Friday in Dublin

Today was a good day. I really worked hard to get all of my observations done in four days, so I could use today to troubleshoot any problems that might have come up. Thankfully, none did. I was able to do 14 observations, in 9 schools, in four days. St. Colmcilles Secondary had testing all week, so John and Adam did not teach, thus I did not observe them. I'll fit them in next week.

I REALLY wanted to sleep in today. I know one reason why I am getting sick is pure exhaustion. I haven't been sleeping well and I've been out and about so much it's wearing me down. I woke up at 8am with sun shining in my window. As horrible as the weather was yesterday, today was just lovely. Grand, brilliant, all those Irish terms.

So, I spent a few hours this morning doing some school work and then tackled Dublin. I needed to do some shopping for some gifts for a few folks back home. I won't elaborate just in case any of those people are reading this blog. One place I did go to was Carroll's. This is a chain in Dublin and they have everything you can imagine for gifts and souvenirs. They play all sorts of Irish music like The Fields of Atheny (which I love) and Molly Malone. They were having a promotion that if you spent 100 euros you received an Irish music CD valued at 40 euros. I won't tell you how much I spent but I can say that someone is getting a nice CD for Christmas!

I had a late lunch at the Hairy Lemon Pub again. I can't help it, I'm a sucker for free wifi. I headed home after lunch to unload my bags. I still needed to find an umbrella, so I decided to head over the liffey to Henry Street. I went into quite a few stores in search of an umbrella. Some were department stores, some just store fronts, but didn't have much luck. I couldn't believe it was so hard to find an umbrella. I mean, it's freaking Ireland. Shouldn't every store be selling umbrellas? And shouldn't they be right there at the check out? Seriously, you don't leave home without it, so it should be easy to replace. Right? I finally found a lovely blue and green plaid umbrella at a kiosk in a mall off of Henry Street. I'm sure none of you will ever see this umbrella, as the Irish winds will probably destroy this one too. They had a deal that you could buy a second one for half price. I probably should have gotten two.

I wandered down the farm market alley and picked up some mangerines. I think that's what they were. They look like tangerines or clementines, but they didn't call them that. I got 12 for a euro. Bargain! My friend Sherry called yesterday and told me that I need to increase my vitamin C so I can get healthy again. Hope it works.

As I made my way back to the flat I decided to stop at a place that I pass every day, but never visited, the Queen of Tarts. It's this tiny little storefront with a limited menu and fabulous desserts. So, I had a chocolate chip scone and a cup of tea. I had a window seat so I was able to watch the crowds go by on a Friday afternoon. It was nice.

Tonight the students are enjoying a Friday night of watching the new Twilight movie or going to this great place where they do Irish dancing. The ones who attended last week really enjoyed it. I'm spending the evening cleaning the flat, doing some laundry, and getting ready for a weekend of traveling again. Hopefully the weather cooperates, but it's not looking promising. We start bright and early, as John will be picking me up at 7:20. I'll let you know how it goes tomorrow. It's always nice to get out of the city, and it's nice to have all the kids together again. It's a good group and I enjoy spending time with them.