'"It's snowing still," said Eeyore gloomily.
"So it is."
"And freezing."
"Is it?"
"Yes," said Eeyore. "However," he said, brightening up a little, "we haven't had an earthquake lately."'
From Winnie-the-Pooh By A.A. Milne
The final stop on our whirlwind European tour was Dublin. Much to our disappointment we were traveling from the warmth of Barcelona to the unseasonably cold weather of Ireland (you know it's bad when the locals are disgusted with how frigid it is).
Caitlin is part Irish (the part that her last name comes from) so she was extremely excited to step foot on her "native" soil. She even intended to buy a whiskey that bore her family's name, even though it was 'disgusting tasting'. She was also looking forward to trying local Irish beer - a sentiment I did not share, but supported.
Much like the two previous cities, we had every intention of embracing the food and drink of the land. For Ireland that meant bar food and beer. What we struggled with was how to find something more authentic than that which would be found in the "Temple Bar" district. Not saying the bars there weren't run by real Irish but we also knew that that area was overrun with expensive food and drink consumed mostly by tourist. We wanted a "real" Irish pub.
On our first day, providence struck. Caitlin comes from a family of cyclists. It's their thing. Her parents are even going on a tandem bike/boat trip down the Mississippi in 2015 (they had to book years in advance to get a spot, who knew such things were so popular? It certainly isn't in my crowd - but each to their own, I say). Because of this love of biking and their Irish heritage, her parents really wanted Ireland bike jerseys. As we headed out to find food we stumbled over a little cycle shop. With great enthusiasm Caitlin led the way into the shop. And there they were - Ireland jerseys! Plus, Caitlin found a jersey for herself that had a beer company (one we'd never hear of, if you know her, ask her about it) on it. She had to buy them.
The day was only got better from there. When we went to pay we encountered the cutest guy we'd seen so far on the trip. We flirted as Caitlin tried unsuccessfully to get her American credit card to work. Once payment had been taken we asked for a good place for a beer. The guys told us about this place down the street call The Black Sheep. And as they say, the rest is history.
By the end our three and a half days in Dublin we'd gone to The Black Sheep three times. This wasn't just driven by their delicious food and wonderful craft beer (according to Caitlin, remember I don't drink beer because I think it tastes like grass). Caitlin had a goal. For those of you who know Caitlin you'll understand why a goal made by Caitlin would be a reason to do anything to excess. Of all of my acquaintances Caitlin is the most competitive, goal-driven person I know. It's made her successful as a gymnast and is propelling great improvements in her triathlon times. What was her goal this time, you may ask? She wanted to a free beer. To do this she had to fill the loyalty card by consuming ten of their local craft beers (in addition she got a stamp for spending at least 5 euro per bill). The fact that the bartender didn't think she could achieve this just egged her on. Thankfully, The Black Sheep was connected to several other pubs that served this local brew so I didn't have to go to the same place for every meal. Not surprisingly, Caitlin not only achieved her goal but got four stamps on a second card. What can I say, when Caitlin goes for something she doesn't hold back! Thankfully I liked the food and they had a great pear cider I could drink.
Somehow, even with Caitlin's goal to get a free beer, we somehow fit in touring. We saw a castle, two cathedrals, a Georgian townhouse, a"famine" ship, and the Dublin Writer's Museum (somehow even more boring than the name suggests!). Plus, the highlight (well, really two highlights) of the Old Jameson Distillery and the Guinness Storehouse. We were in Ireland, land of beer and whiskey, we had to go! The best part of both is that, we went there first thing in the morning (because we knew they would be very popular sites), we were drinking by 10:35 am two days in a row (it would have been earlier but it's illegal in Ireland for places to serve/sell alcohol before 10:30, who knew?). Who's going to turn down a free drink? (Not really free, it was part of the ticket price, but still). Certainly not these two cheapskates! The Jameson and Ginger was delicious but it's official, I still don't like Guinness (Caitlin got a great picture of me making a face after trying it, I even have the Guinness mustache. Classic).
The most epic part of our time in Dublin has no real connection to the city but links back to the bike shop. When we got home on the first day, Caitlin pulled out the jerseys and what did she find? The security tag still attached to one of them. We were only slightly annoyed (Caitlin pretended to be more so than I did) because it gave us a chance to see the cutie at the shop again without seeming like stalkers. She'd heard he wasn't going to be working the next day, so we decided to hold off going back until we had a chance of running into him again (devious, I know). Caitlin had also contacted her dad and we needed to go back and get him a different size. At the Jameson Distillery the alarm went off as we went in the the jersey in Caitlin's bag so we decided to tell the guard before going out so we didn't have to get stopped (which would have been embarrassing). The guy offered to remove it for us (a little frightening, because what if we'd really had stolen goods?). We took him up on the offer (we felt it might seem strange if we refused) and then headed to exchange the jersey for a different size. When we got to the shop we told the guys (sadly not the cute guy) about the tag. Apparently the original sale was done wrong and when he asked who had sold it to us, we're pretty sure he stopped just in time to not say "was he attractive?" (both Caitlin I swear to this - but we certainly weren't going to describe the guy that way either!) Caitlin double checked the new jersey to make sure the tag was off. When we got back to the hotel, Caitlin pulled out the new jersey and (you guessed it) found a security tag on it! WTF! Early the next morning we trudged back to the bike shop and found the same guy as the day before. He actually asked if we had put the tag on it! We're claiming it was fairies (or ghosts - both, apparently, do all sorts of crazy things all over Ireland). But, seriously, who has ever gone to Dublin for four days and visited a single cycle shop three times!
