Last weekend I had an old friend, Kristin, visit from Norway. It was so great to see her again after 3 1/2 years.

Following my theme of untraditional Irish sightseeing, I took her on the Sinn Fein Rebel Tour of Dublin. Run by the Sinn Fein Shop, a very enthusiastic guide leads a 2 hour tour around the old revolutionary haunts of the city, most of which you would otherwise just walk past without knowing how much history it holds. Although I got a bit lost in the dates it was a really fascinating tour, and the very small group combined with the glint in the eye of the guide really fires up the enthusiasm. We had a journalist stop by to take some snaps, and we were hoping to make it into the national newspaper as participants on a 'Terror Tour' of Dublin. Alas, the paper was rather kind, and I'm hoping that more people are encouraged to take part in the tour, despite the political leanings of Sinn Fein!

It was a rather lazy weekend from that point on, although I threw a Mexican party on Friday evening followed by a trip to the North coast of Dublin on Saturday. Saturday night was dominated by a spontanenous 'Homeless by Night' tour, followed by a rather classy trip to Eddie Rocket's Diner for dessert as everywhere else was closed. Suffice to say, we couldn't find a creme brulee, but the booth jukeboxes were a nice touch.

The weekend went all too quickly, but I think I managed to show Kristin the highlights and lowlights of Dublin. I even made the ultimate life sacfice: I took her to a vegetarian restaurant! Medals welcome.

This weekend I'm hiring a car with a group of friends and heading to the West Coast, home of rugged cliffs, wild waters and Gaelic speaking locals. We'll be staying in a small town called Lisdoovarna, home of Europe's largest matchmaking event! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lisdoonvarna

More photos here http://www.flickr.com/photos/24491659@N03