I like Stab City

While Limerick may have a reputation for being a very violent town (it's called Stab City & they are having an armistice day for turning illegal knives over to the police next week...), I have come to really like the city in these short days. All of the Irish people I have met have been very friendly, but those in Limerick seem to have a sunny disposition to them. I admit it; I like Limerick. The city is about 10kms away, which didn't seem that far away when MK and I were driving back and forth from it, but I took the bus from the Airport to the city and then ran errands and decided to walk home from the city center. That was poor judgment. It's not that the walk home is dangerous, but it is friggin' far! I also had some weight in my backpack so it seemed worse. Bonus, I found a bar and a Subway (yes, Subway as in sandwiches) at the roundabout right next to me. Walking around when I lived in Spain helped me get an excellent feel for the city and I found some very interesting restaurants, bars, etc.

I also like the city center because it's on the grid system. Due to British occupation back in the day, the streets are perfectly square and run parallel and perpendicular to each other, rather than the traditional Irish cragginess. The streets are also properly labeled with street signs. Hooray for street signs! This makes finding places a lot easier. I still don't have one clue what the name of my street is. I know it is off a roundabout that is on Dublin Road. The only reason I know it's called Dublin Road is because it goes to Dublin, and that's how they name the streets.

Limerick is also a larger city, I think the third largest. They have a skyline with modern "sky scrapers." I put that in quotes as to not offend any of my Chicago friends, because the buildings are probably no more than 20 stories. As for European standards, that is extremely tall. With the exception of a few important cities (London, Madrid, Milan, etc), very few cities have tall buildings.

Jenny should be in tomorrow and I'm going to see if she'll want to grab a bite in the city. I found an amazing bar called the Corn Market (bad name, I know), but the bar would fit right in in downtown Chicago. I'll hopefully get some photos, because I know my description wouldn't do it justice. I have more photos to post tomorrow, but I am exhausted and it's time for me to go to bed. Tom

Exhibit 2: Traditional Irish primary highway. Distinguishing characteristics: very high speeds, lack of shoulders, oncoming traffic within inches of each other. Usually one side is pressed up against a rock wall, leaving no room for manuvering or avoiding accidents. 200 people have died on Irish roads since Jan 1, and now I know why. Instead of a Toyota, just imagine if it was a bus or truck hurling at you.  

Eyre Square.  

Eyre Square, Galway. The amount of design that the Irish put into street lights and banner posts is awesome. Each city has really modern looking urban elements. 

Shop Street, Galway City, Co. Galway, Ireland. We cut back through Galway on our way from Sligo to Cork to pick up some belongings MK left in the hostel. 

Exhibit 1: Le Parking Disc. Neither round nor metal, you must purchase these in pubs and then scratch off the hour, day, month, year and then put them on the dash so you don't get parking tickets. Now you can see why we were so confused! These pieces of paper are completely non-discular. 

No comment necessary.  

"K" comes after "J."  

Abbey in Sligo. We headed into town just for the day for food and to check the net. 

Strandhill was simply amazing. 

Not to be outdone, I committed my own ICD. 

ICD (Int'l Crime in Duchbaggery). 

The first picture we got together on the whole trip! 

I ran up a sand dune. There were people making out at the top and lying in little bunkers...I ran right back down. 

There was a great Irish links course right behind this hill. 

Sunset over the Atlantic. New York is 3000 miles toward the sun. 

Artistic moment, yhatzee! 

See, barrels. Also note the palm tree-ish things all around.  

One of two bars, right across the street from our hostel (it's the yellow/grey building behind MK). We got to eat and drink in barrels.  

View from the back of our hostel in Strandhill. No joke, we were 4 houses from the beach! 

They had a cannon, but only one. The Irish military spares no expense when it comes to protecting the coast.  

Strandhill, Co. Sligo, Ireland...It's the Jersey of Ireland. And yes, that is as large as the waves got so MK and I opted out of taking surfing lessons.

More international crimes in duchebaggery. 

Neo-Gothic church on the grounds...it was odd in that it didn't have any stained glass windows really, only a few. 

The lake in front of the abbey.  

Home of the Irish Benedictine Nuns...and MK and I swindled them into thinking we both were students to get the discount (MK graduated 2 years ago). I already knew I was going to hell.