Freedom!!!

FINALLY we are in the REPUBLIC! It feels of good to be out of the UK and back to free Ireland! The second we crossed the border from the North, the weather got warm and sunny, the signs read Gaelic, and Eiot and I had a definite sense of being home. Living here for a year was not exactly easy at the time, but we remember the bad times as fondly as the good knowing full well we only have to stay for a week before heading back to our house, garden, cat, and family.
We thoroughly enjoyed singing/playing in Christ Church cathedral today I explored the underside of the church at the recomendation of other choralers and discovered a mummified cat and mouse in the crypt that had been found stuck in the organ pipes in 1885. Quite interesting, to say the least.
Eliot and I took a group to the Porterhouse, our favorite pub/restaurant here in Dublin as it has great food (rare in Ireland) and is a great venue with 4 sories and lots of places to sit. Unfortunately, the Sunday match was on and it was very loud and packed... but I still had a Bulmers cider and a great time. Pubs in Ireland get packed whenever a match is on (doesn't really matter whose playing)... just think of each match like the Superbowl and you'll have a small idea of how involved the Irish are with their sports. Nothing good in my mind though... just football (soccer), hurling, and cricket. Needless to say, it was loud and a very good time!
We will be staying behind as the rest of the group so Eliot can play for the piper's club at the Cobblestone (http://www.pipers.ie/events/_080701Session.htm) We'v already been in Waterford last year, so we aren't missing too much. We are then taking a train to Killarney to meet up with the group, which we are THRILLED about... we've had enough bus travel for a lifetime! We did some research and found out they are having a special that makes the train almost as cheap as the bus, which is great beacause we will be able to get up and walk around, play cards, eat, not get carsick, etc. Yay!
All around I am just enjoying seeing all our old haunts, food we enjoyed, and places I'd never thought I'd see again. I also heard they finished the bridge over the river at the University of Limerick, so we just may have to go see that, considering how many extra miles we walked due to the construction there.
Yeah, there's a lot of things I don't miss, but overall it is very good to be back, but only to visit this time!