In Ireland

We made it to Ireland early this morning... so early, in fact, that it was still the middle of the night in Ohio time. My initial impression from seeing the landscape through the landing plane's window was that it actually looks a lot like Ohio: it was rainy & gray, kind of flatter than I expected, and nothing too spectacular. After much grumbling, some lunch, and some strong coffee we set about exploring the city. Turns out, coffee is all you need in order to recover from screaming babies and kick-happy seat neighbors on an overnight airplane on which you get no sleep. I'm still going and it's almost 9pm here!
Anyway, we wandered around for a few hours today soaking in the architecture (and the rain)and it turns out that Dublin is actually quite a lot cooler than Ohio, or at least most parts of it. I got some great photos that I hope to actually getting around to uploading when we get back to the states. The people that we've met so far, minus the customs workers (I didn't get a stamp on my passprot in Canada!) have been very nice, and our hostel appears to be nice enough and roach-free, although running the shower does flood the entire bathroom.
Tomorrow we see some more specific sights in town ending with a tour & tasting at the Guinness Brewery, which celebrates its 250th anniversary this year. The next day (Tuesday?) should be the crescendo of the Ireland portion of our trip, and we'll take a bus trip out to the country to see some cliffs, waterfalls, and woods in Wicklow & Glendalough.
After that, its a late-night flight to London, where we'll act like tourists and pester the Buckingham Palace guards and ride around on double-decker busses. I miss all of you, ESPECIALLY the ones that belong here in Ireland with me (Kara)!