left dublin yesterday (thats the celtic version of the name up there) and headed to the slightly warmer, equally rainy, environs of stuttgart. it is a great relief to know that my baggage and worldly goods are in a place where i neednt worry constantly about them. the same bag was lost and returned to me once more, its actually become more convenient than having to lug the bloody thing around. there are now a couple days before we head out to tunisia.
the last days we spent exploring dublin, taking in the pubs and their food while trying to escape the touristed areas and the prices that typically accompany them. there was some luck with this plan, and it was supplemented with some tours to various alcohol producers. the Jameson whiskey distillery was a lot of fun and informative, and as someone who has brewed REAL home brew before, it was fascinating to see the similarities and differences in process. the same applied to Guinness and its storehouse, and a benefit of both were free samples at the end of both
katy took the opportunity at the jameson distillery to be one of the groups taste tester volunteers, enjoying small samples of various irish whiskey, scotch, and bourbon. for all this she received a nice little diploma with her name, and it was enough to get me a tad jealous. the weather was fine considering our relative latitude and all in all it was a hectic though satisfying jaunt to a new place. and they speak english (sort of) which is a nice thing to find in traveling, and something i will no doubt be missing sorely in about four months.
i have many of the better pictures up on flickr now:
Zak Abroad 
I hope you left something of interest in Dublin somewhere for kellie and I to find.
pics look great! The hair is getting longer…….
These pics are beautiful. It makes me anxious to get to Ireland! 🙂 Can’t wait.
i’m surprised you didn’t volunteer to be a taste tester. i guess we know which of you can hold your alcohol better now.
Wow, I’m impressed. Teaching English to children? I’m not sure I could handle that many children for a year. Although, I’d imagine they’re probably much better behaved than slobbery cheeto-packing American children, eh?
As you may have noticed, I was unable to attend the bbq at your mom’s house. I really appreciate the invitation, though, and I’m sad that I couldn’t make it up. I would have loved to see you before you left. I’m not sure when we spoke last, but I’ve been in San Francisco for about a year now, working for Google. It pays the bills. And I know you’ll take pleasure in the fact that I take the SF muni bus at least twice a day. I’ve observed some interesting folks on the bus, probably should have taken a few photos for your viewing, but the most recent spectacle was a 90 some year old man wearing a rust-colored foam trucker hat with the words “Girls Gone Wild” displayed on the front. Looked like someone you’d be interested in talking to.
So China? I’d love to hear a personal message, apart from whats on your blog. Why China? Sounds pretty exciting to me! I’ve always wanted to visit Asia, although for some reason I imagined that I’d travel to Japan first. Either one would do, though.
How is the rest of life treating you? Mom doing well, sister, family? Have you been in OR up until now? Still eating cheese and OJ? I was thinking the other day about how we used to climb up on the roof of Lakeridge and look at the stars. Man, I hate how real life doesn’t include summer.
If for some (unlikely) reason you end up in San Francisco in the near future, or anytime in the future, you should come by my place. We are about to move into the Castro–I expect to see even more colorful humans out in that neighborhood. If you’d like, send me your address in China and I’ll see if I can ship you a box full of chocolate covered macaroon penises and rice-krispy treat boobs on a stick. mmmm. You never know what you’ll miss when you’re away from home that long.
Write back to my gmail if you get the chance: aturpack@gmail.com. I do miss you, and it would be wonderful to hear back from you. Good luck with the chinamen. Don’t let them pee on the rug in the foyer.
-Lexi