day 3 and still having a blast...

Yesterday, we planned on going on a Hop on-Hop off bus tour of Dublin. However, we stepped outside our door and BEHOLD! there was an open air food and craft market right across the street from us. Needless to say, we didn't get very far! We spent a few hours there just perusing the stalls and tasting many different foods. Incredible. I (Asha) even met a Hot Irishman! He is perfect... nicely tanned, sweet and delicious!

....he was fudge, from Man of Aran (http://www.manofaranfudge.ie/) ;)

We then walked down to Grafton Street, one of the main shopping streets in Dublin. It's nice to just walk around and take in the spirit and atmosphere of Dublin . We visited Trinity College, then went to an AMAZING Indian restaurant called Mantraa (http://www.mantraa.ie/). It was a quaint little undergrounnd place...we all loved it and spent about 3 hours there. I (Asha) had the Dal Tadka Masala - cumin, fresh garlic, and red onion tempered lentil curry. I was in heaven :) Everything here in Ireland is much more laid back and slower paced than the States...it's actually very nice, we are enjoying relaxing and doing things whenever we please. We spend lots of time laughing about inside jokes and random things...getting all 4 of us together = lots of hilarious moments!

Today is a dreary day, but still fun :) We went to a pub, where Joan and Kelsi had fish and chips, Sue had bangers and mash (both very traditional Irish grub), and I had potato and leek soup. We went to Tescoe and bought some chocolates, now getting ready to go exploring :)

Cheers until next time,
Asha for the group

a full day of fun!

Our first full day in Ireland was absolutlely amazing! Asha's friend, Marta served as our 'tour guide' and taxi driver. We took a hike at Killiney Hill park, which overlooks the Dublin Bay and the Irish Sea. It was an awesome 2 hour climb...lots of steps and inclines...but very nice! We collected some very pretty stones on the beach. After our hike, we went to Johnnie Fox's Pub, the "highest pub in Ireland", where we enjoyed lots of good food, drink, and conversations! They feature live Irish music every night, so we stayed and enjoyed the entertainment, and even requested our favorite song, "Galway Girl". After leaving the pub, Marta took us to the grocery store, where we bought some snacks to last us the duration of the week. We are all pretty exhausted right now from traveling and not sleeping much... :) OK...off to bed...cheers from the Emerald Isle!

Ok, so the JAKS have made it to Ireland!!! All connections went well....the biggest threat was trying to get out of Chicago due to bad thunderstorms that delayed us...but we made the connection and all is well!!! Only 1 weapon of mass destruction had to be confiscated at the check-in.....the HAIRSPRAY!!!! (NOT the hairspray, Bad Airport Security Man! Take the food, take the shoes, take the perfume, NOT the hairspray!) How can we ever live without it!!!

We are now off to find food and something to drink....It appears the drink of choice here is milk so we will be just fine!!!!