Guinness

Well, we've made our side-track to Dublin...barely. We arrived at the Rome airport yesterday to discover all flights were cancelled due to an air traffic controllers strike. We positioned ourselves in the line to get a refund or reschedule a flight, but no one knew if they were going to reschedule flights. It was starting to look like we would have to cancel our Dublin trip, but then they announced that our flight was leaving and to check in ASAP. We were one of the only flights to depart, and we have no idea why! What a great feeling that was!
We left hot and sunny Italy, and got exactly what one would expect here--cool, damp, and cloudy. It's strange walking around the city of Dublin; it reminds us often of home, both Calgary and the Maritimes, in different ways. We visited the Guinness factory yesterday and really enjoyed the tour. The smell coming from the factory hits you when you're several blocks away, and it smells awesome--warm molasses, with coffee mixed in. Gilles was in beer heaven! We enjoyed a pint at the bar on top that has an awesome panoramic view of the whole city. We then went to the oldest pub in Dublin for another pint and supper. After, Gilles managed to find a gelato place in Dublin so that he could keep his count up--he's now at 14.
Tonight is the concert, then we fly back to Rome tomorrow. We have so many languages in our head that we no longer know when to say grazie or thank you or even merci.
Hope all's well at home!