We are winding down our Europe portion of this trip. My brain seems to have been left somewhere along the way. Jetlag and sleep schedules are all aflutter and I have discovered the best Gluten Free cookies. Tesco Brand “digestive” Ginger cookies. I have no idea what the “digestive” is for, yet I truly love to ingest then digest them. I can’t stay focused on one subject, moving from jetlag to digestive cookies. I am feeling happy and blessed. I like my family and feel blessed to be a part of their crew.  Craziest best part of the day is when we were at the Irish Archeology and History Museum. Kyle came and found Eli and me.

“You guys. You have to see this exhibit. Go down the hall, then off to your right. Once you are in the room, go into the white circle things.”

My son knows me and knows I like a surprise. Lo and behold the Bog People, or as they call them, “The Bog Bodies,” are the coolest thing ever. I hesitate to post a picture here, however.  I’ll ask Dave and see what he thinks.

We are trying to go to be early and it is already 10:45 PM. Tomorrow we leave Dublin. I wish we could stay a little longer.

Here is the daily breakdown.

• Hello Wawa (my mom). Thanks for checking in!
• Best breakfast. After all the breakfasts, Irish Black and White Puddings, Sausages, and beans, I would have to say this morning’s super awesome breakfast buffet was the best. Sure, I ate bacon. The boys enjoyed yummy waffles. We had delicious fruit that was not soft apple slices (ew, btw).  There was Soy Milk, Soy Yogurt (kind of gross, but at least they had it), and chocolate croissants. We all left pleased and promised to come earlier tomorrow. Kyle suggested we go to breakfast when the buffet opens and stay for four hours until it closes. “We could have both breakfast and lunch that way.” If only they would let us and if only we had the time.
• Dave, the boys and I spent today walking around Dublin.

  

• Our first stop was the lovely Starbucks just off of Grafton Street. The boys quickly went upstairs, found some comfy chairs and logged onto the free wi-fi. They did not want to leave, which I supported as soon as Lionel Richie’s, “Once, Twice, Three Times A Lady,” hit the airwaves. It was fun to finally just be. And I was done just being as soon as Elton John’s, “That’s Why They Call It The Blues,” cycled through.
• We were on our way and soon standing in the middle of Trinity College. We wanted to see Book of Kells, but as we stood there the already long line precipitously grew.
• At least where we were standing, Trinity College is not as handsome as I imagined. I was picturing a sort of Tom-Hanks-starring-in-the-Da-Vinci-Code atmosphere. Sadly, no.
• So many tourists standing there is what I observed. There were several touring groups of teenagers. I kept trying to figure out where the teens carrying the yellow plastic satchels were from. Finally after earnestly and repeatedly listening to their leader, Dave and I decided they were from Italy.

• The awesome Irish Natural History museum is a taxidermist’s paradise. We weren’t going to stop. I am so glad we did. It is an oddly cool mall of specimens. The human skeleton next to the horse Skelton was crazy weird. I spent a long time on the first floor with Kyle looking at bugs under glass covered by leather sheets you lift up. It was great seeing all these specimens through his eyes. I learned a lot from that kid.

  

• Next off to the Irish Archeology and History Museum.
• On our way there we ran into Grandma on the street. She pulled out her old school paper map, and Dave showed her how to get to the art museum. She is having a grandma day, which means we will not make her walk all over the place for hours and hours and hours, or rush her through the pre-Raphaelite art exhibits.
• Loved the gold 1st century BC boat. Kyle came and found Eli and I and suggested we go see the white circle areas in the room down the hall, on the right. Each little circle room was filled with a very old and preserved person, that had been found in peat bogs. Crazy and cool.
• Eli and I are now waiting in the cafe for dad and Kyle.
• Kids keep talking about the next leg of our journey, the leg where we take it down a notch. I think they have officially hit burn-out. I get it. This has been an high paced action packed adventure.
• Kyle offered to find the name of the gold boat. I took him up on his offer.
• He’s back.
• The gold boat is part of the Broighter Hoard.
• The Temple Bar area is cool, and I am glad we walked through it.
• River that goes through Dublin. What is it called? Shoot. Now I need to go and look it up.
• Yes, I looked it up, and it is called the River Liffey.
• We walked to the river, took our family picture, and made our way around the city.
• Somehow we found our way into the Dublin Castle. I would call that a happy accident.
• Back at the hotel we dropped the boys off, Dave and I took three suitcases down a 500 meter journey to do laundry.
• The Laundrette was open, but it was too late to do a load.
• Re-adjust.
• Dave and I took the laundry back to the hotel, and went shopping for underwear. We decided it was cheaper to buy.

  

• Yay, we bought underwear at TK Maxx, and yes, TK Maxx is most definitely and for real, TJ Maxx’s European counterpart.
• Burritos for the boys from the Lucha Libre Burrito place.
• Eli was not happy with his burrito at first and quickly changed his mind. He would have preferred I left the wrapper on instead of ripping it off to see whose burrito was whose. Good point, Eli.
• Dave’s mountain biking friend, who lives part-time in Dublin, met us at the hotel, walked us through Dublin to a cool, organic restaurant. Dave and I cannot remember the name. Dave says, “It was like three letters. Something like J. LO, or something like that.” It was lovely.
• Good Karma goes to the supermarket employee who let us buy our Cornetto and pack of gum even though we were seven cents short. Until tomorrow.