Back from Ireland

Couldn't get the Wifi to work on vacation, so I'm logging the days one by one. Highlights only. I promise.

Day One - Arrived in Dublin on a rainy Monday morning at 5:30 or so. Had left beautiful sunny skies in Chicago the day before and Kaaren and I wondered: "What have we done?"

But, after a nap at Bewley's hotel in downtown Dublin, the skies cleared and we were off to County Wicklow on the bus with our 40 other tour mates. Went to St. Kevin's Monastery, est. 618, where St. Kevin, a Catholic hermit, is said to have meditated with arms outstretched for so long that a bird nested in his hand.

County Wicklow is where actor Daniel Day Lewis resides in the countryside and rides his motorcycle into the village of Roundwood to visit the local pub, and guess what? No one pays him any mind.

Went to the Abbey Tavern in Howth near Dublin in the evening for a meal of salad, chicken, vegetables, apple crumble, and, of course, Guiness, and entertained by musicians and dancers.