By the last day in Dublin we were tired of the cold, snowy, windy weather so we just relaxed in our hotel before going one last time to The Black Sheep and Caitlin's free beer.
Caitlin is part Irish (the part that her last name comes from) so she was extremely excited to step foot on her "native" soil. She even intended to buy a whiskey that bore her family's name, even though it was 'disgusting tasting'. She was also looking forward to trying local Irish beer - a sentiment I did not share, but supported.
Much like the two previous cities, we had every intention of embracing the food and drink of the land. For Ireland that meant bar food and beer. What we struggled with was how to find something more authentic than that which would be found in the "Temple Bar" district. Not saying the bars there weren't run by real Irish but we also knew that that area was overrun with expensive food and drink consumed mostly by tourist. We wanted a "real" Irish pub.
On our first day, providence struck. Caitlin comes from a family of cyclists. It's their thing. Her parents are even going on a tandem bike/boat trip down the Mississippi in 2015 (they had to book years in advance to get a spot, who knew such things were so popular? It certainly isn't in my crowd - but each to their own, I say). Because of this love of biking and their Irish heritage, her parents really wanted Ireland bike jerseys. As we headed out to find food we stumbled over a little cycle shop. With great enthusiasm Caitlin led the way into the shop. And there they were - Ireland jerseys! Plus, Caitlin found a jersey for herself that had a beer company (one we'd never hear of, if you know her, ask her about it) on it. She had to buy them.
The day was only got better from there. When we went to pay we encountered the cutest guy we'd seen so far on the trip. We flirted as Caitlin tried unsuccessfully to get her American credit card to work. Once payment had been taken we asked for a good place for a beer. The guys told us about this place down the street call The Black Sheep. And as they say, the rest is history.
By the end our three and a half days in Dublin we'd gone to The Black Sheep three times. This wasn't just driven by their delicious food and wonderful craft beer (according to Caitlin, remember I don't drink beer because I think it tastes like grass). Caitlin had a goal. For those of you who know Caitlin you'll understand why a goal made by Caitlin would be a reason to do anything to excess. Of all of my acquaintances Caitlin is the most competitive, goal-driven person I know. It's made her successful as a gymnast and is propelling great improvements in her triathlon times. What was her goal this time, you may ask? She wanted to a free beer. To do this she had to fill the loyalty card by consuming ten of their local craft beers (in addition she got a stamp for spending at least 5 euro per bill). The fact that the bartender didn't think she could achieve this just egged her on. Thankfully, The Black Sheep was connected to several other pubs that served this local brew so I didn't have to go to the same place for every meal. Not surprisingly, Caitlin not only achieved her goal but got four stamps on a second card. What can I say, when Caitlin goes for something she doesn't hold back! Thankfully I liked the food and they had a great pear cider I could drink.
Somehow, even with Caitlin's goal to get a free beer, we somehow fit in touring. We saw a castle, two cathedrals, a Georgian townhouse, a"famine" ship, and the Dublin Writer's Museum (somehow even more boring than the name suggests!). Plus, the highlight (well, really two highlights) of the Old Jameson Distillery and the Guinness Storehouse. We were in Ireland, land of beer and whiskey, we had to go! The best part of both is that, we went there first thing in the morning (because we knew they would be very popular sites), we were drinking by 10:35 am two days in a row (it would have been earlier but it's illegal in Ireland for places to serve/sell alcohol before 10:30, who knew?). Who's going to turn down a free drink? (Not really free, it was part of the ticket price, but still). Certainly not these two cheapskates! The Jameson and Ginger was delicious but it's official, I still don't like Guinness (Caitlin got a great picture of me making a face after trying it, I even have the Guinness mustache. Classic).
The most epic part of our time in Dublin has no real connection to the city but links back to the bike shop. When we got home on the first day, Caitlin pulled out the jerseys and what did she find? The security tag still attached to one of them. We were only slightly annoyed (Caitlin pretended to be more so than I did) because it gave us a chance to see the cutie at the shop again without seeming like stalkers. She'd heard he wasn't going to be working the next day, so we decided to hold off going back until we had a chance of running into him again (devious, I know). Caitlin had also contacted her dad and we needed to go back and get him a different size. At the Jameson Distillery the alarm went off as we went in the the jersey in Caitlin's bag so we decided to tell the guard before going out so we didn't have to get stopped (which would have been embarrassing). The guy offered to remove it for us (a little frightening, because what if we'd really had stolen goods?). We took him up on the offer (we felt it might seem strange if we refused) and then headed to exchange the jersey for a different size. When we got to the shop we told the guys (sadly not the cute guy) about the tag. Apparently the original sale was done wrong and when he asked who had sold it to us, we're pretty sure he stopped just in time to not say "was he attractive?" (both Caitlin I swear to this - but we certainly weren't going to describe the guy that way either!) Caitlin double checked the new jersey to make sure the tag was off. When we got back to the hotel, Caitlin pulled out the new jersey and (you guessed it) found a security tag on it! WTF! Early the next morning we trudged back to the bike shop and found the same guy as the day before. He actually asked if we had put the tag on it! We're claiming it was fairies (or ghosts - both, apparently, do all sorts of crazy things all over Ireland). But, seriously, who has ever gone to Dublin for four days and visited a single cycle shop three times!
By the last day in Dublin we were tired of the cold, snowy, windy weather so we just relaxed in our hotel before going one last time to The Black Sheep and Caitlin's free beer.
Knowing Catilin makes me appreciate this tale SO much more! Thanks for sharing. ~Mom
ReplyDeleteThat was a fun story to Two Americans in Paris - opps - Dublin. Security tags - who knew they could duplicate themselves once detached. Dad
ReplyDelete