lindsay and i arrived in limerick in the late evening after nine hours of transit. couldnt figure out how to dial stefano’s number (our couchsurfing host) even with the help of an irishman.
excuse me mister.
yes… aw ya need help, do ya dearie!
he was such a jolly man. he didnt know how to dial the number, but he helped us find our way to the bar stefano said he’d be at. he warned us of the rough parts of town, and recommended an american breakfast place owned by a hilarious old woman named ruth.
we parted ways and then waited. still no stefano. just drunken irish teenagers in their mini skirts in 8°C weather.
finally figured out the number around one am. and up pulled stefano.
arrived at his place, cozy and log cabin like, to tea and christmas cake made by mike’s (the irish roomie) mother. the two italian transplants, the irishman, and the two american girls. they were amazing. good humored, loud ( i guess that comes with being italian/irish) and super amusing. we made ourselves at home instantly.
the next day we walked into town by way of the university, where we left stefano (they were all phd’s in biochemical engineering), and proceeded to be impressed by the enchanted forest like quality of the place. the river shannon flowed by the path we were on, wild blackberry bushes and green green green. we were greeted by every passerby with a hearty hello. after three months in a country where people are either staring at the ground to avoid dogshit, or intensely eyeing you with that special i know youre not from here glare, ireland felt so so warm and welcoming.
we took our friend’s advice and went to the american breakfast place. we could hear the cook’s chicago accent and could smell the hashbrowns and omelets that we so dearly missed. though im not the biggest fan when im at home, a dose of america in any form feels good when abroad. i hadnt had real toast or salsa for far too long.
needless to say, we cleaned our plates.
“wow, good job girls!” ruth said. “you know what they say, a hearty appetite means a clear conscience.
¨that doesn’t mean you’re not guilty of anything,¨she added. “it just means you dont care.”
oh ruth.
now limerick isnt the biggest town, i wouldnt really call it a city. it is, however, big for ireland. the fourth largest. we walked around it three times, visiting every old cathedral, an art museum, the shopping streets, and a park. in one day. we ate thai food for dinner (avoiding irish food) and afterwards met alessi and stefano at a pub.
after a guinness (oh so good in ireland, it is golden when you first get it, you wait a little for it to brown, and there’s this perfect hint of chocolate) and a hilarious dj- couldnt tell if he was a big woman or a man ( a man) because of the way he danced. moved to another pub, a favorite of alessi.
it was indoor-outdoor with christmas lights and two giant screens playing concert videos. we danced like maniacs for three hours. pretty much sober in a crowd that was getting drunker and drunker. i cant describe to you how funny it was, alessi and stefano’s dancing. they had all the moves down. it made us just love them more.
when we left in the morning for galway, it was like we were leaving good friends. maybe we’ll see you in bologna/turin, boys! come to berkeley!
