bragging rights

Hopefully I won't be speaking too soon. Or as they do here in Ireland. . .knock on wood. . we don't want the little people to think we are getting too full of ourselves. BUT. . that said. . .tomorrow we turn the car back into the rental place and set off by bus and foot in the city of Dublin. And so far. . . .Jerry has done a great job of driving. There are no extra bumps, bruises, scrapes or broken mirrors than when we picked it up. Dirty yes. . but not harmed.
I get bragging rights for being a goo navigator. . . .it has been a real test for both of us. Jerry had to learn to trust me. . . and my map reading (that is a long story in itself) and I had to learn to speak a language Jerry could understand. Like not saying. . ."over there" and pointing when he was in the middle of a round-a-bout.
I do have some more shout outs to make.
Sandi: OMG you would love the linen shops I have been in. there are christening gowns everywhere. And table linens that are to die for. Even the smell of each shop is fresh and clean like linen. The best think I have seen in there are bread linens. . .yes Bread not Bed. The kind of linen you put in the basket to keep your bread warm. Charming.
Herbie: To give you an idea of what it is like walking in a town or village try walking down 39th street from Belmont to Hawthorne on the west side. We are dodging mirrors and passing other pedestrians that walking bikes, or pushing stollers or just being rude and walking two abreast. This is in every village and every sidewalk. Not only that but have the sidewalk itself keep changing surfaces. Each store front could have a different sidewalk in good or poor repair. We go from limestone slabs to cobblestone to brick. BUT the crosswalks have sound indicators so that is a blessing, if only one. Jerry did see two blind people crossing the Main street here in Kilkenny, yesterday. Brave souls.
Sarah & David: All of Ireland is non smoking. It is nice to go into any pub and not leave stinking. Better yet, every cigarette machine has the words "SMOKERS DIE YOUNG" in large letters. And every pack of cigs have in VERY large lettering "SMOKING KILLS" Enough said.

Pub life. . .last night we went to Ryans, a pub the B&B hostess suggested. We don't think she has ever been in it. We saw they were going to have a group in on Thursday eve so we went in about 9pm and had a Guiness & Bulmers and waited. We sat at the bar. . . .I glanced behind the bar since there was pictures tacked up there. Interesting. . .I thought.. . .hmm. . .people in costumes and funny painted faces. . .and.. . .and... .cleavage. .. CLEAVAGE???!!! OMG. . . I look up the wall, up the ceiling.. . over there on the ceiling. . .down that wall. . . .CLEAVAGE!!! There were pictures of people like normal party pictures but there were more cleavage pictures than people pictures. Then a glance around the pub made Jerry and I come to the same conclusion. This was a cross between a Biker bar/Meat market/Traditional PUB.
I must apologize for not having the pictures for you all today. The internet cafe we are at will not recognize my camera link. When I link the pics I will give you a rundown of the People in this bar. and the soundbite from the band.
Tonight is our last night in a B&B tomorrow we will be in a swanky hotel in Dublin. We will meet our German friends Birgit & Reimer and their two children Kieran & Ella. So I am not sure if a trip to an internet cafe will be possible tomorrow. But I will try.
Love hearing from all of you on my email address. . . I can't write back since this connection costs me 3.90€ a half hour.
Cheers and May the road rise up to meet you.