ahhh... rainy green ireland. flew through chicago to dublin. all went well, especially considering had we left one day sooner, we would've been the flight that was diverted up to a remote air force base in canada, due to someone smelling burning plastic. had that been me, i would've been completely freaking out & losing it. so, all is well. the hotel is fine, although it's not as nice a room as the last time j was here. we had a bit of trouble with the luggage - my checked bag didn't arrive, but j's did. so we stood in line forever waiting to give them information, while i was thinking i'd have to kiss goodbye all the clothes i worked so hard to find (I HATE SHOPPING, and i have semi-expensive taste). we headed off to hertz, which was another long line of waiting, until we finally got the honda civic reserved for us. cars here are weird, steering wheel on the right & all. can't get used to it. glad i don't have to drive at all while here. we took a nap after some quick errand running, wishing we could sleep forever but knowing it's a death sentence for jet lag. took dinner at a noodle joint, & had an interesting dessert of unfamiliar fruits & ice cream. this morning, j headed off to work at 6:30 to leave himself plenty of time to find his way. he slept well. i, very typical of me, was awake from 4am until he woke up. i went to breakfast in the hotel (19 euros for buffet; didn't know this before going; won't go again; know where the grocery store is - much better value), and then took a long nap before leaving the hotel room to explore. we're right near grafton st, which is a huge shopping area. saw either really cheap clothes stores, or super expensive nice designer stores. nothing in between. before i left, i checked on the baggage and found it had been located & would be arriving later, so i didn't really have a reason to purchase anything. i did buy a current lonely planet guide to ireland & picked up brochures at the tourist center on bus tours before heading back to the hotel room. j just got home, and soon we'll head to dinner. i'm probably going to hang out with a friend tomorrow, someone who lived in the states & actually had a son there, as her husband worked where j does. they'll be back next year permanently. well... gotta get ready for dinner. i plan to have my first (perhaps last - i'm not a big fan of it in the states) pint of genuine dublin guinness. they say it tastes different here. stay tuned for more dublin reports, hopefully with pictures.