The Wandering Rocks

Post-Pub crawl hangover (which didn't end until well after noon) I decided to shake the cobwebs off and get some fresh air.

I met Jenny and Rick at the Spire and we set out in search of some lunch.  We ended up at The Stag's Head,  which has been open since 1864 where I had my usual pub grub meal of homemade soup and brown bread, accompanied by a fresh Guinness.  After that, we continued to aimlessly wander around Dublin, seeing what we could see.  We passed through Trinity College, up and down O'Connell Street, got lost north of Parnell Square in search of James Joyce sites, finally found number 7 Eccles Street (where Leopold and Molly Bloom lived in Joyce's Ulysses), and only gave up our wandering when it became apparent that nothing was open except for pubs.  Summertime in Ireland finds the sun setting close to 9:30 or 10 pm, which is very disorienting, as it can become very late without you realizing it.

Since I didn't get to spend much time with Ronan the night before, due to pub crawls and hangovers, I decided to make an early night of it and head back to the house.  I picked up a couple bottles of cheap South African pinotage and found my bus stop.  After boarding the bus, it took me about 45 minutes to realize that I was going in the wrong direction, as it's only a 15-minute ride from the city center to Ronan's place.  I had to get off the bus (by this time, it was pouring rain) and carry my bags across and down the street to the bus stop going in the right direction, then ride 45 minutes back plus the 15 minutes I should have taken in the first place.  Exhausted, frustrated, and soaking wet, I finally arrived back at Ronan's.

It just so happened that Ronan was hosting two other couchsurfers at the same time - Peggy from Roswell, New Mexico, and her 18 year-old son, Alex.  They were making a cross-European trip and their last stop was in Ireland.  After I got changed and dried off, Peggy and Alex and I shared travel stories while Ronan and his boyfriend, Ned, cooked us a delicious dinner.  Ned called it "The Thing", as he basically just invented it on the spot.  It was a sort of casserole with mashed potatoes as a base, and chicken, lamb, and vegetables in a tomato sauce on top.  After Peggy and Alex went to bed, Ronan, Ned and I stayed up into the wee hours of the night, sharing wine and swapping stories.  Ronan told me a great deal about Irish history that I didn't previously know, and we talked extensively about American politics as well.  I always find it striking how much foreigners know about American current affairs and history, while Americans know virtually nothing about foreign countries.

Exhausted from a long day of wandering Dublin and a long night of food, wine, and conversation, I headed to bed.  The next day I would be leaving for Galway for three days... on the road again!