Landed in Dublin mid-morning on Sunday. I actually had great flights. The middle seat on both the flight from SF to London and London to Dublin was empty. Huzzah! I managed to nap a bit on the long flight, but the real trick to beating jet lag is to STAY HYDRATED. Every time the flight attendants come by with water, have a glass.

My sibling, Tall One, picked me up from the airport (so nice) and after dropping my super duper heavy suitcase off at the apartment, we had a lovely brunch at Angelina’s. I was skeptical about the quality of avocados being from CA and so far from where they’re grown, but I ordered an avocado toast and was most certainly not disappointed.

Then we picked Tall One’s ridiculously adorable dog, a 3-pound Pomeranian, and took advantage of the sunny weather to walked around Merrion Square. I saw the Oscar Wilde statue. It’s made of 3 different kinds of marble native to the island, which is pretty cool. After, I fought off jet lag at the apartment while Tall One went to play basketball. Tall One’s live-in girlfriend, Miss Model, got home from work in time to join us for dinner at a delicious, but kind of weird place called the Spotted Pig.

Monday was the first official remote work day – 4.5 hours in the morning, an afternoon break for exploring, 3-4 hours in the evening. Can this be my schedule always? Having that morning time to get things done without interruptions made me extremely productive. For my break I accompanied Miss Model to a fun little opening event at the Newbridge Silverware flagship store. This store hosts the Museum of Style Icons, featuring the largest private collection of Audrey Hepburn clothing in Europe. The event was a little blah – it featured an artist from the 60s that I didn’t recognize. The museum was pretty awesome though. Sorry, no good photos, but if you’re in Dublin add it to the list.

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Tuesday was the same for work purposes. During my break Miss Model and I went to the park again with the dog and enjoyed salads from a nearby place called, Sprout. That evening she had an invite to attend the Dublin Institute of Design’s student fashion show. My first fashion show! It was lovely. There are a few designs I’d love to wear myself.

Thursday: BFF is here! She, unlike me, has not been to Ireland before, so I want to make sure she sees lots of things since we’re based in Dublin and she’ll miss some of the countryside things with me still working. Today we walked about St. Stephen’s Green, famous for it’s role in the Irish fight for independence. They try to do a good job of including the history of women throughout the park, but there’s some failure in that, summed up in a single bench. The Irish decided to honor Louie Bennet, the woman who led the fight for women’s rights in Ireland with a bench dedicated to her and her close friend. BFF and I went looking for it and almost missed it. Can you guess why? It is hidden behind a stone wall. Yes, a literal stone wall blocked the women’s rights bench. Thank you, Ireland and whatever male planner came up with that idea.

 

 

Friday BFF and I took on the Book of Kells, the Long Room, and the Hapenny Bridge. It was a lot of walking – gotta get those steps in. Neither of us are very religious (agnostic and atheist), so while the techniques of the Book of Kells were interesting to learn about, we were underwhelmed. Until we made it to the Long Room. Can I live there? It’s a beautiful library, part of the original campus of Trinity College, which was founded by my favorite woman of history, Elizabeth I of England. It did appear that the whole room was dedicated to male writers only. I found that disappointing. But sill, it was a giant two-story room of old, beautifully bound books. Worth the wait in line for any fellow nerds out there. Friday night was one of the best meals ever. Tall One took all of us and his good friend to Taste to celebrate his friend’s birthday. The dishes were some times weird, some times required interactive bits, some times fish, some times meat, and always delicious. If you’re not on a budget, highly recommend. If you are on a budget, come for one dish just to experience it, then plan for your real meal elsewhere.