Yesterday we had a great dinner at L'gueulton. We picked it out and when we got there we realized we might have chosen one of the most popular restaurants in Dublin. (Pic from their website. I didn't want to be that annoying touristy girl with her flash bulb) A sign taped to the door said "Full" which seemed strange because they don't take reservations. When we got the attention of the very busy host/waiter he told us people were waiting in line down the block and around the corner when they opened at 6. Maybe, just maybe if we came back 2.5-3 hours later we might be able to get a seat.


Well it smelled wonderful and people obviously liked it, so we decided to wait it out. In the meantime, we headed over to The Clarence for cocktails. It seemed like the whole city was out on the town for holiday parties. There were some extremely sparkly shoes out! The Clarence was full of people on their way to parties and grabbing a drink with the people they actually like before spending hours with co-workers.

When we headed back to the restaurant, they were able to seat us at a cute table under the chalkboard. I had the Baby Chicken and Eoghan had the Steak with a garlic butter sauce. It was amazing. Mine was actually a cute, little baby chicken. I took a picture, but you won't be able to taste the cuteness. We finished off with an equally amazing chocolate tart. So yummy.


After dinner we met up with Eoghan's friends. They were literally just around the corner. Eamon and Orla (Getting married on New Years Day) were in town picking up a wedding dress. It was great to see people we knew and we had a great time out with them.

Today we got a late start. We did manage to go to the Kilmainham Prison. It is probably most famous for holding participants of the 1916 Easter Rising.
Pretty interesting place.

Tomorrow: Heading across the country on the train.

Arrival

We got in early this morning around 8:30 am local time. It's pretty cold out, and we even saw a few snow flakes. The hotel was a little hidden but we found it, checked in early, and got some rest. Now we're heading out for dinner and pints!

4 Days in Paris

Well it is now March, but I'm finally getting around to posting about the Paris trip... I'm also going to try and attach a photo album.


When plans to go Dublin fell through, we did a check of what cheap flights might be available through Ryanair. It was extremely last minute and right in the middle of a busy travel season so we were pretty sure if we found anything at all it would be somewhere obscure. We had almost given up when I decided to go location by location (their web site is terrible, by the way) and found the perfect flight to Paris-Beauvais. The return flight was €5.00 for BOTH of us! I can't explain how Ryanair works like this, but it does as long as you don't bring more than carry-on luggage.

Day One
The next day we were off. First, we checked into our hotel. The hotel was right by the Sorbonne, and had the cutest window that opened out onto the street. It had the smallest elevator I've ever seen - the two of us barely fit inside. The rest of the evening we spent exploring the neighborhood.

We sat outside and had coffee and pastries, looked at the Christmas tree at Notre Dame, explored a cooking store with a dog in it, walked along the bridges over the Seine, and eventually found a resturant down one of the little side street.

Day Two
The next morning started out with a gastronomic crusade. We were going to find a restaurant with authentic crepes. Eoghan spent some summers in Brittany as a teenager, so his standards of authenticity are slightly higher than average. It took awhile, but we found the place.

First, we got to experience the famously sassy Parisian waitstaff. But, the subtle rudeness of our waitress was just funny. I ordered a cafe. It wasn't. It was a drink about half the size of an espresso, and twice as strong. Rich and delicious, but I'm pretty sure it could put a hole in my stomach lining. The crepes were absolutely fantastic. I wish I had gotten a picture of our chef, possibly owner of the restaurant. He looked like Asterix at age 70,with a pipe!

From there we moseyed on over to Bastille and the Effiel Tour. It was pretty foggy so the visibility at first wasn't ideal. However, we stayed long enough for the night lights to come on. The visibility opened up and the lights were beautiful. We spent a few hours there looking at the skyline, drinking mulled wine, and enjoying the ice sculptures and other exhibits on the middle platform.

On our way back to the hotel to change for a show, we grabbed some wine, cheese and pate for a little in-room picnic. We caught the late burlesque show at Crazy Horse. I got my own cute bottle of champagne! It was a normal bottle of champagne, but slightly smaller with it's own ice bucket.

Day 3
The next morning was beautiful and we walked through the Jardin du Luxembourg on our way to the subway. We then headed over to the Musee d'Orsay and spent a few hours walking around there. I got to see Degas's ballet dancers, Gates of Hell, an exhibit of Picasso's deconstruction of Manet's Le dejuner sur l'herbe, and some Van Goghs. Of course, Paris is supposed to be a romantic city but the couple sucking face in the museum cafeteria was taking it too far.

After the museum then we walked through the Jardin Carrousel and the Jardin des Tulleries, past the Place de la Concorde, and down the Champs-Elysees to the Arc de Triomphe. Long walk, but we started out right as dusk was falling. The lights and the last minute shoppers made the Champs-Elysees an amazing sight. I got a little distracted by all the lights and almost walked out into one of those deadly traffic circles.

For dinner, we found a great place that wasn't too far from the home where Jim Morrison died. The french word for scallops? I don't know, but they were fantastic.

Just before we headed in we tried the bar close to the hotel. The beer was flat and they only had a squat toliet. I thought I was done with that in China. We gave up on the place, headed up the street a block, and fell into bed. Despite the last place, it was another good day.

Day 4
The last day was very foggy. It was Christmas eve, and we were a little worried we wouldn't get out of Beauvais. We had a quick breakfast, were searched like terrorists at the airport, and finally made it back to Eoghan's house in Ireland.

Where did we go?

Let me know by which picture you can tell where we went. There are 4 total.

1.























2.













3.



















4.

Of course, I'll put the rest of the pictures up soon!

Suprise Trip

Hey guys - we're headed off again.

We found a inexpensive flight somewhere on Ryan air. We're leaving this morning and coming back Christmas eve! I'm not gonna say where, but I'll post pictures and you guys can all try and guess!

We'll take the safest plane. ;)

So exciting!

Wind and Flowers

Two quick things here.

First, I got flowers at the airport! Eoghan made this arrangement himself. The colors are really beautiful together.


















Secondly, it's super windy. I found this one spot down on the walk at the beach where I could hardly stand up. I would estimate it was a constant 50-60 mile an hour wind. It wasn't raining, but I still felt that I was in a hurricane. I'm not holding my purse like that - it's flying!

Suitcases

Well, it's off for another adventure. Eoghan and I are headed to Ireland again for a few weeks.

With all this travel it was time to get some new suitcases. After a good bit of bargain shopping (I love TJ Max sometimes) I found these suitcases that are quite large, and distinctive enough (brown) without being too garish.

Henry is clearly suspicious of the new suitcases. I'm pretty sure he knows we're going to be leaving without him.

International pet travel is not impossible, but it is 1) not without danger to the pets because they will be traveling in cargo 2) as expensive as my ticket. Henry has a lady down the hall who has offered to look after him, and Lester may be stopping by for rubs as well.

Eoghan has already arrived in Ireland, and seems to be having a good time. Now I've just got two exams to finish before I can leave and join him.