Slow News Month

Yes, August has been a slow month. My team's project wrapped up and we went live with European software distribution in Dublin this month. Basically, I've been lurking around the plant, making sure things are on track. Looking forward to Sept and Oct where we'll hit the road again! In the meantime, we've been spending more time exploring Dublin. What we've learned: The National Gallery is great, and the mountain biking is MESSY.

Trail, or small river?

Raining Cats and Dogs

That's right. We finally had that spell of rain we'd been expecting from Ireland. Typically, it's showery here, but the rain is relatively light. This weekend, we got about 3 inches in 24 hours, and it was a disaster - - flooding everywhere. Reuben and I had gone in to town for the afternoon to visit Kilmainham Gaol. On the way back to the train, we got caught in a downpour wearing our summer clothes. My 2 euro umbrella shattered, and I got soaked. We'd planned to stay downtown all night, but this was a complete bust. By the time we got back to the apartment, there was water filling the elevator shaft. I guess this is what happens when you live on a small rock in the Atlantic.

Photo taken at the train station an hour BEFORE we knew the rain was coming.....bad omen

Mountains of Mourne

So Dublin City may not have great hiking, but just 2 hours north are the spectacular Mourne Mountains. This weekend was a 3 day holiday in Ireland, so Reuben and I took a day to go hiking in the North. We did an 11.5 mile loop in the Mournes, covering the highest peak in Northern Ireland, Slieve Donard. The trails were rough, steep, and grueling, but the scenery was amazing. The mountains flow all the way down to the sea, opening up some stunning views. One of the best features of this hike was the Mourne Wall, an approx. 8 ft. tall stone wall basically encircling the entire valley. There were sections of the hike where it was actually easier to hike on top of the wall rather than negotiating the bog underfoot. This was a fabulous hike, my favorite in Ireland so far. More photos of the Mournes

Reuben taking a break on the Mourne Wall

Star Sighting in Dublin

It's taken me months to remember to post this, but I had my first star sighting in Dublin back in February. The first day Reuben and I visited Howth, we took the very crowded return train (DART) to Dublin. When we got on the train, there were only 2 available seats left... Since we'd been walking around all day, we reluctantly agreed to take them (If you have ever been on the DART, you know that there is not enough room for 4 adults to sit facing one another - - no leg room). We sit down opposite these two people, and I instantly realized I was sharing my DART space with Claire Danes. wow! She has a decent enough looking guy with her, so this was another clue that it was probably her. The whole way back to town, I am dying...trying not to stare. We got off at Clontarf and I look at Reuben like 'hey! was that??' He had no idea who she was. So I had to confirm online (of course). Sure enough! She and her boyfriend, Hugh Dancy, had been filming a movie on the Isle of Man and took a weekend break to Dublin. There were already paparazzi photos posted of them wearing exactly the same clothes as on the train. So that's that. I am still waiting for a glimpse of Bono or Colin Farrell, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Pierce Brosnan....calling all Irish stars!! p.s. for those of you that also had never heard of Hugh Dancy, he is the much-more-than-decent looking guy in the recent Burberry ad campaigns.....

The paparazzi shot; it was easy to ID them with that orange sweater

The more posh Hugh (whoa)