one quick question

Why do the toilet seats in Dublin NOT fit the toilet bowl? Is this what I have to look forward to all through Europe? Have I been spoiled my whole life by properly fitting seats?
(The attached photo is certainly not the most offensive example, it just happened that I remembered to take a photo while at the Kilmainham Gaol yesterday.)

Day 2 in Dublin: the big green bus

Before I left the airport I bought a Dublin Bus Tour 1-day ticket. On the morning of Tuesday, 28 July, I set out for the nearest pick-up point for my big green tour bus. It was pretty much in front of Trinity College, which is cool because that's the school that certifies my impending certificate.

I was very disappointed by the bus. The "live commentary" was a recording and it would be prompted at not quite the right times, so I really didn't know what it was referencing. Really frustrating. But, I rode along until the Guinness Storehouse!!! Some things are worth enduring a bad tour. I was on that bus with 3 girls who had been to U2 the night before and had been on a well-narrated big green bus the day before. They added to my frustration because they spoke of what a good tour could be! However, they really bothered most of the other people on the bus, but I just laughed. They, too, got off at Guinness, but they disappeared into it before I was hardly off the bus! And I thought I was the one in a hurry for a pint.

I took my time. I was able to take part in a 1/2 hour lecture in the Archives room that went through the whole 250 year history of Guinness. It was really interesting. One amazing fact I'll share: the harp on the Guinness logo was trademarked in 1850something. When the Irish Euro was being created, they (the people in charge of putting images on coins) wanted to put the harp on it as a symbol of Ireland. Unfortunately for them, Guinness already had the harp image trademarked! The compromise: the harp could be used on the coin, but the image is FLIPPED from the one on the Guinness logo! Check it out sometime. Very cool the power of the Guinness company!

One more super neat thing I learned: the widget (what makes a draught can possible) is better than the internet!! http://www.realbeer.com/news/articles/news-002071.php

While I was there, I got to pour my own delicious pint. The Galaxy Bar, on the 7th floor, is the highest point in Dublin (because it's a tall building on top of a hill). Beautiful views. You'd be able to see further if it wasn't always raining or about to rain!

I bought postcards, a keychain (I gave up ALL my keys when I left the states but realized I'd soon need a keyring, now for my suitcase lock, and later for my flat door), and a much NOT needed t-shirt....but it is SO CUTE! (just add this to the long list of clothing I'm going to have to WEAR on the plane tomorrow!)

After leaving the Guinness Factory (finally!) I headed back out to the big green bus. This time, I was so fortunate to have a real, actually LIVE, narrator. I learned more in the 4 stops than I did in the initial 10! Sad. And you know where those 4 stops took me??!!!........The Old Jameson Distillery! Apparently Day 2 in Dublin was my alcohol fiesta.

Unfortunately I was pretty tired by the time I got there so I didn't take but only one photo. Of course it's super cute! So when John Jameson started distilling, he had warehouses full of barley....which means there were mice. So they had a cat in the warehouse, Smithy, who caught about 20 mice a day. He was such an important part of the growth of the distillery, that when he died he was STUFFED. So that picture of a cat is an ACTUAL 200 year old stuffed cat!

Super funny, after the tour, a girl recognized me from the hostel. She asked me if we slept next to each other! Ha ha ha...our beds are next to each other and I hadn't even noticed. So we walked home together and rested before dinner. Margot, the girl I just met at Jameson, and Miruna, another girl from the hostile, and I all went to dinner for some traditional Irish fare. We all split Chicken Curry, Fish & Chips and Beef & Guinness Stew. Delicious! Of course, with Guinness to drink!

We stopped by THE Temple Bar of the Temple Bar area for a quick pint before heading home for the day....long day of alcohol tours!

P.S. Not sure why the pictures came up in the order they did. I even deleted and started over...and still the stuff cat is showing up 2nd.

The Oasis

I always get so nervous when needing to get to the airport that I invariably get there (here) way too early. So, here I am. My flight departs in 3 hours 10 minutes.

The perk 1: there was NO ONE in line when I checked in!
The perk 2: the cutie that checked me in is Irish!
The perk 3: the cutie Irish boy asked me if I would like to get "alinge pass" for $30...unlimited beer and cocktails and buffet and free wifi. Of course I would! I have 3 hours! However, I couldn't figure out what "alinge pass" is. I had him repeat it. Still didn't understand. So when I asked the woman at ticket sales for "alinge pass", she sold me a ticket to the LOUNGE! I had NO IDEA that's what he was saying! I guess I need to get better at guessing what foreign kids are saying since that's going to be my world for awhile!

