The Travel Virgins

The Beloved Aunts left this AM. I wish them luck travelling home: I hope it's better than their trip here, where, because of extremely bad weather conditions in Amsterdam, they were routed through Manchester, and then finally to Dublin... where their luggage arrived three days later. At this point, we'd already left to hang out with Sister Alice in the Rural West.

They did very well coping with this dearth of travel problems, and maintained a keen sense of humour throughout. It was their first time abroad, and they adjusted well to Dublin culture, perhaps learning the bus system more comprehensively than I, who've lived here five months.

There were many highlights to their visit. My personal faves were being a designated whiskey taster at the Jameson Distillery, and seeing the Ukelele Orchestra of Great Britain perform at the Helix on DCU's campus. The band played everything from Otis Redding to Nirvana, and it was all tremendously musical and very entertaining. The jokes were very English: including bestiality/Welshman and alcoholic/Irish references. They also took the piss out of themselves-- not as English people, but as ukelele players-- but in my opinion, it's funnier to be English than it is to play a wee guitar.

It is very windy today, and I am half-wishing I wouldn't have sent all my turtlenecks home with the Aunts. However, maybe it's a way to invite Spring in!

Andrew returns home Thursday after a week-long Fulbright nerd conference in Brussels. It's been suggested that he deliver gifts of chocolates, diamonds, furs, and a miniature Manikin Pis statue for the front yard we don't have.