Where it all began...

Patty and I have been enjoying our trip so much as of late that we haven't really kept up with the blog as much as we'd hoped. So after yet another wonderful day here in Dublin, I figured I'd post some pics and write a little bit about how we really got here.

As most of you know, Patty and I met at a pub in Ireland. I mean where else could you possibly meet anyone in Ireland, right? The name of the pub was/is the Wicked Wolf, and it's in a little town called Blackrock where we both happened to be living in 1999. There's a long storybook version of how we met that I'm sure Patty would love to see down in writing, but I'll spare you all for now. If you're interested sometime, just ask.

Anyway... thankfully, our pub is still there!

A jovial man by the name of Bobby Arnold was standing out front when we stopped by and he offered to snap that photo of us if we'd agree to come in for a pint. We gladly accepted his offer. However, we didn't realize though at the time he offered that he'd had quite a few pints of his own before taking that picture! After showing us his master photography skills, he examined the photo further and said something along the lines of, "I probably should've aimed a little lower, huh?"

After telling Bobby briefly that we had met 10 years earlier at his favorite pub, he proceeded to tell everyone in the bar our story. And when I say everyone, I mean everyone.

Patty and I had actually met for the very first time in the upstairs bar which is typically only open in the evenings and was off limits during the day. After mentioning our story to the barman, and with a little extra encouragement from our new friend Mr. Arnold, we were allowed to go upstairs to have a look around. The place looks pretty much the same, although the upstairs bar is now called "Club Eugene" after the current owner. Here we are at the corner of the bar where it all began.

After snapping a few photos upstairs, we went back down to finish our pints and head back into Dublin for the evening. Bobby couldn't get enough of us and our story and offered to take another photo of us. This one actually came out pretty good!


On the way out of the pub, we got a few congratulations from some locals seated at the bar and then Bobby Arnold blurted out, "You two are the greatest Yanks in all of Ireland!"

I love this country.

Maybe tomorrow I'll actually get around to posting some more pics and filling in some gaps. There's a lot to catch up on.