IT’S OUR BLOG NOW (written by Bruce and Megan)

A special guest author appearance from two of this blogs most esteemed (and only) readers:

Because mutiny on the bounty's what we're all about,
I'm gonna board your ship and turn it on out.
No soft sucker with a parrot on his shoulder,
'Cause I'm bad gettin' bolder - cold getting colder.
Terrorizing suckers on the seven seas,
And if you've got beef - you'll get capped in the knees.
We got sixteen men on a dead man's chest,
And I shot those suckers and I'll shoot the rest.
-- Beastie Boys, “Rhymin’ and Stealin’”

February 18, 2007: Paris and the Mutiny (that didn’t happen)

The mutiny on the HMS bounty that took place 218 years ago today was nothing compared to the mutiny that took place amongst weary travelers in Dublin, Ireland on February 17th – 18th…

After traveling and staying in a different place for almost 10 nights in a row, the aspect of traveling again was daunting…the part of Fletcher Christian was played by Bruce, who suggested to Megan that rather than traveling to (the godforsaken French city) Paris with the rest of the group, that we stay behind in Dublin…keep in mind the weather was gorgeous, no rain in sight and both us had been to Paris before…

After much deliberation (and because we love our Captain(s) Bligh), the entire group decides to go to Paris. Lucky for us, the weather after we leave Dublin becomes rainy and miserable, and the weather in Paris was beautiful for our entire stay.

The first thing we’d recommend to serious tourists when going to Paris is to purchase the museum pass at the airport. This will help you to avoid lines if you have a short period of time in which you are hoping to see many sights (as we were). Bruce had a clear interest in seeing Sainte-Chapelle and the Palais de Justice and Megan wanted to see the D’Orsay museum (both of us had been to the Louvre before).

The hotel in Paris was in the Trocadero district…it was awesome. The website is:
http://www.heart-of-paris-hotels.com/hotel-EN-18-garden_elysee_hotel.html

We had a great bartender at the hotel, named Pascal, who seemed to have his hand in everybody’s pocket. According to Bruce, Ben immediately develops a serious man-crush on Pascal. Pascal was able to give us some names of places for dinner (some good, some not-so-good)…the first of which was awesome (and not just of because of the name), La Butte…
La Butte Chaillot 110 bis av kleber 75116 PARIS tel : 01 47 27 88 88Beautiful setting, friendly service, inventive French cuisine that is very well presented.

We were able to have a great dinner to reconcile the mutiny that didn’t happen and to walk down to Trocadero and see the Eiffel Tower for the first time as a group. On the way back to the hotel, we stop at a nice café for a night cap. Wendy breaks a glass and, as we found out the next night, apparently bankrupts the place. It is closed for the rest of the trip.

February 19, 2007

I ate the last mango in Paris
Took the last plane out of Saigon,
Took the first fast boat to China
And Jimmy there's still so much to be done.
-- Jimmy Buffet, “Last Mango in Paris”

We didn’t find mangoes, but we did find a great breakfast café along Kleber…neither of us can remember the name, but the omelet, croissants, and coffee were out of this world. With sustenance on our side, we head to the metro (map in hand, of course) to go sight-seeing. After several trips back and forth between metro platforms, Bruce concedes Megan is right and we get on the correct train to Sainte Chappelle/Palais de Justice/Notre Dame.

Neither of us had been to Sainte Chappelle before and we feel it is highly worth visiting…GO UPSTAIRS. Viewing it in the sunlight is like seeing heaven. Notre Dame is beautiful, but no hunchback, and we’re both too lazy to climb stairs to see any special views…so we find a café to drink (wine).

The neat thing about Paris is you can just wander around and find things you are not looking for. We stumble upon the Pantheon, and the Sorbonne. We have more wine and a great bowl of Onion Soup at Crepes-a-go-go (Megan has crepes). We find out that the French in French Onion Soup is presumed and somewhat redundant.

On the way to finding the metro station, we find the Luxemburg Palace and Gardens. It’s a beautiful day and we enjoy the people-watching.

We meet back at the hotel with the group, and have several drinks with the group and Pascal. We dine in a restaurant with no other patrons -- the sign of either a crappy place or the most exclusive restaurant you’ve ever patronized (it was the former).

