If I have ever told any of you what I plan on doing with my life, please discredit everything I said. Going to grad school at Northwestern, living in Chicago with my sister, working for some kind of newspaper, magazine, or other publication-- all of it. What I'm actually going to do with the rest of my life is live in a small, sleepy seaside town in Ireland, just outside of Dublin. There I will spend all of my euros in adorable cafes and write books at the top of my own tower overlooking the water. I'll travel by bike during the day and take a bus into the city by night, and maybe even jump off the rocky shore into freezing water to swim. Yes, life will be perfect.

That said, my favorite part of the week so far has been our short trip to one of the suburbs of Dublin near the sea. We visited Joyce's tower and walked down the shore, which was cold but beautiful. Definitely a great break from the city. Everything seemed so relaxed and quiet there, unlike the crowded streets in Dublin. And while part of me felt like a huge creep for looking at a wax mold of Joyce's head made shortly after his death, seeing his tower was fantastic. It's just unreal being that close to one of the most important writers the world has known. I mean, we even saw his vest and bed!

Don't get me wrong, I love Dublin, but having a short change of pace was refreshing. I'm hoping our weekend trip west will feel the same way. And, considering the girls received a noise violation the other night, maybe a soothing adventure is exactly what we need.

So I guess the most important things to take away from this post are:

a) I'm going to live in Ireland.
b) Charming sea towns > huge cities
c) I'm a creep. Stalking James Joyce was great and Seamus Heaney is next.