Day Four: "I'm Sure This Bus Goes Back To Dun Laoghaire"

Ah, the first full day with our host family. The tone was set somewhat immediately by the breakfast. I had grown used to Brendan and Catherine's Cavalcade of Food, and I presumed that every morning would be the same. However, it became immediately clear that Neil and Ena ran things a little differently. Breakfast consisted of our choice of cereal and either scones or toast, with an array of jams and other spreads. Coffee or tea. That's it. And you know what? It's still amazing. Breakfast was simple as heck (and has yet to change) but it was exactly what you need to start the day.

Ireland, being the very Catholic nation that it is, keeps most shops closed until noon on a Sunday, so the other Americans and I found ourselves at the only thing that was open: Tesco. Tesco is basically Wal-Mart, but not quite as big, and it looks like someone ran through it and replaced all the products with joke labels. Pickled onion chips? No one would eat that! Tesco provided about as much entertainment as one would expect from a grocery store, and we quickly found ourselves back on the streets. Which was fortunate.

Unbeknownst to us, Dun Laoghaire features a wonderful little farmer's market on Sundays, open to the public. People come from the area to sell all sorts of cheeses, breads, pastries and produce. Food vendors offered cuisine from Italy, Lebanon, France, other parts unknown. I, of course, went for the more traditional Irish lunch, and was treated to a pork skewer that was otherworldly. The day was beautiful, and the market seemed to be the best place for people to bring their small dogs or small children. Both were, of course, completely silent and still the entire time, creating a nice, tranquil atmosphere.

Following lunch, we took the advice of our program coordinator and attempted to figure out the best route to the IADT so that we wouldn't get confused on the way to school the next day. We found the correct bus with some ease, and the ride to the college was relatively brief. We did not, however, know which stop was the best until we had passed it. And, rather than simply get off at the next stop, we decided to ride the bus until it returned until it picked us up. Needless to say, we found ourselves 40 minutes later in the heart of Dublin, about as far away from where we started as possible. But fear not! This allowed for another stroll down Grafton Street, and a discovery of the DART (Dublin Area Rapid Transit). DART only follows one route, but that route happens to go right past the end of our host family's street. So we merrily hopped back on the DART and returned home.