More travel stuff!
Isn’t it exciting that my posts are no longer all work-related with occasional books (still on Haunted ground – the Irish murder mystery – and Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell) and movies (Count of Monte Cristo) thrown in?
I am currently in the most ghetto pseudo-chinatown internet cafe. Its amazing.
Yesterday I was awoken to the melodious strains of Kristl’s voince, calling to say “I’m home!” to which I replied croaked, “oh, you have got to be kidding me” and then I realized that, although it was early in the morning, she had just finished a who-knows-how-many-hour plane journey from India and instantly felt bad. So we met up in Ranelagh at cafe bar deli (the pasta was eh, but the vegetarian antipasto was to die for) and gushed about the last 2 weeks. I still don’t have an Xmas present for her. I don’t know what I’m going to do about that). Oh – it was also really lovely to start to explain something, and have her finish my thought, because it just made me realize how long we’ve known each other and how well we know each other. Oh – and she agreed that the Bone People is one of the best books she’s ever read, and she’s lending it around to her father and other relatives. So there – you’ve had 2 hyper-intelligent PO grads recommend it – go get it from the library. Or buy it (its cheap on amazon).
Anyways, then we walked into Rathmines to run errands, and I had a quiet night at work (apparently Leane is back from Germany now, too). Today I saw the Iveagh gardens, which are just south of St. Stephen’s green and really lovely. Then went to the dead zoo, also known as the natural history museum. Okay – so this place is not only a museum, the museum itself is a museum – exactly what a cutting edge museum would have been 150 years ago. (I don’t really know how ild it actually is). The whole thing is hysterical. The scientific names are all wrong, almost none of the exhibits have been updated in a century, and the taxidermy. Well. I have never seen animals that look so demonic. I wanted to take pictures so, so badly. Words cannot do justice to the unbelievably creepy monkeys and lemurs and lorises and bush babys… the animals were stuffed unevenly (the polar bear, with the gun shot wound in the side of its head, could be an elephant man cousin), some of them had disconnected heads and bodies where there was an inch of padding separating the two (like on the “rhino-saurus”, to quote one young museum-goer). But the small mammals – the combination of bad stuffing, the wrong size glass eyes, and the bared teeth on every specimen leant the whole place the aura of a satanic cult.
Oh yeah – and I bought some insect playing cards on a whim. AND! I found a complete guide to Irish wildlife, that I had to stop myself from buying AND a book entitled 1001 natural wonders you have to see before you die! Yay! Because I always feel like I should get that book (1001 places) but I hate that half the book is Europe and it devotes 50 pages (50 pages!) to Africa. The whole continent. Yeah, there may not be many landmarks in the Sahara, but past that… but then I’d clearly rather see an aardwolf or a tarsier (or natural formations) than Paris.
After that I got a box lunch/snack at Nude and walked up to the memorial gardens to eat it (in memory of all those who gave their lives for Irish freedom – and all I could think of was Cillian Murphy). Then I got a shake at Eddie Rockets and am trying to figure out other ways to kill time till the ghost tour. (So far: gofugyourself (I love the Sienna Miller entry), the Sag nominees (the office cast better have a lock on best ensemble), and http://www.tvsquad.com/bloggers/wil-wheaton). Oh! And this, which I sent out, because it made me laugh out loud in the internet cafe when I read it (although maybe you have to be as obsessed with awards season as I to find it quite so funny). from EW:
Hey kids, guess what? It’s STILL awards season. Thought you were out of the woods now that Dreamgirls finally hit theaters and everyone could see how stunningly not-awesome much of it is? Ha ha you fool.
Anyway, today, the Producer’s Guild of America — sort of like a less-easily-distracted-by-shiny-things Hollywood Foreign Press Association — announced its nominees, placing Babel, The Departed, Dreamgirls, Little Miss Sunshine, and The Queen (pictured) in the Best Film category. Winners will be announced January 20.Why should we care extra lots about who wins this sucker? Because the PGA has gotten 11 out of the last 17 Oscar Best Picture winners right. Except for such recent winners as Crash (they went Brokeback). Oh, and Million Dollar Baby (they went Aviator). Have they lost their mojo? Stay tuned.
There are now not many movies out in Dublin I want to see (I’ll wait on stranger than fiction and perfume for the DVDs and the fountain and children of men aren’t out here yet. I would even go see blood diamond for Leo’s performance, but… it isn’t out either). So – I’m going to play around on the internet and read my murder mystery in a coffee shop till 8. (The circus is in town this week, but matinees are at 3, so I can’t go).
Yeah, I know the ghost bus is super-touristy, but it might still be fun. Here’s the info:
Let us put you at your unease on the world’s only Ghostbus, and introduce you to the dark romance of a city of gaslight ghosts and chilling legends. En route you learn the real origins of Dracula and his Dublin born inventor, Bram Stoker. We stop at the College of Physicians to recreate the strange activities of Dr. Clossy, whose spirit is still seen walking the corridors carrying a bucket of human entrails. We visit the site where Walking Gallows, the notorious judge, jury and hangman dispatched his victims in a most gruesome fashion. The tone for the evening is set as soon as you board the Ghost Bus, its sinister accessories and dark atmosphere is not for the squeamish. Starting your tour on the upper deck of the Ghostbus, your guide will settle you in for a night of discomfort and darkness…
St. Kevin’s graveyard The first stop on The Ghostbus Tour is at an unassuming little graveyard on Camden Row. Passengers are given exclusive night-time access to this medieval burial ground. A good tour always requires a live volunteer and here you will learn how to body snatch while leaving the corpse intact. It’s all about technique, but just don’t try this at home graveyards are much better…St. Aouden’s and the forty steps This is one of Dublin’s best kept secrets, few people get to pass through the ancient gates of this most haunted place. It is situated in the heart of what old Dubs used to call ‘Hell’ where tales are told to this date about mysterious lepers, ghostly bells and Dublin’s notorious Hellfire Club. Please do not be surprised if a supernatural phenomenon occurs in this place, we are used to it!!!
omg – kaiser chiefs
PS: sorry – I don’t know what is up with the formatting here – I’ll try to fix it later.
Tags: Travel
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