Bobcat Baguette: Judy Moody

So... I went to Dublin. Oh, vey! It was fun. I met up with my friend Elliott, who is currently studying in Budapest. The fist night we got in, we dropped off our bags and headed out into the Temple Bar area where we were staying, and were drawn into an establishment by pumping reggae music. Sometimes you just gotta give it to globalization--rocking reggae band, with a singer who had red hair that sang in a jamaican accent but spoke in an irish one. we danced lots and had a pint or two.

The next day we wandered around the city. Although two days was not enough to really get our bearings, Elliott and i always found our way home because we were oh so very lucky to stay literally alongside the River Liffy. We bought a book for one euro at a bookstore, and chilled in a huge park in the city. in said park(click for video), we also found this beautiful pond with ducks and swans and even GREY SWANS, and other weird irish birds (click). we got very close to them--i was excited and a bit scared, and Elliott was excited and agreed that one of the swans was looking at me funny.

That night we saw an amazing live traditional irish band (click to listen), complete with guitar, banjo and bodhran (irish frame drum). I loved it so much. i wanted to take my shoes off and dance like kate winslet in TITANIC, but ALAS, i am a CLASSY LASS, and i just danced a little. :) We also learned that you have to let a guinness sit for a while then top it off before you drink it.

The second fully day, we did a nerdy yet glorious 'hop-on, hop-off' bus tour of Dublin. you get a ticket that lasts 24 hours, and you get on a double decker bus and ride around until you decide you want to see [insert irish monument here] and you get off and explore. Some other sites we saw were St. Peter's Cathedral, the art museum(click to see footy--please not i am not a professional film artiste), and the Guiness factory. The factory was eggcellent--we learned what goes into the process of making beer, and made friends with a british couple in their seventies. When they told us they were on a cruise for their 50th wedding anniversary, i exclaimed that i wanted to go on a cruise (shuffle board! darts! big bands!), but the lady said i had to wait until i was sixty.....

Lets see... that night we saw more good live music(click for sample!) at this place called the Mezz. These musicians were all in their 60s and were bringin. down. the. house. A friend of the band in the audience told us they weren't used to playing for such a young crowd any more, and were just eating it up. it was a very fun show.

Those are just some highlights, but basically, I had some guinness, ate some deeeelish potatoes (and nachos!!!!?!), saw all the sights I could and had fun catching up with EZ.