The lounge is called "The Oasis" and the bathrooms alone made it worth the expense. Spacious stalls, well stocked with toiletries, CLEAN, even free tampax and maxithins (oxymoron?). I'm currently enjoying a Kingfisher beer and a vegetarian samosa. I'm not normally a fan of the buffet thanks to a particularly frightening Chinese restaurant experience and having been friends with Jessi (who abhors buffets more than anyone I've ever known) for so long, however......compared to buying food on the plane and/or living off of Clif bars, I'm opting for a little fruit and fried delights.

I'm not that nervous. The 1/2 xanax may be part of that (thanks Ilana!). I'm quite calm. Also, nothing feels real. I haven't had to show my passport since I was 14. That was more than 1/2 my life ago. And not only did I show it to him, he swiped it through a machine like a credit card. Things have gotten super high tech in the many years I've been away!

Saying goodbye to the roommates didn't even feel real. I think I've been gearing up for this for so long that it is just "right" that it's all happening. Go me!!

t-31 hours to take off!

My flight takes off tomorrow at 9:40 p.m. My bag currently weighs 22.3 kg. That's 2.3 kg over the allowance from Dublin to Prague. That's not including ANY books, which puts all books in my carry-on. Not quite sure what to take out at this point.

I actually feel a sense of calm. I did laundry this morning. My bag is essentially packed. The animals are taken care of (although I WILL change the litterbox before going!). I've developed a little cold but I've been taking wild amounts of EmergenC and DayQuil so I think I won't explode on the plane.

My roommates are super wonderful. They're making a wonderful last supper for me tonight. Steak and squash and wine. Delicious! Then...drinks at a pub with a huge beer selection. Which means I need to get everything done today!

I'm working on a last box of things to send to my mom to hold for me. The rest either goes to Salvation Army (about 30 bags were dropped off on Thursday!) or my niece. I'll make one last drop off at the storage facility where I've left things for my niece to get when she arrives in NYC the first of September.

Things left to do:
- make sure all contacts from my paper address book are in my computer
- eat lunch! (I just realized I'm hungry)
- go through the small stack of paper work that needs to be dealt with
- pay credit card bill

I really think that's it! I'm in a state of mild disbelief that I'm really doing this and the day has finally arrived! I actually cried a tiny bit this morning thinking that THIS IS MY LAST FULL DAY IN NYC FOR I DON'T KNOW HOW LONG! That's so exciting and so scary all at once!

But first things first....nap time! If I'm meeting people out for drinks at 10 p.m. tonight....I should probably be awake!

Woke up from a dream....

I woke up this morning from a dream (dread? nightmare?) about the day I have to leave my dog behind. Really it isn’t a bad thing at all. I’m going on an adventure and I just can’t take her with me. And I’m leaving her with friends who really should be canonized (they’ve just adopted FOUR kids and are some of the best, most patient and loving parents I’ve ever seen….but that’s her blog, not mine). So it isn’t that I’m at all worried about her, but I’m worried about the logistics of the day, and I’m so so so sad even thinking about leaving her.

My dog’s name is Kiyomi and she’s the sweetest, calmest, most loving dog I’ve ever known. Which is really lucky for me because she’s the first dog I’ve ever had. I was afraid of dogs most of my life so I really got started on a good one. After being bitten by a Doberman (who thought my runny and laughing after his owner girl was threatening, decided the solution was to jump up and bite my ear),continually jumped on by the dogs across the street and my brother’s dog who was so aggressive we had to get a post office box because the mailman refused to deliver to our house anymore, I just didn’t think dogs were all that great. But then I bought a house, had an honest to god white picket fence, and figured a dog was supposed to go in that beautiful big yard to complete the perfect picture. And Kiyomi has been the perfect dog.

I left that beautiful house with the white picket fence a few years ago. I live in a wonderful 3 bedroom apartment in New York City now. I have roommates and so does Kiyomi. But that’s all about to change, which is really what this whole thing is about.

I am leaving Kiyomi with my friends, the saints, because I’m moving and really I don’t know where I’m going. I know where it all begins, I bought the one-way ticket, but where I’ll end up, I have no idea. And this all starts 5 weeks from tomorrow (cue minor panic attack). I fly to Dublin because airfare to get to Dublin was cheap and I figured once I was in Europe, I could find a way to get to Prague, which is my first major destination. But I figured, since I’d be in Dublin, why not stay a few days and actually see something? So, I’ll be in Dublin for 4 days! So excited. Then I leave Dublin on Thursday night, arrive in Prague, stay in a hostel for 2 nights and then move into the student flat on Saturday for school to begin on Monday morning.

I’m going to Prague to take the course in how to teach English as a foreign language. Lots of people have done it before me and there are lots of blogs to chronicle them, too. But this one is about me so that’s what makes it different!

P.S. I also woke up this morning with a huge bug bite on my heel, maybe that’s why my dreams turned sad?!