The last five days have flown by. We've settled into our lives here for the time being and have found our routines in between and around new adventures and delights. I think I might finally be on the other side of the Irish Flu. My eye got better and then relapsed. I'm back on the drops, but my sexy Kathleen Turner voice is gone, so that's something? We have a week left and still so much to see and do!
Day 14
Sunday began with an incredible breakfast at The Press Cafe with Peyton, Tim, and Clara. Then, Peyton and I took the bus out to Stillorgan for a delightful lunch at my friend Eleanor's. We've stayed with Eleanor during past visits to Dublin and visiting her always feels a little like going home. The day was bittersweet though because it was Peyton's last day in Dublin--there are cats and gardens and work waiting for him, but our apartment is a little empty without out him. For his send off meal we went to the chipper down the street and got some farewell grub. We did our best with the menu, but we had to do some discourse analysis back at our apartment on the history of a spice burger and the difference between a chicken burger and a chicken fillet burger.
 |
| Waiting for a bun burger, fish and chips, and a curry chips to go! |
 |
| I tried to find a link to this review, but I guess the Irish Mail doesn't have an online archive. |
Day 15
Peyton hit the road early. I only cried a little. Because it was a bank holiday, Tim and I sat around for a while before deciding to head out for a little adventure. We typically take the bus into town, but today we decided to walk to Grafton Street. On the way, we stopped at
McDaids, a pub that was frequently referenced in
Are You Somebody? I've been to lots of the historic pubs in Dublin, but I hadn't been here yet. O'Faolain mentions hanging out here with Dublin's literati in the 60s and 70s and you can see why this place would attract these sorts of folks. The space is dark and intimate with lots of spots to huddle together while guzzling pints. Tim and I had two pints and soaked in the space.
 |
| Tim with our first pint. |
 |
| Back of the pub. |
 |
| Gobshite. |
 |
Guinness on our table with men in suit coats in the background. Tim kept teasing that they were probably literature professors.
|
 |
| Front of McDaids |
 |
| Some of the gorgeous tile from the wall of McDaids. |
 |
James Joyce and Hillary Clinton.
|
After our pints, we had a little walk around Dunnes and saw our 1916 tour guide, Lorcan in the home goods section! I made a
Father Ted joke and said
at least we didn't meet in lingerie. Despite its size, Dublin also feels a little like a small town. We were all delighted with ourselves. Tim and I then decided to grab some prepared food from Dunnes for a dinner in St. Stephen's Green. The weather has been so nice that there was barely a green spot that wasn't filled with smoking teenagers, families with children, or elderly eating ice cream. I'm sure every bird in the place was bursting with leftovers galore.
On the way home I took a few photos of our walk. Because I'm trying to be in the moment, I don't actually take as many photos as I could, but it was such a lovely afternoon that I had to stop for a few at least.
 |
| We live near the Grand Canal, so there are little canals here and there--this one had a small waterfall. |
 |
| I love the reflection of the buildings in the water. |
 |
| For several intersections in a row someone had graffitied "Look Forward" at all the intersections. |
 |
| Well, thank you, I guess. |
 |
| Another canal shot on the bridge over to our neighborhood. |
 |
| Field of daisies. |
Day 16
Today was the first day of reading Nuala O'Faolain's memoir, Are You Somebody? The students seem overwhelmed by the sheer volume of references to literature, music, and culture O'Faolain makes. She feels like that cool friend who introduces you the stuff that you didn't know you should be reading. It's a sharp transition from That's That and I think students are struggling with how much more academic this memoir is, but we're exploring a genre and that's how it goes! After teaching, we both came home for the afternoon--Tim napped, as is his wont these days, and I worked a little.
Later, we met up at
Neary's with two other professors from UWL who were wrapping up their study abroad. We neglected to get a photo of the four of us, but here are my oysters!
 |
They were enormous and delicious, but could have been a bit colder. We were going to have dinner at Neary's but it was crowded and the service wasn't great, so we stopped for some Thai on the way home and Tim finally had his first spice bag and there was much rejoicing. |
Day 17
While Tim and the students headed off to a tour of Dublin City Hall, I got the morning off to do a little exploring on my own. Every time I visit, I try to find these folders that I really like, so I set off to a stationary store, but quickly struck out. Then, I decided to do a little bookstore roaming, so I checked out The Winding Stair and bought a collection by Ursula Le Guin to read in the airport later and browsed some Irish poetry collections. I also went to Eason's on O'Connell just to see if they had anything cool (they didn't). I was thoroughly walked out at that point, so I plopped down at The Music Cafe for a pot of tea and a scone while I waited on Tim. I sat in the window and watched the tourists walk up and down Wellington Quay and read a bit of the Le Guin--a perfect unhurried moment. Eventually, Tim showed up and we planned our afternoon adventure to Howth.
 |
| Mer-horses on the Grattan Bridge. |
 |
| The River Liffey on a cloudy day with pride flags. |
 |
| Queer graffiti. |
 |
| Feminist graffiti. |
I first visited Howth with Eleanor and her family the last time I was in Dublin. That day we took a ferry to Ireland's Eye, ate fish and chips on the green, and watched the boats come in and out of the harbor. Howth is a quick 40-ish minute train ride from Dublin and is on a little peninsula to the North of the city. The town is filled with seafood restaurants and shops--I found enormous oysters for .85! It was too far and too warm to take home anything perishable on the DART, but it was great to look around. Peyton and Clara went last week and there was an ice cream place we were told to check out. So, we found a seafood lunch first (piri piri prawns and seafood chowder) and then made our way to Little Moo where I had a couple scoops of ice cream (Wexford strawberry and rum raisin) and Tim had a giant waffle sundae.
 |
| Howth from the end of the pier. |
 |
| View of the bay. |
 |
| Two scoops from Little Moo. |
 |
| A giant sundae before the regret sets in. |
 |
| The physical incarnation of gluttony. |
Today was Clara's last day in Dublin, so she came over and Tim made us an amazing dinner of muscles and prawns. We enjoyed our last moments together, and then Clara went on her way!
Day 18
Back to the classroom for the second third of Are You Somebody? Today we focused on close reading and I asked students to spend some time in groups doing research on all the references they typically read through--we had a great discussion on audience and how we read. I think the students are more in awe of O'Faolain now than even before.
 |
| I just noticed today how judgmental this light across from campus looks! |
 |
Poster at the Luas. After class, I took a trip to the Chester Beatty Museum to pick up some incense from the gift shop (a request from a couple colleagues), to have lunch in the cafe, and to look around a bit. There was a fabulous exhibit on the history of the book from around the globe. Fun fact, in ancient Islamic books, painters might use brushes with the hair from squirrels, goats, or even the inside of a calf's ear. But the finest brushes were made from hair cut from the throat of white kittens, two months old. Painters frequently bred their own cats to ensure a supply of the highest quality hair. In other words, cats have always been awesome for those with discerning taste.
I then wandered home (foiled by two buses that never showed up) for a quiet afternoon with the promise of Indian take away for dinner. Tomorrow we head out to Galway for a few days and I'm anticipating a rainy tour of Inis Mór, which means I probably won't get sunburned again! |
Comments
Post a Comment