THE GREAT EIRE ESCAPE (warning, long Guinness-inspired post ahead)

Sigh, we wish we had more time to do this, or that said, some time to breathe since we last got off a plane and have to get back on another, but, alas, such is life. Okay, excuses first - the reason this was not posted last week was because in her 12-tech-free days in Eire-land, Art lost the ability to blog and appear to be working at the same time... But because she has to suddenly shoot off again, and given the number of people bugging us for the updates and pictures on that heavenly green gem, so this will have to do, sans her usual dazzling prose. Hokay.... Eire Day One: Twas a blardy long flight and I think Pete might finally see the sense in direct flights - as opposed to airports (read: Dubai) where two pints of beer cost US$20. We kid you not. NB: We are now willing to put our full weight behind Emirates, which, despite the hiccups during the return trip, have proven themselves phenomenal. In any case, shot through Heathrow and into Dublin, and headed for - The Brooks - which, despite jetlag, heavy-ish drinking and being ridiculously particular - proved to have been one of the best decisions ever... Much thanks to Eoin and Hillary, thank god for people who love us!! It was walking distance to just about EVERYWHERE, especially Hogans, which soon became party central for Party Dublin. Pete reminds me that forgot to talk about the singin' taximan..... who, all the way from the airport to the hotel, was crooning My Own Lovely Lee and was "a bit of a lark himself" said Pete. I shall not pretend to know what that means. Apparently, it does not mean that he is fries short of a happy meal, which would have been my guess. In any case, before the party started.... There was Mao's - Pete's fav Asian joint before he discovered ASIA... where, after flying 18 hours, a Nasi Goreng NEVER tasted better... So... (in arti style) the executive summary: Pete finally met "the boys" at Hogans (note from art - PERFECT place for a drink. Very cute Irish boys too!). The boys - his bestest of the bestest friends pre-Singapore, and, of course, post-Singapore. But these are the boys who adventured "art" together. Okay: Quick introductions: Jen (Paddy has reserved this one), Katrina (Rob's got rights on her), Hillary (Eoin beat you to it), Eoin (beat him up if you want Hillary), Rob (Sorry, ladies, too late), Cormac (this one's available based on latest info), Paddy (pete said: velour this clint.(??)..), and Peter EVERS! (Ace Dublin photographer.... too good for our camera, but who was Guinessified enough to comply to the group shot that begins this post!) Message from Pete (Williams) to Pete (Evers)... shoot over here will ya?? Show em what photography is about!! In any case, Pete got into Hogans and beelined not just for his mates, but the first REAL Guinness he has had in years... And honestly, I'm with him on this one - it does not just taste COMPLETELY different, it makes the version we get here taste like dishwater ... I eventually discovered something even better though: MURPHYS!! (although only after several mandatory Guinnesses, though I wasn't complaining, except about only getting half pints because Cormac decided "It isn't ladylike to drink pints". Right. Either way Ireland loves me. On the way to the Sugar Club, where the amazing Camembert Quartet are doing the do, we find not ONE but TWO signs that say ARTI!!! We ended up at the Sugar Club (missing: prelude at hARTIgans, where we proceeded to get even more happy than we were, and where Eoin, Rob and Pete apparently decided to blow a chair. Look and the picture, and I'll leave you decide what it means, and why in the world they are doing it... You see what I mean... Crazy Country... We did eventually make it to the Sugar Club though.. Home of the Camembert Quartet http://www.camembertquartet.com/.. at least that night. Memories hazy but several things that stick to the little active brain matter 1) Brilliant being able to congratulate Jen and Paddy in person (we're hoping to return to Eire for the wedding, hint hint!!).. ps: champagne and whiskey are nice... until you mix em and feel it (A-S-I-A, Asia!! whoever needs to understand that... does); 2) Camembert Quartet are brilliant... Fight to get your hands on the CDs. Declare war even... I am still rolling on the floor laughing... Life should be this good for you. 3) Jump! JumP! juMp!... Van Halen rules! 4) I cannot wait for Singapore to ban smoking in bars because for one - i didn't have to wash my hair twice a day, and for another, the wee little smokin place proves a brilliant place for socialising... even for non-smokers. By the time we left the club, we were royally wrecked.... Guinness, whisky and champers... sigh... but very happy. I was too cold to even notice what time it was or how much we imbibed... Of course, the loving hubby's solution - at 3am, and 0 degrees (or something) - decides that the one thing that will make me feel better is curry chips. NB: This is not curry. Be warned. This is sort of, well, not curry. It's like, well, sweet, hot (as in temperature), sauce (sort of), the exact colour of baby poo. That said, when poured over nice tasting and hot potatos at 3am, when you're freezing and will do anything for it, its lovely. That said, I ate it for all of a block before it was too blardy cold to take my hands out of my pockets for. We''d do it all again if the weddings of the century happened though... the recently engaged Paddy and Jen, and (not-yet-engaged) Hillary and Eoin.... In any case, we went to Aroma II to get the curry chips, and for the record, the joint looked like The Chip Shop fronting the arms trade or something. Half the people in there looked like they were 1) Involved in some kind of illegal activity; 2) Did jail time 3) Freelance for the WWF channel. But despite this, in a show of love, Pete makes me walk into it and get us a cheeseburger and curry chips. I swear I ran out of the door soon as I could. And no, I did not drop my chips.... Whatever that means... No pix though sorry.. I had one hand on my police whistle... Singaporean I am, through and through. Evidently, we somehow did get back to the hotel... Only proven by the fact that it was where we woke up... EXTREMELY fragile... Pete had the perfect solution - Eggs Benedict at Odessa (www.odessa.ie) ... amazing.. explains why his former apartment in Dublin was up the street from it.. I'm shocked he brought himself to leave. And thank God for Bloody Marys. Art