May 6th - Dublin and Howth

This morning was the 11 mile run I was both anticipating and dreading. Its sunny, bright, clear and cold outside. I have a route all planned out but quickly lose my way and end up going in a circle somehow. I retrace my steps partway and decide to head down the Grand Canal which is what I should have done in the first place.

Strollers, runners, dogs, locks, ducks, swans, birds, flowers, trees; the run passes quickly. You'd think by my third year of marathon training I would know not to worry about those long training runs, but that seems to be a lesson I have to relearn every time.

I'm not 100% positive I'm going the right direction on my return until I see the Aviva Football Stadium in the distance. Since its right down the street from our b&b and looks like a giant flying saucer its hard to miss.

Lee has saved me a breakfast of granola, yogurt, dried fruit, grapefruit juice, French toast and coffee. After a shower it's time to head to Howth (pronounced Hoe), a cute little town on the seaside right outside Dublin. Cute yes, but also cold and windy! We walk to the lighthouse, snap a few pictures and then head inside to warm up and eat lunch. Chowder, mussels, fried oysters, oh and hot tea cause we're freezing. Then fortified we stroll some more. Up the hill to the ruin of an abbey. We go on a bit higher and then sit on a bench, ask other strolling couples if they know another way to get back to the train station. I produce a little laughter when I ask them "do you know where you're going?" The first couple didn't know anything more than we did, but the second couple pointed us down a pretty green path. We warmed up with coffee one more time and then made it back to Dublin on the train without incident.

That evening I signed us up for a literary pub crawl. With so many famous writers hailing from Dublin it seemed like an appropriate thing to do. The tour is led by two actors that combine drinks in 4 famous old pubs with recitations from Becket, Joyce, Oscar Wilde, and Brendon Behan, plus a drinking song or two to boot. I really like the bit from Waiting From Godot. That play is kind of boring and irritating to just read, because nothing happens, so I was pleasantly surprised that watching a scene is quite different and actually funny. I'm not much of a beer drinker but I do manage a glass each of Red Cider and Guinness over the course of a very entertaining evening.