The seasons are definitely changing here in Dublin: the winter mid-40s is giving way to the spring low-50s, and that might sound like a joke, but it feels so much warmer. (Note: I might not survive my next visit back to South Carolina.) Plus, the sun has made an appearance every day for the last week and it's barely rained at all!
One of the first sunny days we enjoyed, I blew off work entirely and went for a long walk down the coast. It was so lovely that I didn't stop walking until I got to Dun Laoghaire (about 7.5 miles), which was dumb, because then I was too tired to do anything else, so I just caught the bus back home. :P
Being blinded by the sun
This is why I do everything early in the morning - no people!
Blackrock Park
I feel like I'm being coaxed outdoors after a long hibernation - not that I haven't gone outside this winter, but I haven't exactly wanted to for a long time. No, it hasn't been freezing, but cold rain is about as gross as it gets. I can't really complain about winter, though, given that roughly everyone in America has had a worse one than I have. It might be sunnier now, but the -er is the key point; it's still probably 50/50 clouds or sun. That just means that the weather is now unfortunately even more unpredictable, which is at odds with my increased desire to venture out. This calls for spontaneity on my part, which... isn't going to happen. :P
Instead, I give you pre-planned spontaneity: I have worked out basically full itineraries for a handful of day-trips and weekends away, so that if we wake up to a cloudless Saturday, we can just go, but without the stress of not knowing beforehand what we're going to do and how we're going to get there. ^.^ Some of our planned trips include: a day trip to Malahide Village and Castle (thanks for the idea, Ashley!); a weekend in Glendalough near the early medieval monastic city and national park; and a tour of Glasnevin Cemetery, recommended for anyone interested in Irish history - I'd never heard of it until recently, but the museum and tours are actually the #3 rated attraction in Dublin on TripAdvisor. These are all in the Dublin area, but I'm also planning some trips to other parts of the country - for all the time I've spent in Ireland, I've only made it to Dublin, Galway, and Sligo so far!
Near the top of the list: Cork, the "food capital of Ireland"
Of course, it's probably also no coincidence that my wanderlust coincides with the beginning of the editing stage of my first thesis chapter - and not just editing, but editing the introduction, which means looking at the big picture when I'm much more comfortable with the details. My brain starts hurting after about an hour or two of serious work. Actually, though, I'm starting to make my peace with the editing process, thanks in no small part to my inspiring advisor - she helps me see things from another angle and I get excited about the project all over again. Also, I feel like I'm growing exponentially as a writer: editing makes me focus on my writing with the kind of precision that's impossible to achieve when I'm focused on just getting my ideas on paper. It's crazy exciting to see this chapter take shape, too, because honestly, until my advisor read and approved of the first draft, it was hard not to feel like a fraud; producing something coherently argued and eloquently written is proof to myself that I do know what I'm doing, and I do deserve to be here. So, if you haven't heard from me for a while, it's because my brain is exploding with big words and bigger ideas. I hope to be more socially communicative when my school-related writing responsibilities start demanding a little less than all of my mental energy.
Pippin's loving all the sunlight!
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