Like the old man in the Jimmy Buffet song, life is something that should be savored and enjoyed like every day is the last. Go to Paris while you are young and in love.

February 20, 2007

Starry, starry night.
Portraits hung in empty halls,
Frameless head on nameless walls,
With eyes that watch the world and can't forget.
Like the strangers that you've met,
The ragged men in the ragged clothes,
The silver thorn of bloody rose,
Lie crushed and broken on the virgin snow.
--Don McLean, “Starry, Starry Night”

Okay, so this particular painting is not at the D’Orsay, but you get our drift. This is one of the museums for which the museum pass is definitely worth it (after figuring out which entrance to go in). We skip pretty much to the 5th floor to see the impressionist artists that Megan is anxious to see. Bruce misses Manet (no, not Monet).

After seeing (almost) everything we wanted to see, we stop at a café across from the Louvre (which is closed on Tuesdays) and people-watch while sipping on red-wine. We shop in the basement of the Louvre for French rap for Megan’s friend Marit and perfume for Megan’s friend Steph. We then walk through the Palais Royale to another café (more red wine).

We take the Metro to Printemps so Bruce can buy gifts for his children. After purchasing the latest in knight and princess fashions, we stroll along the Champs Elysees.

We meet back with the gang at the hotel where Melissa has gifts for all of us….red wine for Bruce and Megan, liquor for Ben, and JAM FOR WENDY (if that is not a set-up, I don’t know what is)… Pascal helps Bruce buy wine to take back to the States and Bruce immediately develops a man crush (bigger than Ben’s) on Pascal . . . After that night, we eat at another restaurant recommended by Pascal. The appetizers include ‘snakes’ according to the English speaking (as a second language) waiter. Melissa decides to be adventurous and tries the (as it turns out) snails. This goes down as Megan’s favorite night when Bruce makes a huge blunder and is forced by the group to eat a snail.

Back to Dublin

And now for something completely different."
--Monty Python's Flying Circus Episode 2 (1969)

Actually, back to our regularly scheduled programming.


February 17 and 21, 2007

Back to Dublin

What we actually did was head to Dublin from Galway, spend the night of the 17th in Dublin, head to Paris later on the 18th, and then went back to Dublin on the 21st and went home the 22nd. I'm going to talk about our experiences both times in Dublin in this blog and then let Ben, Wendy, Bruce and Megan do most of the writing on Paris since Melissa and I didn't do much there (I was running down).

I think we should handle "Wendy and the International Jam Incident" separately, since there doubtless will be much to write on that. I 'll write the outsiders' perspective, but we need the inside scoop from Ben and Wendy for that one. I'm going to have an MRI and see the radiation oncologist on Friday, so if you guys (all four of you) can have something to me on Paris by Monday, that would be great. Just e-mail me.

We head to Dublin with Gene at the helm. This is our last time we'll see him (at least for the immediate future) and I think we are all a bit saddened by the prospect. We get a goodbye picture of Gene (above). Goodbye Gene, we hardly knew ye. Some free advertising for Gene and our travel agent Chris Woolson:

The boys head off to the Vesey Arms pub, which at one time belonged to some of Bruce's relatives. It's a nice place, former home to the Italian Embassy, and recently remodeled so the decor is quite a bit different than the pubs which we have frequented other than the ceiling and a couple of chandeliers. The bartenders and waitresses are all drop dead dead gorgeous. Most of them appear to be from former Soviet bloc countries such as Romania, and a couple of Asian women are thrown in for good measure. Ben says to Bruce, "looks like your relatives did okay for themselves," in the wry way that only Ben can.

We then head off to the Guinness Brewery for a tour, but after an hour or so in line, it becomes apparent that we not going to get in, get through the tour and get back to Davy Byrnes' Pub by the agreed upon meeting time. So we split and meet up with the girls at Byrnes' . By this time, we are powerful thirsty from standing in line so we knock back a couple of drinks before going in search of "traditional" Irish music. You wouldn't believe how hard it is to find something other than American rock and roll in Ireland. (Still the Irish do a pretty good job of that: Van Morrison and U2 is pretty damn good for a nation of 4million people.) We head to a place named the Dublin Porterhouse that brews their own beer, which is the only thing available on tap or in bottles, besides "imports" like Bud Light.

