25 August 2014

Whatever caught me at Loncon 3 still has a firm grip.  Mucus production seems to exceed liquid intake although I know that is not very probable.  That can be handled by several absorbent handkerchiefs.  What is worse are the spates of fatigue that keep me from operating at optimum.  I have plans to wander Dublin today and tour Belfast tomorrow.  Right now, all I can think of is napping.  

So, I take my example from cats and defer wandering for a few minutes (or more) of slumber.

The day started fine and I took a “Hop-on-hop-off” tour of the city.  I was delighted to refind the hostel at which the Los Alamos Rugby team stayed when we were in Dublin.  It is only half a block from Christ Church Cathedral (which, according to my map was built in 1036) on Lord Edward Street.  

I wandered the cathedral grounds and made friends with the girl who sells fish and chips, also made myself acceptable to the cathedral cat, Ginger.

There is an archaeological dig at the side of the 

Then on to Dublin Castle (1204).  It is quite nearby and I discovered some interesting parts which I had not seen last time I was here.  Of special beauty was the Garda Memorial Garden.  In the garden I saw the Beatty Library.  In one open square of the castle was a sand sculpture of Albert Einstein.  He was one of a bunch that had been there for a week.  The workers had already destroyed two or three, but Albert remained.  I took pictures of his “deconstruction.”

From there, I rode on the St. Patrick’s Cathedral (1192) and its accompanying park and garden.  I had a nice conversation with a priest there.  He was seeing to the concert entry gate.  He is quite proud of the fact that the Church of Ireland was the first of the Episcopal churches to confirm a woman bishop.  As I waited for the bus, it began to rain which seriously cut the photos I could take on the rest of the trip.

American Embassy

DART train








C lock on the Grand Canal













DKW tour of Dublin.  Viking hats are issued and de rigeur.

Dublin tourist information bureau used to be a church.


















St. Stephen's Park













Fiddling busker in pedestrian mall











Two French fuzzes giving hugs for free.


















Fruit stand and cafe in pedestrian mall.












Buskers on Grafton Street pedestrian mall.  
They are all live people....  except the dog.


















statue of harpist in Merrion Park.












Landscape in Merrion Park













Island willow in St. Stephen's Green

I give up.  This darned program has managed to make a fairly simple tool into a monster.  I'll post more later, but I am frustrated and still sick.


          I did get one of Kilmainham Gaol (by the way, gaol is pronounced jail.)  I left the tour bus at Nassau Street, near Trinity College and caught a number four bus back to Ballsbridge.  On my walk home, it started to rain seriously.  Thanks to my NASA cagool, my camera and I stayed reasonably dry, but I had, at that time, as much fun as I could stand so I went to my room and took a nap.

If the weather is reasonable tomorrow, I’ll take a train to Belfast.  If I read the fare correctly, it is only  €13.50 round trip.  That’s pretty reasonable considering that a bus ride is €2.35 and a taxi in the rain cost €4 for a 20 minute walk between the Double Tree and the Clyde’s Court hotels.

After the rain and wet plus the walking, I took a nap.  If the rain lets up, I’ll pick a restaurant in Ballsbridge for supper.  If it doesn’t, there’s a pub right here.

It had not quit raining by the time I got to the lobby so I ate in.  The meal was nourishing, but that is all that can be said.  However, the pint of Guiness was just fine and now I’m too tired to go on.  This hotel’s internet connection is not all it could be, so I won’t post this until I find someplace with reliable service and have the chance to add photos.

ambles through Dublin, 25 and 26 August

         Well darn!  I have lost all the entries for the 25th of August.  No idea where they went.  The entire file is a blank.  So here are photos and some idea of what they are:

This damned program has a mind of its own.  Along with spell checking and usually getting the word wrong, it won't let me move photos where I want them.  Why can't Apple leave things that work alone and work on the stuff that isn't right?

        The first thing I found in my rambles (assisted by the Hop-on-Hop-off Tour) was the hostel where the Los Alamos High School Rugby Team stayed when we all were in Dublin.

