Hm, where did I leave off? I’ve sadly lost count of how many Guinness, Smithwicks, Murphy’s, and Kilkenny I’ve had. Suffice it to say, it’s a lot.

We drove from Galway to Dublin on Friday — it was uneventful. We had a brief stop in Athlone to see their castle, but there was no way in. The perils of vacationing outside tourist season.

Dublin, being the city it is, is always full, and even in the middle of November is swarming with visitors. We took it easy on Friday, walking around downtown, checking out pubs, and generally relaxing before retiring to our room.

Today, we entered tourist mode. We went to the Dublin City Gallery, checking out the Francis Bacon studio. Then we went to Temple Bar, a very tourist-heavy area. Prices are high as they nickel and dime you whenever they can, but there are some good finds there.

Gallagher’s Boxty House served up some pretty fine lunch grub, for one. Also, the early afternoon session at Gogerty’s was fun. The music here is different from the west coast in that it focuses more on the flutes and recorders as a lead instrument.

Later in the evening we went back to Gogerty’s for the Musical Pub Crawl, wherein a couple of musicians take a group of people to area pubs, play music, and explain Irish music and instruments. Towards the end of the evening, they make a “noble call” for others to share music from where they’re fun.

Guinness is a wonderful social lubricant, because I somehow found my hand raised and next thing I know I’m belting out a few bars of The Ryans And The Pittmans (aka Rant and Roar) before a pub full of strangers. It was a great evening!

Tomorrow, we’re checking out a couple of museums, and I’ll no doubt try to catch some more sessions in the evening. Monday is the Guinness Storehouse, and some shopping along Grafton Street.

Finally, Tuesday we fly home (sniff). Ahh, but what a week!