Ireland 2016

[Drunk Monk]

Yes! Got that 2nd cycle and am feeling stronger. At breaky now. HOLY CATS! The yogurt here! Sooooo rich! Why didn't I try that last time with the yummy dairy.

Today is thee whiskey tour. And I just got a surprising email. Ooh my salmon toast & eggs arrived. More later.

[Drunk Monk]

Try to get to the crypt of St. Michan's Church and see the mummies.   https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/st-michans-church

Thanks for that.  I took your advice and it was spooktacular.  I would've never gone in there but I'm so glad I did.  Grateful!

More to come.

[Drunk Monk]

Last night was rough again, but I got in two solid sleep cycles and today, my sore throat has vanished thank goodness. I'm still super tired, but getting into that Dublin zone and feeling more comfortable on the streets.  I'm not sure what's in these otc cough drops, but they really did the trick. Last night, I was sure I'd be totally sick today, but now my throat is fine and my headaches are gone (sleep is so helpful).  Actually I do know what the active ingredients of these drops are because it says on the box but I'm not going to look it up until I get home just  in case it's a placebo or prescription-only in the U.S. 

I thought I was going to woken up by breakfast because I can hear everything in the lobby very well from my room, as well as when everyone walks up  or down the stairs (also right by my room) but my when my alarm woke me and I rushed downstairs so I wouldn't miss breakfast, I was only the second person. The place was packed soon after because breakfast was almost over.  Breakfast was good - fruit & yogurt, tea, OJ, salmon, poached eggs & brown bread.  The yogurt was phenomenal - even creamier than the stuff we get at our farmer's market.  But I finally found the weakness in Irish cuisine - the fruit was canned (saved by the yogurt) and the OJ was terrible.  

Today was grey and wet as if it rained, but it didn't.  I think it was just cloud condensation.  I mapped out my personal walking tour last night because I was so awake, but abandoned it as I started walking, taking many detours when I saw something off my course, and exploring.  Went past St. Patricks & Christ Church to get to Jamesons.  Took the tour and it was very slick - lots of history and information in an animated presentation with a live narrator who was spot on and quite funny.  There was a tasting to compare Irish Whiskey (Jame), Scotch (Johnny Walker) & Bourbon (Jim Beam) and everyone sampled, even the minors.  And everyone winced - NOT whiskey drinkers - except for me and the couple sitting next to me from north Ireland.  He was hilarious and offered me his scotch & bourbon, then went about finishing all the Jameson left by the other tourists as few got to the bottom of their glass.  The tour also offered another complimentary shot but I had that beforehand - a wee bit early to be drinking but it's Dublin.  Then I checked out Michan Church right next door, the small crypt tour and the four mummies.  It was very intimate and the guide was hilarious - sort of like Riff Raff from Rocky Horror, speaking in an affected overly-dramatic way, with a genuine limp, and delivering a good history lesson. I explored that neighborhood north of the Liffey a bit and found the perfect place for Tara - a cat lounge (which is just a room filled with kittens, cat walks and lounge chairs) right next to a VR parlor (like our videogame parlor but just VR spaces and set). Like I said, I was hoping to go to the Gaol but I saw earlier online that it was sold out for the weekend, which is just as well.  I made it for Teelings Distillery, the first active one in Dublin and that was fascinating too.  I had lunch in the cafe there - a lovely red lentil, chickpea & chilli soup with a goat cheese & red pepper sandwich with onion relish, and an Irish rhubarb & ginger lemonade that was delish. Plus the cafe was playing reggae.  The tour reminded me of Anchor, especially the aroma as whiskey is essentially distilled and cask-matured beer. The guide kept pausing to ask questions and I was the only one who knew the answers to all of them because 1. I know a little bit about whiskey 2. I read all the displays in the waiting area and 3. I'd just got an Irish Whiskey refresher lesson at Jameson's.  That was fun and made me feel quite whiskey wise.  The other tourists were a bit awestruck and the tour guide was very amused - we had a nice discussion during the tastings.  Then I strolled back to the Kilronan along the Grand Canal,but started getting bad shin and calf cramps and had to sit down several times to rub/stretch them out.  I'm now back at the Kilronan taking a break before heading out in search of dinner.  It's Saturday night and I don't want to stress my forelegs much more as well as avoid crowds.  All in all, a wonderful day.  Dublin opened up her heart to me again and I'm so grateful.  

