I always knew there was a use for cats, and apparently someone has found it. It appears that they are useful for putting stuff on, or at least that's what stuff on my cat dot com says.
For those of you that knew him, don't you think this guy looks a lot like TDC? Coincidently the title for this picture is "Just another day at the frat house".
FYI - TDC was our cat at Purdue.
posted by Yankee @ 8:43 PM
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For those of you wondering if we do anything that doesn't involve alcohol, here is your answer.
While in Dublin we also visited Trinity College, which is home to the Book of Kells. If you don't know anything about the book, don't feel bad. I had never heard of it before we started researching Dublin. In any case, the book is a decorated version of the 4 Gospels, written around 800 AD, and it is amazing. You can't take pictures inside the Library, but below is a picture from the book, which I found on some guy's website (you can go there yourself if you want more).
This is a portrait of Christ on folio 32V of the book. You can't necessarily see it here, but the coloring is just amazing.
This website also has some images from the book. Apparently there were 1480 facsimiles made a few years ago, at a cost of $18,000, and it looks as if these guys have decided to post some pictures from those.
We also toured Dublin Castle while we were there. Most of the castle has been rebuilt, but there are still some portions of the original castle remaining. Below is picture of the original castle wall.
In addition to that, we also toured Kilmainham Jail. It is only a tourist attraction now, but from 1796 until 1926 it was not a pleasant place to be. This is where the organizers of the 1916 Easter Rising were held and eventually executed.
To the left is a picture of me in the "new" part of the jail, and below is a picture of the old part.
Below is a picture of the Stonebreakers yard where the leaders of the 1916 Easter Rising were
executed, along with 
a plaque commemorating their executions.
posted by Yankee @ 7:51 PM
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YG just reminded me that I am really behind in the blogging department, especially considering we are about to leave for Italy and I haven't finished the Dublin stuff (doesn't life just suck?).
So here you go, more of Dublin.
While we were there, YG found that she quite likes Irish coffee. Our hotel happened to be just around the corner from the Jameson Distillery, which is also home to the Jameson Bar (pictured above). We can honestly say that they serve the best Irish coffee (we tried others just to be sure).
We didn't just spend time in the bar though. We also went to the distillery for a tour, where I discovered that I actually like Irish Whiskey. During the tour YG also became an official whiskey taster. This is a special part of the tour, for the "chosen few". YG was chosen because all of the other women were scared. I wasn't chosen (no matter how much I volunteered) because she was.
To become an official taster you "have" to try 3 whiskeys made by Jameson and choose your favorite. After that, you try the one you selected against a popular Scotch (Johnnie Walker) and a popular Bourbon (Jack Daniels). Amazingly the Irish whiskey came out on top.
Picture to the left is Yankee Girl with her placemat full of whiskey. She also has a dipoma which I am told will be hung up in the basement when we return to the US.
For anyone going to Dublin and specifically the distillery, be sure to volunteer when they ask at the beginning of the tour.
posted by Yankee @ 7:03 PM
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We have been having some crazy weather here the past couple of days. It rains, then the sun comes out, then it rains again, then the sun comes out again....... Kind of a bummer, but ideal for seeing rainbows. Yesterday evening I was so disappointed when I spotted the most beautiful rainbow from our flat, only to discover our camera battery was dead. Luckily I charged the battery last night because I saw another rainbow today. Actually, while I was reviewing the pictures I took I realized it was a double rainbow. I never knew there was such a thing. To make sure my eyes weren't just playing tricks on me I did some research on rainbows. I found this educational website which confirmed there is such a thing as a double rainbow. In fact, there are two types of double rainbows. In one, the secondary rainbow's colors are in the same order as the primary rainbow. In the other type, which is what I saw today, the secondary rainbow's colors are in inverse order compared to the primary rainbow. Kind of cool. As for the Pot of Gold, here is a story with one version of the fable.
posted by Yankee Girl @ 7:43 PM
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A totally random set of stories about two Americans living in the UK. Here you will find details of our trials, tribulations, and even a few adventures.