Then I wandered to Christ Church Cathedral nearby.  I do not recall if the archaeological dig at the side of the cathedral.  

I did remember the artifacts that had been implanted in the pavements near the dig.  I don't recall if the implants were placed where they had been found or if they were the result of artistic decisions.

         Dublin Castle is quite close to the cathedral.  I found the Garda Memorial Garden there as well as the famous statue of Justice.

One of the neatest things I discovered was the presence of a sand sculpture of Albert Einstein.  It was the last of several, most of which had been taken down before I arrived.  Albert was undergoing "deconstruction" as I watched.

This is the Viking Tower, part of the castle.  It is the oldest and right next to the Chapel Royal.   The Garda Garden is nearby.  Alas, this darned program will now let me order the photos or add text just where I want it.

St. Patrick's Cathedral and the park.  It was a beautiful day, so there were plenty of people and school had just started.

While folks are pretty nice here at the Clyde’s Court Hotel, they sure don’t know Dublin or how things operate.  There was an “industrial action”, read strike for two days starting Sunday, 24 August and ending yesterday.  When I went to the desk to book a cab for Heuston Station and make my planned round trip to Belfast, the crew assured me that the strike was still on.  So I walked around Dublin.  When I made it to St. Stephen’s Green, the DART was running.  That meant that the strike had not gone on for three days.

In any case, I had an amusing walk around the city, stating from Ballsbridge and marching as far as Trinity College before turning for home.  I think I covered about eight miles and my feet are just a little sore.  In a pedestrian mall, I found a jewelry store.  There were lots of interesting watches there.  The one that caught my eye was a mere €6,000.00.  The brand was Talia and it’s way too rich for my blood.

The mall was also the place where I found buskers.  The group were all alive, except for the dog.  They would shake hands with folk who dropped money into their bucket.  The fiddler was doing Carmen when I walked by.

The American Embassy













By one o’clock, I still wasn’t hungry.  I had given myself the standard insulin dose so I ducked into an Argentine restaurant and had a couple of empanadas.  They were quite good and hopefully will not spoil my dinner.  There are two likely looking Indian places about five minutes walk from the hotel.

I picked the farthest from the hotel.  It was a pleasant spot, upstairs from the street and I ordered three dishes I hadn’t tasted before.  They served a delicious nan bread with the main course and immediately after I ordered, they brought some fried crackers with three sauces for dipping.  If I return to Dublin and find myself in this quarter, I would not hesitate to eat there again.

In any event, I am slowly shaking the cold that has plagued me for the past few days.  If I do my stretches tonight, I should sleep fine.

 

The head of Ops, Jon O'Sullivan and I got along very well from the start.

A peaceful, demonstrative fellow, he is easy to like and easier to work with.












I do, however, regret his unfortunate choice of red shirts for all of us in Operations.  Into each sunny life a little chill rain must fall.













We had to "peace bond" a bow.

















Later, the bowoman (bow woman?) appeared with an elfin helper.  His shields needed no peace bonding.














Captain Kirk appeared with his pet tribble.
These were sold at Loncon 3.   There was a table full of these little guys, all quiescent until the dealer clapped his hands, precipitating an orgy of tribble squeals and giggles.









Our chair, Brian Nesbit tried on a hat.  We had a most informative discussion about whether he should be considered a plus sized leprechaun or a strayed firbolg.











Under certain circumstances, Jon refused to be photographed.










Misa, one of our doomed red shirts.












I have no recollection of what problem Ops solved for this charming lady, but she was sufficiently grateful to give him a hug.

This is a charming, not-too-big con.  It truly is an all Europe con.  I have met representatives from UK, France, Sweden, Poland, Ukraine so far.  There are probably more, but I have been hiding out in Ops.

I fear that I contracted what is called "con crud" at Loncon.  Trying not to spread the "joy" to other fen.  It is a sort of cross-breed between an upper respiratory infection and being drunk.  I do fear the hangover.