How can you not love Dublin? On my way to find a barber, I listened to a Gaelic singer playing a harp, how cool is that?

We kicked it up a notch or two in Dublin. Temple Bar is the heart of the action in Dublin, it is also the name of popular place for beer and Irish music.

Me, since I couldn’t join them playing music, I did a sketch.

We heard more good music at a few other places, and in Dublin they play music all day, so you don’t have to stay up late to hear it, I love that. Music is a big thing here, frequently, I saw guitars slung over the shoulder of folks walking or riding their bike.

We took a tour away from the city to the Wicklow Mountains to visit a monastery and a sheepdog demo. The sheepdogs were amazing, I was so impressed at how they worked. The old St. Kevin’s Monastery was beautiful.

I was a bit sorry to be leaving Dublin, but we are now in Cardiff, after a day of traveling – bus to the airport, a flight to Bristol, a bus to Temple Meads train station, a train to Cardiff Central, then a taxi to our hotel.

This morning we visited Cardiff Castle, it certainly is on the list of my favorite castles that I have seen. For lunch today we had one of those meals that will standout in our cannon of great meals. The restaurant was Pasture, our server was Bella, a pharmacy student at the university.

My entree was one of those treats that you don’t often get to experience, smoked steak tartar – I have nothing to compare it to.

My main was a vegan dish that would convert all but the most intransigent of carnivores – a squash steak with kale pesto, and a few other goodies; I was gobsmacked, to use my friend Tim’s term for such things.

After lunch Tricia went back to the hotel to work on her upcoming blog on Amsterdam. Check her site out in a few days. I found a pub across from the entrance to the castle, had a Guinness and did a sketch.

This excursion in the Celtic world is proving to be such a delight. Tomorrow we go on a tour out of town, it should be fun.

As I always do, I encourage everyone to embrace your journeys, near or far. And find ways to capture the moment – a sketch, or a photo of the place, but maybe avoid the selfies.

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