The American Invasion has Begun!

Hey All,

Happy 4th. Hope you all had more eventful holidays than me (since July 4th is clearly of no importance in this country...)Fortunately for me, I have a little bit of America staying in mi casa currently known as Hotel Fairview...haha. Jess, Lolo, Mina and Brian have arrived. So far we have been having a blast although I think they're shocked by the lack of what we would consider to be summery weather. Yesterday was nice, mostly sunny, low 70s but today is cold and rainy and I'm a bit worried about the crew as they are in Galway. Hopefully they've found shelter, most likely in the pub and are not freezing their wet asses off staring into Galway bay or something. The temps here apparently only tend to fluctuate between 40s-70s fahrenheit throughout the entire year. I might be psyched in November when I'm still wearing open toed shoes but right now, I know too well what I'm missing. Please write and tell me how hot and miserable you all are and make me feel better! Thank god for my Spanish vacation next week...love the idea of a week of beachy goodness. My pale Irishified skin is going to be in for a shock.

The first night that the kids were here, we went up to Clontarf (neighborhood on the water near my house) and had a really nice dinner... deep fried brie, delicious salads with chicken, wine, hot fudge cake etc... This was the second time Tom and I have hit up this bistro and it was definitely not a disappointment. It's very colorful with a big chalkboard menu with specials and a tiny bar in the corner. Kind of reminds me of a restaurant that might be found in Brooklyn. A splash of color in an urban environment. We also hit up the Odeon for white wine and jazz in the afternoon...good stuff. I am enjoying having familiar peeps around although in some ways it makes me a little homesick. When I get into my routine here, home seems kind of distant and I'm not so acutely aware of it. I think it's going to be hard when they leave although I'm sure I'll adjust back quickly enough. Unfortunately, Tommy goes to Amsterdam a few days after they leave so it will certainly be a test of my own independence. I suppose it's good for me. It is lovely to have a little dose of beantown in my world here though, nice, to have the people who know me be able to see what my life here is like and interesting to get their impressions. I hope they have a good time.

We're going up to Belfast for 2 days later in the week as everyone wants to see Tommy's homeland and then we're off to Spain. Have been totally appreciating Tommy-boy as of late. He is such a good and willing host and all around helpful and sweet. He has taken to calling me Diana Pirhana though as I was whirling around in a mad cleaning frenzy in between guests and yelling at him every time he didn't put his shoes back on their shelf or left a dish in the sink...haha. He is a good lad.

Hope you're all keepin' well as they say in these parts. love. D.