Dublin

Did you ever have a trip where everything went exactly right? I know what you're thinking ... what happened now?

Nothing! Absolutely nothing. The plane was cramped but it was only five and a half hours after an hour and a half taxi from the gate.

I landed in Dublin at 0530, cleared immigration in less than five minutes, got my bags in less than 15 minutes and walked across the road (look right, you're in Ireland now) to the AirCoach with 30 minute service to my hotel. I was in my hotel by 0630. Unbelievable.

Even more unbelievable, my hotel room was ready. David Kalman, my host and race organizer, called and said he would not be available until noon and that he and his partner, Darach McQuaid, youngest of the famous McQuaid cycling family, were going to come by, grab a bag I had carried over for them and head on to Kilkenny. I was to stay in Dublin and pick up my motorcycle in the morning. I took a four hour nap. Perfect.

I met Darach and David at noon and David suggested I call his son, Hunter, who was there until Monday as well. Hunter, his wife Nikki and their friend, Ash, were just entering one of Ireland's holiest sites, the Guinness Brewery for a tour. It was about five miles away and I told them I'd meet them after their tour and started walking.

Dublin is a walking city. The streets are busy, narrow, tree-lined and I've not seen a building other than church steeples more than four stories high. One of the first buildings I came across was the U.S. Embassy. What an architectural monstrosity! If there were not so many Irishmen in the U.S., I'm sure the Irish would have severed diplomatic relations just because we built that eyesore.

The rest of the walk was most interesting with a variety of homes of levels of style and grandeur.

I met my new friends at the Guinness Brewery .

Not my Friends

They'd already enjoyed one Irish landmark and now wanted to revisit a second. These were my kind of people! Off we went to John Jameson's distillery for an Irish Coffee. What a treat! My favorite liquor in one of the best Irish Coffees I've ever had. I even got into a fight with the serving wench (her term not mine) about the origin of Irish Coffee. I know I was right that it was invented at the Buena Vista Cafe in San Francisco but surrendered to her so I could get my hands on the one she had so expertly made in Dublin.

Hunter is the One in Sunglasses

The Surly Serving Wench in the Background

Then off we went to get a bite before joining a literary pub craw through central Dublin. On the way we four Americans found a Sushi Restaurant in Dubin where our waiter was of Japanese heritage from Boise, ID. If you're ever yearning for sushi in Dublin try Yokohama just on the north side of the Ha'penny Bridge.

Fanciful Decoration on a Central Dublin Building

We made it to the Duke Street Pub in time to down another pint before the serious drinking began. Our two hosts for the Crawl, Brendan and John did a superior job of educating and entertaining us as we visited three more pubs with more than adequate imbibing time and in between Trinity College and the now retired St. Andrew's church, all the while telling us about and performing works by Oscar Wilde, Samuel Beckett, James Joyce to name few of the thirty or so they spoke of.

Trinity College

We finished off the evening with a late dinner at the Gotham Cafe with dishes like Wall Street Pizza and a Spicy Shrimp salad with the most amazing HOT (warm) crisp lettuce I ever tasted.

It was a great day and, with my new friends, Dublin is a city I will never forget. First impressions are lasting and this was a fantastic first impression.