Ireland Lesson Number 23:

Muesli is NOT tasty. I bought some in the market the other day thinking that it looked crunchy and delicious, and excited about the fruit in it. Sadly, it appears to be comprised mostly of raw oatmeal. After eating this bowl, however, I do feel (for lack of a better word) quite fibrous. I suppose that's good. Last night around 6:15 many of the people in the program convened at the Blarney Inn on the corner of Nassau and Kildare on the south side of Trinity. The EUSA people had promised us "finger food", which turned out to be a mountain of deliciously fried items. After their consumption, I strongly feel the urge to run several laps around Dublin. 

Oh well! According to this sign outside a pub on Pearse St: 

After the food, we were supposed to break up into teams and go out into the city for an hour and a half to do a scavenger hunt. Several other UVa students and I thought better of this ridiculous idea, and spent the next hour and a half sitting in the pub, waiting for the others to stagger back in after a humorous display of over-earnestness. 

Needless to say, we did not win the Scavenger Hunt (even though we did fill in answers with some very creative Pick Up Lines). The winning team got a bottle of Jameson, but they were all too tired to enjoy it. Somehow, I don't think that stopped them from trying. 

We retired from the Blarney Inn to O'Neil's Pub on Wicklow Street because Monica, who had previously patronized the establishment, had positive things to say about the live music. O'Neils is a two story pub that is entirely covered in dark, polished, wood. There are all sorts of interesting little alcoves and places to sit, and 4 or 5 different bars. We sat on the second floor at a group of low tables near a long, curving bench under a broad picture window. It was a very interesting view out the window: the narrow stone street and the balustrades and buttresses of a large gothic cathedral. Because of our height, we appeared to be hovering somewhere up in the Cathedral's superstructure. The irony of engaging in Pub activities within sight of a church was not lost on any of our party, I do not think. The live Music was also quite nice, and I recognized some of the pieces from my Chieftains collection. 

The busses stop running at 11:30 and, because I have a 7 day unlimited bus pass and did not want to pay for a cab back to Santry, I left around 11:10 to walk back up O'Connell to catch my bus home. Some of the more dedicatedly celebratory among us decided to carry on and visit more pubs, perhaps in favor of finding some dancing. The one girl I wish to dance with is quite far away in Virginia, though, so I was happy to save my money, go home, and get some rest. 

Today, as I have said, I have eaten some Muesli. Also I have to do a little bit of editing on my proposal for Election Day Registration  that the Roosevelt Institution has decided to publish. After that, I think I will head out to have a look at the Cathedral District! I love a city that has a full district of Cathedrals.