Irish Spirit

Slainte! That’s cheers in Gaelic. It took one toast in our first Irish pub to learn the local lingo!

It’s true what they say, life in Ireland revolves around the local pub.

Mom and I arrived in Dublin early Tuesday morning and braved the left side of the road all the way to Galway on Ireland’s west coast. It didn’t take long to find the city’s beautiful medieval streets peppered with a magical mix of colorful facades, packed pubs and random rain showers.

The Irish have spirit in their soul and it’s abundant in Galway’s Latin Quarter. A local lad told me today “Galway is promised rain.” I don’t know if it’s the charm of the people or the place—but we keep finding ourselves back on this busy street searching for more local flavor.

Driving in Ireland has been a learning experience. I keep telling myself “turn left, stay left.” So far it’s worked–except for once. The moment I turned into the dreaded right lane—I immediately remembered when I saw a car coming strait at me!

All the driving has come with a lot of news radio. And guess who dominated the airwaves yesterday? Our fellow American friend, Justin Beiber.

Apparently Beiber performed in Dublin Tuesday night. It was reported that teens were hiding out in the laundry chutes at his hotel in hopes of meeting “Beiber Fever” himself.

Here’s what else is buzzing in Ireland today:
*The election of a brand new government and the selection of cabinet members (happened today).
*The counties first child beauty pageant—does it “sexualize” children?
*Ash Wednesday: What are the Irish giving up?
*Dental Tourism (apparently the popular Hungarian concept is picking up in Northern Ireland).
*International Women’s Day and the glass ceiling for professional Irish women.
* Price of gas per “liter.”
*And…drum role please… Lindsay Lohan (apparently you can’t escape it)!

More to come from the land of leprechauns as the round the world adventure continues…

Till next time…Carpe Diem!