Trinity College, Dublin, Ireland

The sun is shining and i am sitting on the playing fields around Trinity College.Unfortunately i am solo because Krista is sleeping off a killer hangover. Bless.

Krista arrived yesterday around noon and prior to her arrival i made the most of my hotel room and just lounged around, ate the orange chocolate cookies it provided and watched bad TV.

In attempt to soak up some of Dublin's culture, a group of us went to the Hugh Lane Gallery. I was unimpressed by the modern art on show but found the Francis Bacon Studio pretty interesting. My favorite part was a video showing an interview with Francis Bacon and Melvyn Bragg from the 70's. FB just doesn't want to play ball and makes the interview quite painful for Melvyn Bragg with yes and no answers.

We had a great lunch there too, the food at the cafe was delicious with me opting for the Smoked Salmon quiche that came with a great bean salad.

The food did not rival our evening meal though where a couple of us pushed the boat out.  Mark, Tara, Krista and I went to The Mermaid Cafe in Temple Bar. It's apparently one of Dublin's best and i have to say the food would be hard pressed to beat. The menu and surroundings reminded me a lot of Grocery in Brooklyn and possibly Chestnut. The menu is French meets East Coast American and it has a very specialised menu that changes seasonally.

We started with a plate of Antipasti for the table that the chef put together for the evening, there was duck and walnuts, smoked salmon and slaw, crab cakes, roasted tomatoes and the most delicious buffalo mozarella soaked in creme freche and herbs.

My main was amazing, Pork belly on red cabbage topped with a baked apple. The pork was perfect and the cabbage, although very rich was really tasty. I don't know what the reduction was because i couldn't place it but it was delicious.

Another National gig followed. This time i was on the floor right at the front of the stage. I haven't been to the front of the stage since i was about 17 but there wasn't a mosh pit in sight so i made the most of the polite audience.  There were some bad dancers though who kept putting me off my head nodding. A girl in front of me in the boob tube dress who looked like she was from the movie Footloose, danced like one of the chicks from the Addicted to Love video no matter what the tempo of the song played and without any rhythm. Not as bad as the girl next to my new friend Zena who busted out some Axel Rose moves as she sang along to every single song the band played.

On to Whelans again which is where Krista got the hangover. I just don't like the place, it's too busy and a complete cattle market. You dare make eye contact with any fella there as the next thing you know they've got they're arms around you and beer breath in your face.  Very boisterous and loud...i'm getting old.

So bright and early, i left Katie's and Juan's  (Friends of Krista that we are staying with) place in Ranalagh and jumped on the tram to Trinity College. I was interested in seeing Old Library, especially the Long Room which was amazing. What an amazing place, i love the smell of old books and found it to be very relaxing regardless of the hordes of tourists. I also went to see the Book of Kells. Written in 800 by monks it contains 4 gospels of the old testament in latin...blah, blah, blah, blah.

So i've done a spot of shopping, specifically for a special whiskey that can only be bought in one store in Dublin. So what to do next before i catch up with the gang for tonights festivities...hmmm...