Our first “Irish breakfast” was fantastically healthy… but seriously…. Very good. I prefer the Irish breakfast over the American version any day. I was no longer tired but my feet were still sore and stomach fully ready for a breakfast of black & white pudding, scones, beans, ham, bangers, & tomato. It was absolutely brilliant and quickly became my breakfast plan for the whole trip. We started on our way down the bustling streets to Trinity College. Moving through the college students and busloads of tourists was like a game of Pac Man but worth all the dodging around. The campus literally is a place of living history. Still in use, it’s been an educational center since the 1500’s. The architecture was amazing and stately. The middle courtyard was tree lined and green. I’m still sorting out the fact that I am physically in Ireland. It is unreal yet quite real if that makes any sense. We travelled down the lane to the Grafton St. area which was teeming with shoppers from all over Europe. I could no longer tell that we were in Dublin. In fact we had a glass of wine in a French bistro surrounded by absolutely no Irish. The crowd was French and I could not pronounce the label of the rich oaky red I was drinking. St. Steven’s Green, from 1663, was a peaceful wooded park filled with Swans, nature lovers, and lots of people with umbrellas… which we were not. Yes, the weather changes 3 seasons in one day…really. We stopped by Dublin’s famous Walton’s Music store and I snagged a cheap but cool new electric acoustic guitar at a decent price. The trick now will be getting it back to the states. Now I can take a piece of Ireland with me on stage. After dropping the guitar by the room we continued walking in search of St. Patrick’s Cathedral. A swing by O’neil’s pub provided a filling lunch of fresh cut corned beef, cabbage, potatoes, veggies, gravy with a nice Smithwick’s to wash it down. Great and friendly place! We were even told not to go by “the flats” that held the little rock throwing ruffians we encountered the day before. Yeah, things looked a bit dodgy that day… On we continued to the amazing St. Patrick’s Cathedral (1192). The building and grounds were history spoken through space and monument. I don’t think that any picture could do it justice. Down the medieval path we stepped to Christchurch (1030). This church is easily the oldest building I’ve ever seen. Unfortunately, we were to late to step inside an take a tour. The outside was in extremely good condition and the bells continued to ring out with strength and glory. I hope to one day see inside of this intense haunting structure. Across the street we stopped by Leo Burdock’s fish and chip shop. I didn’t care that Tom Cruise and Liam Neeson were big fans of the place but I’ve heard of it’s great reputation since 1913. Let me tell you that cooking in “drippings” instead of modern oil is amazing! Enough said… We did also duck into a huge mall to get out of the rain for a bit. It was gigantic, white, had lots of windows, and very bright… unfortunately it was closing so we continued on our path. Rounding our way back to the hotel through scattered storms and sun we stopped into a sort of college/Shaun of the Dead dive bar for a pint of Smithwick’s. The Irish beer just tastes better here. I believe it’s a freshness thing but maybe it’s just because I’m here… no, actually it’s better… and expensive. Tomorrow is the car rental and left hand driving business as we leave Dublin.
