People had hyped St. Patrick's Day for us to where we went to bed with feelings akin to Christmas Eve. The present was going to be the big parade, passing right under our window! Big Window Bonus #389: Front row seats, every time! So when we woke up to a double-decker bus parked in front of our view of the street, we were less than pleased. Then they parked a second one behind that, cutting our view from full-on epic, to a hole here & there between the buses that were apparently for "the press". But they didnt stop there. Soon the paramedics came behind those buses, and set up two tents that we could nearly touch with our feet dangling from our sill. We were in the nose-bleeds by the time the city was done shattering our hopes for the morning. Did I mention the two giant buses remained nearly empty for the entire parade?
Feeling festive anyway, we bought 2 Ireland flags and hung one outside each window sill. My mother sent us blimp-like balloons (about 2 feet long each)! When the crowd got bigger, we let them fart along in the air above them, dissolving into hilarity when one landed in front of an unsuspecting face in the multitude. Jon made green pancakes for our guests who came to watch the parade with us, and we cooked loads of rashers. Rashers rashers rashers. My Irish friend even taught me how to make an honest Irish Coffee, including hand-whipped cream! I didnt believe her when she said it was easy to make, so I bought a can of aerosol whip, JUST in case...but I was so wrong! I will never buy pre-made whipped cream again!
It was so amazing to be in Ireland for their biggest holiday of the year. The city was entirely packed with tourists from all over the world. Most of them wore gaudy green Leprechaun hats, or chartreuse sweatshirts loudly pronouncing "IRELAND", just in case they forgot where they were. Jon's sister had just flown in from the States the night before, so she got a first-rate introduction to our fair isle! I learned new things too, like a clover and a shamrock are not the same thing at all, and corned beef & cabbage is a decidedly American tradition. Also, its only St. Patrick's Day, or Paddy's Day. Never St. Patty's, or St. Paddy's Day. Semantics, yet pertinent.
Without exception, this was the best St. Patrick's Day we've ever had. I hope the double-decker bus industry go out of business before next year though. Hope yours was just as fun!
0 comments:
Post a Comment