Mike, in my case it is seeming to take a very long time to get over jet lag. I can't sleep very much at night, and so I am still really disorganized and a little disoriented, and running around trying to catch up on everything and seem like a whiz at work, with no short-term memory or anything.
I am still mulling over what I think of Ireland. I would like to go again, and see other areas. Dublin is like a gold rush town, there is so much construction and so many traffic jams. It is not at all what one would think from its history, but it is very exciting nonetheless. I mostly hung out in Temple Bar, which is a very old neighborhood which is being restored. I went to the bathroom at the Clarence Hotel, a very subtly modern and tasteful property which is owned by the band U2, and would have eaten dinner there except that it was Good Friday and everything was closed in deference to the old Catholic traditions. Kerry is a little too dead for me. Everyone is a farmer or a writer, and there is a lot of poverty. There are ruins everywhere. I crawled around ring forts and leaned against stone circles, and watched men speaking Irish thatch roofs at the seashore.
Ireland is full of birds singing in the early morning that I have never heard here, and the most wonderful flavored rice puddings from England called Mullers. On the other hand, they have not figured out the technology to make salt pour from the container you buy at the store. They have wonderful brown bread available everywhere, but the rest of the breads are very boring. Kerry is so isolated that strawberries come canned, like peaches. Don't even think of eating Chinese food there! It is just horrible.
The McDonald's in Bray is a wonderful place. They took a seventeenth century town hall and turned it into a very tasteful rendition, with marble fixtures in the bathrooms, beautiful old tiles and grille work everywhere, etc. I ate there every morning because I could not find any other restaurants where smoking was not allowed. Having lived in San Francisco for so long, I am really spoiled about that--I just lose my appetite totally when restaurants are full of smoke.
I am still overloaded by things I am catching up on, and am going to be a little spare on the threads for awhile. I see everyone here is talking away and having lots of contentious fun. Nice to be back! |