Melissa hates brew pubs where basically you have to drink the house stuff or pay a fortune for an import bottle. We have several of these type of places in Des Moines, but she's right: you either have to drink their crap or imports in bottles. I drink their stuff which isn't half bad, and Melissa tries a sip or two of their stuff and orders a gin and tonic. We go to the Dublin Chop House for dinner, and it is unmemorable (or at least I don't remember it ). We then seek out some Irish music.

We eventually find some in the strangest pub I've ever seen. On the first floor it is basically a 20's pickup joint with fairly decent American rock n' roll playing. We decide to go upstairs where the bartender says the traditional Irish music is playing. We all get a drink and start toward the stairs. As we near the stairs, we encounter a couple a guys dressed as chicks. I think it's a little strange and wonder if there 's some fraternity prank or some weird Irish holiday going on. We make it up to the second floor, and I'll be damned if it isn't full of transvestites dancing to that techno music crap. Who would have thought??!! We head up to the third floor, and find Traditional Irish music and a ton of people in their 50's. It is absolutely packed. Apparently, the art of traditional Irish music is hard to come by in the off season. The locals have to play it during the busy season, and so they are reluctant to play or listen to it in the off season which I can certainly understand. "Danny Boy" is nice once in a while, but I imagine it gets pretty old ten times a night every night of the week.

We listen for about two more drinks worth and then head back to the hotel for tomorrow's trip to France. (I (We, hopefully) will be writing about France in another Chapter of this blog. So for now, we are skipping ahead to our return from France on the 21st wherein we spent about 1/2 day and the night in Dublin).

After returning from that godforsaken country, we discuss what else we want to see. We go see the Book of Kells, one of the world's oldest and most Beautiful Bible at Trinity College. Definitely worth seeing. We buy some trinkets and trash at the bookstore and then head to the Guinness Brewery again. Again, we are shafted in the long line but do take the opportunity to look for trinkets and trash in their gift shop. We meet up with everyone for an appetizer dinner at Kennedy's (about three blocks from the Mont Clare Hotel where we are staying). For our last stop, we go the the Brazen Head, which is just your ordinary 800 year old tavern. (Established in 1198). Here's a picture which is one of my favorites:

Here's a couple More:


Feck the French. Kinda sums it all up doesn't it? We posted this in the Brazen Head (the small room off the Main bar by the fireplace).

"I'm a man with a mission. . .

. . . in two or three editions,
And I'm giving you a longing look,
Everyday, everyday, everyday I write the book."

"Everyday I Write the Book", from the album Punch the Clock (1983)
--Elvis Costello


[Socrates speaking] "Life without this sort of examination is not worth living."
Apology, 38a.
--Plato, Greek Philosopher, 429 B.C. - 347 B.C.


"For when the One Great Scorer comes to write
against your name,
He marks--not that you won or lost--but how
you played the Game."

Alumnus Football, l. 63(1908)
--Grantland Rice


Most of them never had a chance. I'm speaking of course about the Virginia Tech University murders. Three things need to be done to cut down on the probability of carnage on such a massive scale occurring again:

1. Ban certain styles of handguns. I did some quick research on mass murders involving guns in the United States since 1990. There have 16 such items that type crimes since 1990. Of those, I was able to find what weapons were used in 10 of crimes. 7 involved 9mm weapons. Easily available at any gun store, the clips and semi automatic firing capabilities of these weapons need to be banned. You NRA types can save it. Don't even bother writing. We'll allow you to trade in your weapons that have clips and semi-auto firing capability for weapons that don't have those capabilities. You want sporting? Shoot shotguns and bolt action or hand cocked rifles to your hearts content. That's giving a sporting chance, not just slaughtering an animal because you can. You want man-stopping power for personal protection? Well, hell yeah, you can trade in your 9mms for .357 Magnums. Is it going to completely stop these type of murders? No, but will cut down on the amount of carnage when they do occur.

2. Institute a massive tax on ammo for 9mm and other semi-auto guns. I didn't come up with this idea (I think comedian Chris Rock did), but instead of banning the weapons he suggested putting a $5,000.00 per bullet tax on 9mm ammo. I suppose that could work, too.