Tomorrow is shopping and maybe some museums.  Not sure yet. I'll surely be up most of the night again as there's no point on switching to Dublin time, so I'll surf the net and make a plan. A bay area martial arts guy that I know peripherally reached out to me over facebook on Daniel's recommendation - he's here doing some stunt driving training after just finishing some work on Into the Badlands.  I don't know him well - I think we met only once - but we know each other by reputation so we might get together.  We'll see.  I'm pretty spent tonight because of the leg cramps, but it is Saturday night in Dublin.  Not sure if I can make it all the way to Temple Bar.  Might just head back to Camden street which is much quieter and closer.

[Drunk Monk]

Well I wound up at Temple Bar anyway.  I started too late on a Saturday so every pub on Camden was either packed or didn't serve food. And I was fixated on seafood chowder.  So i stumbled about Grafton which was packed and soon found myself in Temple Bar and too hungry to think. Then I remembered Leo Burdicks, the fish and chips place that Greg recommended, so I made a beeline there.  That's a take-out place, so I found an empty bench nearby and seemed to startle passers-by.  I only ate a few chips because of the carbs and gave the rest to a beggar woman who seemed very grateful that they were still warm.  Then I got totally lost wandering the streets, but found my way again just as it began to rain.  I was near the Dingle Whiskey Bar, which has an awesome collection of fyne whiskeys - like 150 top shelf bottles - so I tucked in there until the rain stopped.  Then I picked up some snacks, including a limone e menta sanpelligrino (lemon & mint - never seen that before but I must find a source when I get home - now my fav of all their offerings).  It was a lot more walking than I wanted to do given my leg cramps, but now I'm back at Kilroanan now, resting and putting my feet up the wall.   

Today was a fyne day.  I tasted so much whiskey that I skipped my daily Guinness.  Strangely, I never got that drunk, only warm and buzzed.  My blood sugar is 103 - perfect.  

That stuntman contacted me so we've got dinner plans tomorrow. I hope to hit a few shops and museums, and just enjoy my last day here. 

[Greg]

Yes, it was the rain that drove you into the Dingle Whiskey bar. I believe you. No, I do.

[Dr. Ivor Yeti]

yes, rain is so unusual in Ireland. I can see that you'd want to get indoors immediately.

[Drunk Monk]

Alright alright. It's a fair cop but society is to blame. I spied that whiskey shop last time and may have been in that area just for that.

I slept the night thru. If I've made the time change, I'll be mad next week.

I have a post illness dry cough, and my forelegs are sore, but I'm ready for my final day here.

[Drunk Monk]

I'm posting from Temple Bar which has free wifi throughout (although I won't be surprised if my sitonyourfacebook gets hacked because of it).  Today is Xmas shopping, wandering & gloating about it here. Ah, my smoked haddock & cockle soup is here. Yum.

---

I was going to brag about how good that was but it was a tad salty and potato heavy. So I'd only give it 4.95 stars out of 5, instead of the usual 5++ for most of the Irish eats. 

[Drunk Monk]

They are filming a movie with Blake Lively next to st Stephens green - tech said it will be called rhythm section. Didn't feel like standing in the rain to see Blake. They have a stage light the size of a minivan suspended by a 40ft crane in front of a nice hotel facing St Stephen's Green.  But it's just making a mess of foot traffic.  No sign of cameras or actors.  


