Dublin post and American army policies
Type your cut contents here.Damn, as soon as I set foot in the aerport RL took over and hasn't relented 'till now.
So, I came back in one piece (the same can't be said about my liver... just joking XD).
I nearly missed my plane 'cos my midterm was supposed to end by 10:30 and I finished the exam at 12:35, thinking it was 11:35 and I had to check in before 12:50... funa and games, folks (PS - Porto's taxi drivers suck...well, that one did!)
Anyways, after being searched to the point of nearly screaming 'sexual harassment', I boarded. Flying is amazing, except for the pressure in your brain when it's lifting. Quick trip fairly good weather and an unbelievable view.
Dublin isn't easy to describe. It's really a small town, very like Porto in many things (a lot flatter, though). It's cold and rainy and the bus stops don't have shelters.
There's a ridiculous amount of chinese, italian and indian restaurants, and you can only get irish food in a pub. O'Connel St has like, five or six McDonald's and Burguer Kings in all it's length. The irish are loud and so friendly you just have to smile at them. Your bus drivers rule!! I sang 'Molly Malone' in a chorus on one of the sightseeing buses!
Guiness is definitely the best.
Jameson has a guide that looks like a Kelly Family member but who's extremely good at what he does (hurray, Smithy, the cat and whiskey with ginger ale).
The National Museum of Ireland hasn't got the exihibits very well identified but it's varied.
I entered more churches in four days than I did the whole year! Christ Church was fun, but I liked St. Patrick's best because of Jonathan Swift and his secretary (I made a slash love story on the spot and to hell with you Stella!), and the sheer weight of history, the smell of ages and a long distant past...
The Book of Kells is interesting, but the Library is...beyond words - my lifes rapture, to be able to walk those shelves un-hindered.
Dublin Castle had the wittiest of guides and I learned a lot about the Revolution of 1916, why a country has, by law, to be ruled by a woman and how it isn't fit to manhandle a queen :D.
Oscar Wilde is a genius and James Joyce is weird. Wish I did the Literary Pub Crawl, but hadn't the time.
Temple Bar and Fleet St rule with a pub next to another.
Grafton St looks so lively in Xmas deckings, too bad the shops closed at six, except for Brown Thomas (too expensive) and M&S (to great - would spend all my money if I could, luckily, there were very few ATM machines).
Carroll's is god...it's everywhere!
I bought two things for me:
1- a book marker with and L in the style of the Book of Kells lettering
2- a tin of peppermint humbugs that are the most incredible sweets I've ever tried - the mint and then the soft toffee....*sighs*thank you
copperbadge
I have more photos with me actually in them, but my sis took them and I'm waiting for her to send them. I'll post asap.
PS - the 'well hung' photo is a huge outdoor. You can see it from the bridge across the Liffey and I just giggled idiotically for a whole evening to understanding 'poor-weird-exhausted-mentally-disturbed-girl' looks.
The Army question refers to the fact that I've been reading SG-1 slash (Jack/Daniel, who else?) and there's often the issue of Jack being in the military. I've seen more than once the claim that if Jack is discovered to be gay, he can be compulsively retired or even court martialed. Is it true? How does the 'don't ask, don't tell' work, exactly?