9-19-10 Felicia

Things are good. We're well-rested for the first time since arriving here, we're in a country that speaks our language (enjoy it while it lasts) and we are sitting on a real couch in a quiet room with wireless internet. It's awesome. We're in Ireland at this hostel on Temple Bar, a neat, old downtown section of the city near the river.

We had some issues yesterday with leaving one of our suitcases in Madrid. Hopefully, my friend in Spain will be able to help us out. It's a long story. Short version: they only rent luggage lockers at the airport for 2 weeks, not 3 weeks, which is what we need. We left our luggage there in hopes that my friend in Spain can come down to Madrid and re-check in our bags into the lockers within 2 weeks' time. Otherwise, our luggage will go to luggage heaven. So awful! We couldn't take our bags with us because we had already stated we'd be flying with one bag, and with all the flights we're taking, the fees that we'd get charged for adding another bag last minute would probably equal the cost to just buy replacement stuff.

It was really stressful trying to persuade the keepers of the lockers to let us have the lockers for three weeks. In Spanish. Their boss should give them each a raise for sticking to company policy in the face of naked human anguish and bribery.

Anyway, that was our excitement yesterday. I like to think we handled it well. Sara said, however, that she would have cried if she thought it would help. We amazingly enough did NOT miss our flight due to all the drama, and made it to Dublin and our hostel without any trouble. As we walked off the plane in Dublin and the fresh clean air hit our faces, I got a traveler's rush and thought, You know, it's all worth it. What a good story it will make. :)

Last night they had live performances in the streets by some fairly talented musicians. There was a guy from Tokyo who played electric guitar and he rocked, seriously. I went back and stood by him for a while like a groupie, enjoying his music. He was having a blast, and I think he winked at me a couple times. I didn't really know how to be a groupie. I felt awkward and left, wishing I could have found a place nearby that was out of sight where I could have sat and listened to him.

We ate in a family-style pub and had cider and soup and bread pudding and custard and a pot of tea and bread and butter. It was great, just what we needed after a long day's travel. We slept in a room with three dudes from somewhere in eastern Europe who all slept in their tighty-whities. In the morning, our room
smelled like cigarettes, feet and damp luggage. Just some of the many joys of hostel living. I'm not sure if they're staying another night with us or not. For the record, and for the benefit of all parents reading this, they were polite and considerate and didn't even turn on the overhead light when they came in late so they wouldn't wake us up. Now, that was chivalry, wasn't it? I hope Stacey won't be shocked. Tonight is her first night in a hostel.

TomatoBasil soup

Stacey arrives this morning and we're going to try to keep her awake by taking her all over Dublin. Today, I hope to go to a vespers at one of the churches here and hear a real live boys' choir. Also, I need food! The daily search for sustenance begins.