Somehow it seems as if I just got here and I've been here for a long time all at once. It's weird. I only have a week and a half left. It doesn't seem like it's been 6 weeks already, but at the same time, I've settled in to a pattern that makes it feel like I've been here much longer. Anyway, stories.
Last weekend I made a new friend in Dublin. His name was Liam and he's probably not at all what you're imagining, so I will share the story. Almost every weekend, I go to Dublin and check out the local artists at Merrion Square.
On the weekends, paintings line the bars around three sides of the little park here. There are some really fantastic artists here. I always stop to admire the work of some. Last weekend when I stopped to see the work of a favorite, a little old man came up and started chattering away. I would guess he's in his late 70s, rather short, and very white-haired. He was telling me all about his life. Because of his job, he got to do a lot of travelling, and has been to something over 50 different countries. His wife (the painter) would go along with him and paint in local parks. Apparently, she looks like a woman to ask advice from, because she spent a lot of her time giving love advice to the young men in towns. Liam had a lot of wonderful stories and we chatted for about half an hour before I decided to take off. So I asked him for directions to Iveagh Gardens. His eyes instantly lit up and he asked how I had heard about it. It turns out, he proposed to his wife in those gardens, having met her in the building next to them years before. So, of course, before I got directions, I got that story as well. But I must say, he picked a beautiful place to propose.
This park was definitely a good place to spend some time reading and just enjoying a beautiful day. And conveniently, there was a dog park at one end, so I got to watch some dogs play for a while too. Of course I would find the dog park.
Yesterday, for a change of pace, I went to the Dublin Zoo. It was an interesting group to go with (Dan, Lu, Jin, and Chi Hsien). With the exception of going to the zoo lights in Columbus, I haven't been to the zoo in quite a while. It was a really fun day. I actually learned some interesting facts. For example, male Orangutans have a pouch of fat surrounding their face that lets the females know they are sexually mature and ready to mate. This guy must get all the women...
I personally liked the other monkeys better. They had a cute family...
I would have to say though, that my favorite animals there were the giraffes and the red pandas.
Unfortunately, my camera died before we got to the red panda, so I didn't get a great picture, but he was a fun little critter.
It was definitely an interesting group to spend a day with. Very different personalities. Made for a fun day.
Today, I went with Megan to Powerscourt Estate. I had heard of Powerscourt before I came here and it seemed very "Pride and Prejudice"-esque. Today we went out to see the gardens. Thankfully, we had another beautiful day in store. We also saw some dolphins jumping around in the water on the way there. I was unaware there were dolphins around here. Anyway, we took a train and a bus down to the estate, which was beautiful.
That's a view of the house from fairly far away and across the lake. I've always thought I would have enjoyed living in this time period. It's interesting to think about how different things were in those times. Although I'm pretty sure the gardens didn't look quite like this back then. I did really like the Japanese Garden, though I found the palm trees weird.
There were a ton of little paths, tiny bridges, and stone arches in this area, so we spent quite a while exploring it.
It was pretty peaceful and somehow, there weren't many people in this area when we got there, so we actually got to enjoy that side of it.
After the Japanese Garden, we went around to the pet cemetery. This was kind of an interesting thing. The headstones all said fairly unusual things. For example, there was one for Eugenie the Jersey Cow, who had 17 calves and gave over 100,000 gallons of milk over her life. And this one for Tommy the Shetland Pony and his wife Magic.
I kind of wondered how people felt about their pets back in these times. I think the engraving on one headstone said a lot. It read, "Doodles the Chow - Loved and faithful friend for 14 years. You've gone old friend, a grief too deep for tears fills all the emptiness you've left behind. Gone is the dear companionship of years, the love that passed all love of humankind." I would say they cared about their pets a lot.
We went through the walled garden after that. Some of the flowers were really pretty, so I'll share just a few.
After touring the gardens, we sat down for one of the best lunches I've had in Ireland. The whole dish was cold, fresh, and absolutely delicious.
All in all, a beautiful day, and a terrific way to spend a Sunday.
Now I have just nine days left in Ireland. I will do my best to fill it with interesting things so I have plenty to report back.
Until then,
KT
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