I saw that Saoirse Ronan & U2 were on SNL.  Ireland strikes America! And hopefully, we're better for it.  I'll have to check that out later.  Today was all about U2 for me.  It was raining constantly.  But it was more of a heavy mist and only a few people bothered with umbrellas.  I opened mine a couple times, but mostly just walked in the mist.  Saw Dubliners in t-shirts, woman with skirts and bare legs, crazy.  It's not as cold - mid-40s - but very very wet.  It's kind of refreshing tho.  Cuts down on the cig & pipe smoke.  

The Little Museum of Dublin was a good history lesson, but a bit of a tourist trap.  The bottom room was dedicated to George Bernard Shaw and the top was U2 - those were self-guided tours and the best parts. I really must read some GBS - his essays on vegetarianism and socialism look intriguing. I've always been a bit put off by his comments on Lenin and Hitler, so haven't really engaged him. I thought the museum was expensive for what it was, and crowded, so I wouldn't recommend it. 

I also checked out the Irish Museum of Rock and Roll, which is actually a tour of a working studio where many great albums were recorded, as well as a 700-seat theater where Sofi Tukker is going to play soon.  Michael Jackson lived there for 6 months and they had his PJs, his keyboard and one of his jackets.  They had a lot of other odd things there too - several ancient analog soundboards that many classic albums were mixed upon, some odd instruments and memorabilia, and a lot of very Irish tales of great musicians - Sinead, Van Morrison, Pogues, Cranberries, Rory Gallagher, Thin Lizzy, and of course - U2.  Never put together how many greats came from Ireland.  That was much better than I thought it was going to be and they also had one studio room dedicated to U2.  U2 just dropped their new album last Friday and there are billboards and posters everywhere, plus I hear it being played about (at least that's what I assume it is). 

Mostly I just kicked about Grafton & Temple Bar today, shopping, window shopping, and wandering.  In the rain. Very very wet. Everything is soaked and I've seen several tourists slip on the cobblestones.   But I'm fyne with it now.  I'm all bundled up, actually sweating under my layers sometimes, and leapfrogging from indoor warm & dry places. Everywhere is packed with xmas shoppers, but I'm not on a schedule, so remain unperturbed. Can't even get down a half block of Grafton street without getting bumped into by someone. Crazy thick foot traffic. 

Dinner next - splurging on Matt the Thresher.  

[Drunk Monk]

Dinner was lovely.  I ate a lot of oysters, scallops and salmon, so many, so good.  Matt insisted on picking up the tab.  We had a rollicking conversation about so many things, but finished early as he has to get up tomorrow at 4AM for set call.  Turns out he lives really close to my hotel.  Ah, the Kilronan. This hotel has had great access and the workers here are very helpful, but being in the single closet has been surreal. I'm grateful for my own bathroom, but it's tiny.  The toilet requires multiple flushes and the shower has three temps: 3 red lines is scalding, 2 red lines is cold and 1 blue line is freezing.  I have to keep flipping it back and forth to wash.  The body wash/shampoo is blue, like hand soap in a public restroom.  I really really regret not copping the products at the last hotel because they were top shelf and there would've been plenty for three nights.  I usually do that - not sure why I didn't - but that was my major fail.  The TV LCD screen only works from one angle, when my head is up at the end of the bed.   I have to climb over the bed to get to the coat hanger. There's a random chair in that nook that I use for my backpack, but no desk (i just put everything on the floor).  There's a low shelf, like a foot high, with a glass and a cup with tea and instant coffee, but no way to heat water.  Maybe I should get it from the shower?  But if I go downstairs to the cozy lobby adorned with images of Irish writers and their quotes, the staff brings a lovely pot of tea with matching cup, saucer, sugar bowl and cream bowl.  Breakfast has been good, lovely salmon and yogurt although the fruit isn't great and the brown bread is like what we have back home, but there's plenty of butter.  It's been a surreal place to stay all alone, but the access to the strip is great and it's pretty cheap compared to other hotels in the area, so I can't complain.  I wouldn't've noticed so much if I wasn't tweakin on Cali time.  Anyway, I strolled about after dinner - it was warmer and clear - no rain - but too cloudy to see the supermoon.  There was a major homeless giveaway where Grafton meets St. Stephens - food, hot drinks, clothes - several hundred homeless had gathered. Aside from that the streets were pretty empty, but the pubs were still lively.  It's Sunday night, after all.  Even Irish need to work.  I went in search of one last pub and found myself back at the Dingle Whiskey bar, and had the bartender take me on a short tour of nitecaps.  Now I'm packed for tomorrow, watching Tv & surfing the net.  I'm sad to leave, but ready for the journey home.

