Day 23

Today is our last full day in Ireland and will mark the end of this blog. It has taken me almost 9 months to finish a blog that only covered 24 days (yes...I lost a day somewhere out there on this version). Thanks for bearing with me as I have dragged my feet finishing the story.

We want to visit by far more places today than we actually have time. We decide to check out the red DublinTours buses that stop right in front of our apartment on St. Stephen's Green.

We ask the first driver to stop what we need to do and he tells us to hop on and which stop to get off at so that we can buy our tickets. We can buy one ticket and can get on and off the bus as many times as we want all day long. This seems perfect for us. There is a tour guide on each bus and they hit all the things that we want to see with the tour guide describing interesting things along the way. They are quite humorous actually.



Our first stop is Dublinea at Christ Church. This is a children's play area/museum which takes you on a "hands-on" tour through Dublin's history.





Eamon has a blast, actually we all do. Eamon and I decide to go down into the crypt below the church to see the treasures and the tombs below. It is a little bit dark and Eamon gets somewhat uncomfortable but it is pretty interesting. When we come back up we can explore the church a little more, now that the morning service is over. There are a mummified cat and rat that were found to have died in the pipes of the gigantic organ of the church. They are now on display in a glass case. We end up spending most of the day here before we get really hungry. We don't find any good spots, so we decide to get on the next bus.
Our next stop is the Guinness brewery at St. James Gate. They have converted the old brewery into a museum which is encased in the world's largest pint glass. At the end of the self guided tour you are served a pint of Guinness in the clear lip of glass above the stout's famous tan, foamy head. We head right to the restaurant for lunch and a pint. The food is fine, but the Guinness is tremendous. It is definitely the best we have had on the trip. The museum is fascinating, with lots of tidbits and facts about the beer and the process. Eamon's favorite section is the advertising section which has posters from every campaign, and some really funny old commercials. Other than the restaurant, we spend most of our time here. After lots of trolling, we finally grab some seats at the top of the pint to sit and have our beers. The 360 degree view is stunning but hard to capture with the camera.



We manage to catch the very last bus of the night and ride the tour to its end. Unfortunately this means it ends at the main tour location, and does not travel past St. Stephen's Green again. This means a VERY long walk or a cab ride. The driver kindly offers to drop us off at a better location on his way back to the garage. He tells a great story about the Jameson's distillery and makes me wish that I could have fit that in on this trip. Ah, well, we will go there next time! We walk back to the apartment, and we are all exhausted. We make sure to spend the evening packing while Eamon (who has stayed on GREEN the whole day, somehow) watches television.
There is no doubt that this trip with the kids has been tough. We know now that future trips with the kids work best with one or very few home bases from which we can launch multiple day trips. The constant motion of our drive from Connemara to Dublin was the hardest part of the trip. All in all, though, it was well worth it, and, taking some of our newly earned wisdom, we will do more trips like this, planning them a little better next time.

Day 22

0700 GMT - Connor sleeps in this morning giving us the perfect opportunity to explain the new system to Eamon. He actually becomes quite enthusiastic about it. We put a green toy on top of the TV and after many questions and suggestions from Eamon he starts the day on GREEN. We turn on the TV and get breakfast going. Amy and I review the list of places/things that we want to do. We decide to visit St. Stephen's Green and the National Museum today. I dress and head out for a run on the Green. I am able to do much better today...the wind was a big impact in wearing me out yesterday. When I return, the apartment manager is there and offers to walk us through the whole hot water experience. It finally makes sense and we realize how to make the system work. It is still not particularly convenient, but at least we know what we are doing.

1100 GMT - We head out to the Green for a walk which we target to take us, eventually, to the playground. Eamon and Connor both have a blast. We chat with some local parents and watch the kids play.

We then head to look for a pub with music to have some lunch. We find a pub that sounds like it has great music, but the menu is limited and it seems to be lacking room for the family. Across the street is another pub, the music is not as good, but the menu looks good and there is lots of room. The musician is just one man, and he plays mostly 60's/70's folk music. The food is actually pretty good. We have a nice chat with a family that sits next to us, and then decide it is off to the museum which should now be open.

