3-6&3-7

3-6-14:

The first few days here have been an odyssey of jetlag. I sleep late, or get up and go back to bed, get a late start on the day. Then I fall asleep for about an hour around 9:00 pm, then I am awake until 3:00 or 4:00 in the morning.

Yesterday, I got out to explore a cemetery with my cousin. As a professional genealogist, he catalogues the graves, does research, and puts the information on line. For me, I enjoy them on another level. So both of us were having a good time for different reasons. We went to one that was over 1,000 years old. The oldest headstone in there dates to about the 1700s, though. Vern says there are about 4,000 buried in this little cemetery – and that’s only since they started keeping records! No doubt I walked over the mortal remains of people who wouldn't understand a thing they saw if they were to rise today. Even more creepy: apparently in older times during great economic troubles, when people couldn't afford plots, they would have a funeral procession along the outside of the cemetery, then heave their dead up over the cemetery walls, dropping them into the cemetery unburied.  At least they used caskets… sometimes.

Came back home and booked a trip to Galway for next week. Also booked a hostel. So we’ll see how that all turns out.

Later, I felt it was time to strike out on my own for a bit and try out the public transport. A nice girl at the bus stop helped me count out the proper change for the bus and told me to get off where she did. It got me where I thought I wanted to go, even though that turned out not to be where I actually wanted to go. I wanted shopping; what I got were pubs and restaurants. Which turned out fine…

I strolled around a bit, having a hard time deciding which pub in Temple Bar I wanted to frequent. I decided on The Quays when I spied a single open seat at the bar – something I wasn't seeing any place. Sat next to four Frenchmen, tried to listen in and see if I could understand any words. Got a couple, maybe. Enjoyed a Guiness or two and listened to some live music. Was totally stoked they were playing Irish songs I knew, and everyone was singing along. Then the band busted out with Kenny Rogers' The Gamber, and I about fell off my barstool. I didn't see that one coming, but apparently country music has a following in Ireland.

After a couple of pints, I managed to find my way home after dark, in the rain, in a semi-foreign city.

3-7-14:

Today I slept almost to noon! Probably because I was on Skype with NeCole for the first time last night til about 3:00 a.m. Got up, got ready, and dragged Vern downtown. I still had shopping to do. Vern is 70, and says he has a harder time keeping up with me than he used to. He doesn't seem 70 to me, in my mind. He shows me where the shopping is, so very close to where I was, and we have lunch. He heads for home, and I head for the stores on O'Connell and Henry streets. 

Passed a group of guys dragging their friend out of a bar, trying to hold him up and aim his feet into his shoes which had fallen off. He had all the steadiness of a wet noodle. Clearly he was boiled.

The subtle differences are most obvious when shopping. An Asian market here isn't necessarily Chinese or Thai – it's more likely to be Middle Eastern. Food isn't take-out here; it's take-away. They have lots of local stores and chains, but you can also find Starbucks, Tower Records (I was excited to see), Penneys, and several other businesses you can find in the States.

O'Connell Street

Grand Post Office on O'Connell.

Spire on O'Connell. This thing is tall!

I stopped into a local cell provider called O2. The girl there got me set up with a cheap phone and pay-as-you-go service so I have something for local calls if needed. She was grinning the whole time – either at my “accent,” my idiocy, or something else. Or some combination. She was amused for whatever reason, but it was fun.

For dinner, Neal brought in fish n' chips from a place they said was even better than Burdock's. And it was! Lord, why can't fish n' chips be this good back home? There’s nothing even close to this good.

Sunset on the Liffey River (runs through the center of Dublin)

It was a gorgeous, sunny day. While out walking, it hit me that I will soon be doing this in more foreign places, alone, not knowing the language. And I again questioned my own sanity. This may prove harder than I thought – and I never thought it would be easy.