The Days are Just Packed

More picture issues - the following pics will be replaced whenever I receive more from our two visitors. I mistakenly left my camera behind during this visit, so I'm dependent on them to help fill the gap. Anyhow . . . .
No rest for the weary! Five days after our return from Greece and Cyprus in mid-July, we had our next pair of visitors. Nate’s brother Pat joined us for a quick visit to Dublin along with Nate’s former roommate Matt. The entire trip was planned about three weeks prior, making for a whirlwind of an experience all around. Matt flew in from Budapest, taking a break from his incredible new job that took him to Hungary for almost a month – he explored Europe a fair amount on his own throughout July.
I was the lone representative of the female gender during this recent foray – and I quickly realized it had been a long time since that had happened in a large group, as the conversation often leaned toward beer, sports, and commentary on the local ladies our friend Matt had encountered during his newest experiences abroad. Ask me about it sometime if you like, but I don't recommend it! :)
Matt headed back to Budapest after the weekend, but Pat stayed on to explore a little more of Dublin. The pictures from this post are from the one time I had my camera with me - during a trip to Newgrange, an ancient burial site during Ireland's pre-Christian era. Check out the pic of the rather phallic protrusion in the middle of the field - that's the crowning site for Ireland's ancient kings.

























One of the week's unexpected highlights was when Pat and I stumbled onto a great Irish music session in one of the Dublin pubs. These guys were great – a fiddler, guitarist and accordion player made up the group, but they had a table full of buddies who would pick up an instrument and join in from time to time. They even had a guy playing the spoons. When the music ended officially, the guys weren’t in the mood to pack up, so a group of them hunkered down into a corner and continued playing some impromptu tunes. Not bad for a random Tuesday night!