Chocolatey, creamy, luscious: the Cadbury Creme Egg. Available in the United States for a only precious few weeks each pre-Easter season; gone as soon as the last church volunteer peels off his bunny suit. Wrapped in shiny red, yellow, and purple foil. Nibble off the top to reveal the sugary sweet creme inside; die of […]
Ireland
St. Quinlan’s
I live around the corner from St. Quinlan’s music school — a massive Georgian building guarded by a blue vault-shaped wooden door. St. Quinlan’s prohibits the chewing of gum on the premises; is holding a Spring Recital in early May; is taking donations for said recital’s refreshments. There are black wrought iron fittings on the […]
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Lunch at Temple Bar
Audrey Hepburn I ain’t, 5th Avenue this isn’t. It’s Temple Bar; once Dublin’s Jewish ghetto and now a nightlife/tourist hub extraordinaire. At noon on a damp, rainy day there are less tourists than there are commuters. The cobblestone streets are slick, shining softly under the overcast sky. Objective: to enjoy some lunch in the scenic […]
Two Women, One Bus
On the 15A into City Centre, two women are sitting together, chatting gaily. It’s a sunny day. The bus bumps over the Grand Canal, heads up Aungier Street, makes a right on Harcourt Road past The Bleeding Horse pub. Woman 1: … and then she took them down to Disneyworld in Florida, you know. Sure, […]
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Green Clovers, Yellow Gardaí, Blue Balloons, Orange Wigs, and a Heck of a Lot of Black Stout
Hundreds and hundreds of years ago, there was a dude. He was a British dude. That British dude was captured by Irish bandits when he was a young man, so he spent a long time in Ireland. After his years of enslavement were over, he left and then returned to the Emerald Isle. That delicious […]
Is There Life on Mars?
It’s chilly but sunny on 3/10; the day I turn 30 years old, an age that once seemed as distant as Mars. But here it is, all up in my grill, and after a year of dithering about the looming decade, I’m pleased to see that I haven’t vanished in a puff of smoke and there is indeed […]
Hi Ho, Hi Ho, It’s Off To the Cave We Go
Ailwee Cave The Ailwee Cave is an ancient cave located in the Burren region of Co. Clare. We stopped there during a road trip last Wednesday. My parents, Diego, and Joy popped in while I took a time-out to get some work done on my mother’s laptop. This is what happens when I let my folks go to a […]
Ciotóg
My family has rented a car – one big enough for the 5 of us and their suitcases. Roberto, my father, is frustrated when he can’t find the keyhole; it takes him a few minutes to realize that it will be on the right hand side, and so will the steering wheel. This is an Irish […]
Achoo
And now, after 5-and-a-half days of Aran Island craic, I’m back in Dublin: Or more accurately, here: A-CHOO. Sniff sniff sniff. HONK. Sniff sniff sniff. Cough. Cough. Cough. Really, there’s no better place to be. Trying to get over my flu and get my strength up for the next week, when the Bruce […]
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The Last Supper
On your last night of vacation, why not splash out on dinner? Ah, go’wan. Go’wan, go’wan, go’wan. This is how we do it: Beef and Guinness pot pie at the Bayview Restaurant, overlooking Killeany Bay. Crushed meringue with strawberries and Irish cream to finish off. Now. The shuttle to the landing strip comes at 15:45, […]