Dublin, Lisbon, and trying to get things under control!

It's been WAY too long and the reasons are:
- It's nearly the end of the year, which is always crazy
- I had a virus on my work computer, and can't sustain a connection on my home computer
- I have a 10-mile long to-do list, and when that happens I run away and stick my head under a pillow

Now, I'm slowly checking the list off, as evidenced by the "Hey, we moved!" email that I finally sent... 5+ months after moving.

And so, I think this is also a great time to share some pictures and a few quick thoughts on the latest travel.

Waaay back in November, we went to Dublin for the weekend. Essentially we were there for 2 nights and 1 day, but we managed to see the 2 important sights: the Book of Kells at Trinity College and the Guinness Storehouse. We also drank our fair share of the local brew even though neither of us was feeling 100%. But, as the old advertising says, "Guinness is good for you!" (Damn today's strict advertising regulations!)

We also had an unexpectedly fun night of local music... three guys playing traditional Irish music in the basement of a bar, devolving into utterly incomprehensible traditional Irish drinking songs that when we were able pick up a few words here & there we realized were delightfully lewd. We saw some impromptu jigging by the locals - one who knew how and others who drunkenly pretended. We thought we'd be headed back to the hotel by 10, but we ended up staying for last call.

One more note on Ireland: It made me decide to start a Top 5 Dessert List because I needed a special place for the devine Bread & Butter Pudding in Hot Whiskey Sauce we shared on Saturday night at The Winding Stair. For this and many more reasons, we'll definitely be back!

Another place we plan on getting back to is Lisbon, which we visited over Thanksgiving weekend. While the 10 days preceding our trip were 60F & sunny there, we had a lovely weekend of 50-ish rain + wind. Warmer than London, but not ideal for touring! However, the city seemed vibrant, especially at night, even in November, so we will plan a trip back perhaps in the Spring or early Fall.

In Lisbon, we met up with our friend Chuck (from Long Beach), and a friend of his Dlorah. (um... that's said "De-LOR-ah", but is Harold spelled backwards.) Together we climbed around ruins of 2 castles including one in the charming town of Sintra, ate some delicious salted cod, and started to explored the music scene, which seems to run deep, but we barely got a taste so that's a lot of what will bring us back.


Check out the pictures from Dublin + Lisbon and also a few from our afternoon out in London trying to get in the Christmas spirit ...

We're at t-minus 7 days to taking off for NYC, so the list keeps growing longer, but next time I think I'll write about what a "fancy dress party" is here in England, and why it's a bit bizarre for Christmas.