Day 1 addendum:

Tuesday 1/4: After a 4 hour nap I went out on the town, if only to get lost, which I promptly did. I walked around the Temple bar area, stopped in an Italian restaurant. I ordered a pizza, and they served me mussels. So I ate them. Never had mussels before and they were delicious! Cooked in tomato sauce with garlic and olive oil, I must make them when I get home!

After more wandering I stopped in a pub to try a Guinness because I hear they are much better than in the US, and they are fantastic. Talked a long time with the bartender Jamie about Dublin and he pointed out some of his favorite attractions and tours for me to check out. He also made me take out my Ireland map and gave me a few good pointers about what to see.

After a 20 minute walk back to the hostel in light rain, I heard someone playing guitar on the lower level. I went down to talk to him, maybe to jam because they had guitars for us to use here. He was very excited to play with me. Leo from the Canary Islands is an amazing guitar player. We played together for about 2 hours, everything from Metallica to Neil Young. Is it possible to have a major highlight on the first day? This really was transcendent at certain points.

Now at after midnight I must convince my body to sleep. I decided to stay in Dublin one more night so I have enough time to get my bearings and plan my trip a little better.