gifts to bring home... Napped hard and went out for some pub fare with S1, S2 & M...The second S is a new tenure-track from Canada working in a Tier 1 in a red red state in the US who just had a baby - fascinating discussion on the differences between doing so there and potentially doing it in Canada. She received the “benefit” of a new system at her institution - 6 weeks maternity leave. Also, the first year performance review isn’t to include anything at all about motherhood, mothering, or having given birth. She was full of fascinating information, and I hope I get the chance to speak to her again.

Kilkenny ROCKS in this town. A bit creamier, a bit heavier, a whole lot tastier. The table shared a Cobble (sausage, potato, bacon concoction) a stew (similar to the cobble, but more sauce - it tasted like the guts of my gramma’s meat pies, actually...really a downhome kind of taste) and sausage and chips...We nibbled until some dude named Kevin (who played ‘drunk guy’) came up to the table, hit on S1 and finished off our plates while his dude friend (who played the ‘nice guy’ foil to his friend's drunkard) apologized profusely for Kevin’s behaviour. They’ve got their routine down to a finely-honed art.

Seems the Irish have a bit of trouble with my first name. When they read it from text, they say it with an "...eece," but when they hear it and repeat it back, it becomes an "...ess." No lie, in the din of a packed pub, my name was marveled at because no one could imagine a parent naming their daughter "Guinness."

Wandered around for a wee bit, felt jet-laggy and wobbly, so returned to the room. My roommate doesn’t arrive until tomorrow, so I should enjoy a little by-myself time while I have the opportunity...

My room looks out onto a Mongolian bbq restaurant - with a really unfortunate caricature painted on the window, and a place called “Tambuli” with lizards crawling up the walls and a lot of beautiful flowers...I’ll have to see what that’s about.

Tomorrow, it seems, is already getting planned out...