1300 GMT - Well, we get in line at the museum only to learn that we are at the wrong branch. This is the natural history one, which does not have the exhibits that we think Eamon will like. We meet an American woman who is looking for the same museum, and is trying to meet someone there, so we walk over together. The museum is quite interesting, and Eamon does rather well...though he gets a little nervous in some of the more dimly lit sections. The last section we visit is a history of the revolutions in Ireland and the final independence. I realize how little I knew of the more recent history of Ireland after spending some time in this exhibit. We stop in the museum shop so that Eamon can have a treat and we can have some tea. We wrap things up and stroll back to the apartment having had a MUCH better day.

1800 GMT - We are once again exhausted. We decide to order in and do so once more. I am not feeling really well, so I decide not to go out tonight. Tomorrow is our last day, and we work out our plan of attack. We still want to visit Dublinea/Christ's Church and St. James' Gate/Guinness. Eamon managed to stay on GREEN the whole day, though he did end up sitting on the bathroom floor a number of times. The new system seems to be working out.

Day 21

0630 GMT - Early day today. I was woken up several times last night by various New Years Eve revelers and Connor crying, wanting to be fed. Now Eamon is up and about so I turn on the TV for him to watch some cartoons. I remain in a rotten mood. I have grown quite frustrated with Eamon's behavior and feel rather at a loss as to how to deal with it. I have decided to not be involved in discipline of Eamon for the rest of the trip. In my wandering fury I try to avoid Amy completely. As soon as she wakes up I put on my running clothes and head out for a run. Fortunately they have opened up St. Stephen's Green just as I arrive and I get to put in some laps. I am feeling quite out of shape, and running against the wind is quite tough. The sun is out but I do get hit by some drizzles. I head back to the apartment only to have to take a cold shower, we have yet to figure out the hot water.

1130 GMT - We are all dressed finally and ready to head outside for the day when a massive storm hits. The winds are VERY fast and it is raining as though this were a hurricane or a monsoon. We take off our coats and decide to do a little more waiting.

1330 GMT - The rain has mostly stopped so we go off in search of lunch. We wander through the shopping district right next to our apartment, but have very little luck. We try a number of places, but none really seem to be what any of us are looking for. Finally we head back to a Chinese restaurant because they have Dim Sum. Once inside, however, we learn that all the food except for a few dishes has MSG. Amy is frustrated by orders some food and overall it is OK. Eamon and I eat the Dim Sum, which really isn't very good, but the other food is not bad. Connor begins to get cranky...it is time for his nap so we head out for a walk so that he can nap in the stroller.

1730 GMT - We are not feeling much like doing anything at the moment, and Amy and I are still talking to each other only as much as is necessary. We order delivery food from a magazine left on the table. It is adequate. We watch some TV and finally get the kids into a warm bath and off to bed.

2030 GMT - Amy wants to get out and hear some music. The real Irish Pub nightlife doesn't begin until after 2100, and we have thus never gotten to experience it. There is a pub listed in her Dublin guide that is very close to our apartment and is supposed have great traditional music. I tell her to go out and she promises to let me go out the next night. I spend my time reading and am still up when she comes back. She has had a FABULOUS time. She got to the pub and was adopted by the locals. The band was a bunch of older traditional musicians. Her new buddy slowly works her closer and closer to the band until she is right up on stage. He has told them that she plays the guitar and one of the players passes her an instrument. She tells them that she plays, but has NO idea how to follow them. They laugh and continue on. One of the younger musicians tells her that he has been trying to learn by playing with them for months and still hasn't got it figured out. She tells me that I have to go out. We use her great mood as a ice breaker to have a VERY long discussion about Eamon and his behavior as well as the way that we are dealing with it. We come up with a new plan similar to what he does in school. He can be on RED or GREEN. When he is on red he loses all privileges. He cannot play with the computer, watch TV or play with a grown up. He will have time outs on the bathroom floor with the door open and the light out. He is very particular about having all the lights on, so this drills the point in. He is not in the dark, he just can't turn on the light in the bathroom itself. We agree to explain the new system to him in the morning. We will use markers on the white board at home, but here we will just place a red or a green object on the television.