[Dr. Ivor Yeti]

Safe travels!

[Drunk Monk]

Thanks!

Well, I slept a fair portion of the night through and feel rested, but I'm up now and it's a few hours until breakfast. The kilronan is extremely quiet now so I feel bad making any noise because if I can hear everyone else, I'm sure they can hear me. I heard someone's toilet flush a moment ago from the other side of the building (the pipes seems to pass my room too). I forgot to mention that this building dates back to the 1850s and has the original plaster work and some Waterford crystal chandeliers. But no insulation so the walls are thin and sound travels, adding to its surreality. It's a beautiful building - the tiny lobby and breakfast area is really sweet. My room is just weird - it's some sort of add-on somehow, a room carved obliquely out of excess architecture, or maybe renovated servant's quarters. In the Dublin museum tour, there was some focus on the intense history of poverty here, and the homeless situation now is an echo of that. I stumbled on to a large tent city and there are tents in all sorts of nooks as well as people is sleeping bags in the corners. It's so wet and cold - that hardship is intense. It reminds me how grateful I am for shelter.  Actually I'm only 'complaining' about the kilronan because I'm awake in the middle of the night and have nothing better to do. I'm actually charmed by its antiquity and weirdness and so glad I went this way instead of a shared hostel space. It's been totally worth it.

I'm debating about trying to sleep now because I'm alert enough to make it on the plane and I'd rather sleep there. I wish I'd brought earbuds because I could watch some YouTube. Traveling with my chromebook has been very useful, especially being alone to find resources, but odd. I feel I can't disconnect like I would for a nice backpacking trip. 

[The Queen]

I appreciate you making the trip, because once again, you've made my husband jealous and homesick and likely we'll use my miles to make a return visit sooner than I expected.

[Drunk Monk]

Haaaaaa.

My pleasure.

Just got picked up by Stacy @ sfo. That was way too short a trip. I felt like I was just getting my Dublin legs.

Epilogue & movie reviews to follow.

[Drunk Monk]

They are filming a movie with Blake Lively next to st Stephens green - tech said it will be called rhythm section. Didn't feel like standing in the rain to see Blake. They have a stage light the size of a minivan suspended by a 40ft crane in front of a nice hotel facing St Stephen's Green.  

Blake Lively (Getty Images)

Blake Lively Injured on Set of 'The Rhythm Section'
1:34 PM PT 12/04/2017 by Mia Galuppo

Production has temporarily halted on the spy thriller that will be distributed by Paramount. 
Production on Blake Lively's latest feature, The Rhythm Section, has been temporarily halted after the actress injured her hand. 
"Paramount, Global Road (formerly known as IM Global) and producers Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli today confirmed that filming has been temporarily suspended on The Rhythm Section as Blake Lively sustained an injury to her hand while filming an action sequence. Production will resume as soon as possible," a spokesperson for the production said Monday in a statement to The Hollywood Reporter.
The Rhythm Section, which is currently filming in Dublin, is an adaptation of the first of Mark Burnell’s Stephanie Patrick novels, which follows a woman (Lively) that seeks to uncover the truth behind a plane crash that killed her family — a flight that she was meant to be on.
Jude Law also stars in the feature from The Handmaid's Tale director Reed Morano. James Bond filmmakers Wilson and Broccoli are producing through their Eon Productions banner, with Global Road financing.
Paramount, which is handling worldwide distribution, has dated The Rhythm Section for a Feb. 22, 2019, release.
Read more: New Female Spy Films Look to Go Beyond Bond