3. Why, during this day and age (i.e. post 9/11) are we allowing someone who is less than a full citizen to purchase firearms? Any politician with half a lick of sense should strike while the iron is hot on this one.

But in the end, does it really matter how they died? They died far too young with lots of accomplishments , hopes and and dreams in front of them. But far more young people (for the sake of argument, let's just call them people between 18-22 years old) die senseless deaths every day in car accidents and from cancer, for example, than died from the horrific mass murders that took place the other day. We need to take the time on a daily weekly and monthly basis to examine how we are writing the book of our own lives. Are we playing this little game we call life only for own benefit or for the benefit of others, as well?

P.S. I woke up about 4:00 a.m. and I see that NBC is parading around a bunch of crap that the Va. Tech. killer mailed them. Do me a favor and don't dignify it by watching it. Or e-mailing that stuff. Or calling him by name.

'Tis the season. . .

"The Income Tax has made more Liars out the American people than Golf has. Even when you make one out on the level, you don't know when it's through if you are a Crook or a martyr."
--Will Rogers, The Illiterate Digest (1924) (capitalization retained from original)

For taxes, that is. Got my stuff together, and in enough order that the CPA should be able to make some sense of it. Will return to regular posting on Monday or Tuesday next week. We'll be back to Ireland and a weekend filled with AAU baseball (Joe has four games on Sat. and Sun.).

The Cliffs of Moher

February 16, 2007

"Don't believe the world owes you a living; the world owes you nothing---it was here first."

--Robert Jones Burdette, U.S. Clergyman and Humorist, quoted by Evan Esar (1949)

"The Harder They Come, The Harder They Fall, One and All."

--Jimmy Cliff , "The Harder They Come" (1975)

Hey, it's hard to find good quotes and good music about cliffs. We went the Cliffs of Moher today and spent about 3 hours there, give or take, and I was overwhelmed by their beauty. They rise out of the Atlantic are are between 700 and 1200 feet above the water. Anyone who doesn't believe in God needs to see these before making that decision. This was me and Melissa's favorite part of the trip. I'll stop blabbing and let the pictures speak for themselves:

And let me tell you, the pics don't really do it justice. We head on toward Galway, and observe the cows sunning themselves on the rocks along the Atlantic Ocean. Gene, who had obviously been keeping an eye out for this, finds a pub named O'Brien's (my mother's maiden name). It is beautiful inside and very large. The service is the absolute worst we've had in Ireland. We ask the bartender about a well a mile up the road that we had stopped at. It is now a wishing well. You can guess what I was wishing for as I tossed in my coins. She has no idea what we're talking about. The well is right on the main highway and there isn't a lot either leading into town or the town itself. We ask the bartender (who is allegedly married to the owner of the place) what the best Irish whiskey she has is. "I don't know. This one is the most popular." I try another tact. "What is your most expensive Irish whiskey?" "I don't know", she responds. At this point, I'm incredulous. Ben and I finally convince her to take down a couple of bottles from the top shelf and we choose one for her to pour. The service is so slow and bad that even Gene makes fun of her after we leave. I guess the O'Brien's were meant to be served, not to serve others. :-) Here's one of Meg and I:

We head on to Galway, where we go to the Marless House operated by Mrs. Mary Geraghty. I think Gene is tired about us bitching about the B&B's, because he makes a point of mentioning that Chris (our travel agent) really likes this place and stays here all the time. Hey Gene, I just call them as I see them.

Turns out Chris is right. Mary greets us warmly. Both Mary and her husband are very engaging and have what James Joyce called the "gift of gab". We talk for nearly an hour with them in their kitchen before going out of the evening. The showers have both Americanized controls and most importantly, great water pressure. The breakfast is very good. Highly Recommended.

We head out to dinner after a couple of drinks at Sonny's which is a crowded but neat pub. None of us can decide where to go so we end going for pizza at a place called Finnegan's. Rule of Travel #183: Never eat pizza at a place in Ireland that advertises on trash cans. We didn't notice that last little part until we left the place. The best part of the meal was water. We head back to the B&B a short time later.

P.S. You know they always talk about the local color when you visit a place? This picture was taken from the front seat of our vehicle: