today is my last day here. i stayed up waaaay too late last night which is a shame because i'm sluggish on the most beautiful day i've had so far in ireland. i don't believe there's a cloud in the whole sky at present and it's just warm enough to walk around in a t-shirt but not too hot. gorgeous.
yesterday i went against my usual travel shtick-- i booked a bunch of rooms in advance. part of the fun for me while traveling is not really knowing where i'm going, but i've quickly figured out that places tend to book up fast here, especially hostels. so i have every night except one planned, and i'm pretty sure i know what town i'll be in on that one night but just don't know the hotel. here's my sched: kilkenny, cashel, kinsale (near cork), kenmare (near the ring of kerry), dingle (-town), galway, ennis, paris, boston. i leave this island in 20 days. ready... go!
i'm ok leaving dublin tomorrow. it's a wicked town with a whole lot to do so i've been nice and occupied. yesterday i left the bustle of town and headed out to the coast on the DART. i spent the afternoon in dun laoghraie (spelled wrong i'm sure) and soaked up the sun and the sound of the sea. it was lovely squared. i watched the ferry arrive from holyhead, wales, and depart a half hour later. it was a tad chilly in the wind but there was this tiny beach in sandycove (where james joyce's "ulysses" begins) about the size of my toe and it was packed with sunbathers and swimmers. a group of brave souls jumped off rocks into the crashing waves and ocean. superb. there was a james joyce museum but i skipped it because it was too nice to be inside.
when i got back to dublin (only about a 20 min train ride plus a 20 min walk back to the hostel), i was raggedly tired. i actually took a wee nap after a wee cup of tea. at 7, i met up with L, a girl i met from aubrey, australia, the night before. she told me her aussie friends from belfast were coming down to visit her and asked me to come out with them. a german guy, A, showed back up at the hostel after missing his plane home, so he joined us, too. thank god-- he was the only sane one in the group save myself.
good gravy, nearly every aussie i've met in my life drives the shit out of me in one way or another. i hate to even write that because i'm not one to generalize a whole people (save the french) but it's my blog so i'll write what i want. here goes. most aussies i've met are arrogant and brash and loud-- much like americans but with different accents and more chutzpah. last night's group fit the bill:
L is sweet, 25, and completely self absorbed. somehow all conversations lead back to her. friend no. 1, D, aka, GULL (no shit-- that's what people call him and although i don't use names in this blog i have to make an exception here for GULL because GULL is the most annoying fucking name and amusing at the same time and rather hard to say), had a tongue stud and greasy hair. GULL is one of those guys who plays this game in conversation where you say something--anything-- to him and he shows no reaction and says nothing for longer than the usual pause in regular conversation. do you know what i'm saying? i really hate that. it's so disrespectful and manipulative. and annoying. friend no. 2, J, was this wacked aussie who plays by no rules, has life totally figured out and enjoys Xtreme sports! yeah! needless to say, conversation wasn't exactly stimulating but it was amusing how J was so into astrology and attempted to read my palm.
i really dug the pub. last call was at 12:30 and the pub closed at 1. i was ready to go home-- not cuz i was tired necesarily but tired of hanging with this crowd (except for german guy A who was super nice-- age 30, architect, interesting, not out on the prowl, real). however, i was talked into going to another club where drinks were served until 2:30. i shoulda walked home and called it a night but i wasn't all too sure how safe that would be-- in hindsight it would have been fine. anyway, the new club was full of men and skanky women all looking like leprechans and the spice girls who've loaded on too much self tanner. hot, crowded, loud, smelly. exciting for about 10 minutes and annoying after being checked out by too many leprechans.
fuck. we didn't leave until 2:30, not until after GULL started coming on to me quite heavily (puke!!), not until J was so drunk i was amazed he could walk straight, not until i was hoarse after yelling over the craptacular music. eww. finally i said, later kids, catch up, i'd rather get mugged than hang out with y'all anymore. A caught up with me and admitted he thought GULL was a major asshole as well. then we spoke french and parted ways.
rereading this i'm sure i sound like the world's biggest party pooper. there's some truth to that. the pub scene was killer-- fun, exciting, lively, wicked. i really enjoyed it; i could hear everyone talking, i could see everything going on, good people watching, etc. the club scene blew chunks-- i would have been better off pooping out while i was ahead after the pub.
this morning came far too early. i'm not hungover at all but i'm sleep hungover. i missed breakfast by about 5 minutes but the guy took pity on me and gave me access to the toast. i did laundry and had a bagel sandwich. exciting! but a nice day to dub in dublin all the same. next stop, quiet lovely kilkenny. over and out for now.