A Day in Dublin

Friday, May 31, 2019 -- Today is our first full day in Dublin. The rash that has been bothering Jim is considerably worse this morning. It has spread over most of his body and he's feverish and nauseous. I called the front desk for the house doctor, a service offered by some Dublin hotels called simply Doctor on Duty. Dr. Almafreji arrived in our room within the hour, carrying 2 medical bags. By this time, Jim couldn't even sit up -- the doctor took one look at him and said he was having an allergic reaction, probably to a medication. The culprit seemed to be the arthritis medicine which was refilled a few days before left -- the refill is a different color and a little internet research revealed that is it made by a company in India, where the previous refills were a company in New Jersey. The doctor suggested he immediately discontinue that medication.

He then dug around in his bags and produced a syringe and a vial of antihistamine, with which he injected Jim. He looked at the steroid which was prescribed by Jim's doctor the day before we left Pennsylvania. A little more routing around in his bags produced a large bottle of pills and he poured 16 of them into a bottle so Jim could continue with the steroids until we could get back home. He smiled as he explained that American doctors use a more cautious approach to steroids and always have patients step down from them gradually, but he assured us that more would do no harm and we could step-down or not as we chose, and then poured a few more into my bottle. He also produced a Z-pac from his bag to combat any secondary infection, since Jim was feverish and told me to go get Tylenol at the local chemist. Should we choose to go to the hospital, he wrote us a letter to take so we would get the required care. 150 euro later, he was on to his next patient.

The whole experience was very interesting -- it was like a return to pre-1950's when doctors still made house calls and carried bags of drugs with them. His quiet, unassuming manner, the way he kept repeating instructions and asking if I understood -- it makes me wonder -- was he having trouble understanding us? Perhaps the combination of Southern drawl/Pennsylvania Dutch/Americanized English is difficult to decipher. Imagine that!

Communication challenges not withstanding, within minutes of receiving the injection, Jim started to feel better. So I left the hotel and headed down the streets of Dublin in search of a pharmacy. Our hotel is located in the center shopping hub of Dublin and there are restaurants and shops along the street. Beautiful baskets of flowers adorn all the light poles and there are lots of pedestrians everywhere. I pass a pedestrianized street (one where no motor vehicles are allowed) which adds to the village atmosphere.

I find the chemist but when I go in, I can only find makeup and beauty supplies. I ask the clerk and he said 'of course all medications are behind the counter'. He gave me Paracetamol, assuring me it was Tylenol. I looked it up when I got back to the room and the website says it is known as Acetaminophen in North America. Okay -- so we're odd guys out on that.

I took 2 such trips down the streets of Dublin and both times made it back to our hotel, which those of you who know me well understand that I am so directionally-challenged, I'm just bragging here. But with Tylenol and lunch, Jim was starting to feel much better.

By mid-afternoon we were able to join us with the rest of our tour group and headed across Dublin to the Guiness factory. Not being a beer drinker, I knew nothing of Guiness, but this dark stout is Ireland's largest export. We walked through the Storehouse and got a tour of the entire process. The term Storehouse comes from the part of the brewing process where yeast is added. Since this building is where that originally happened, and the process is known as storing, the building is still known as the Storehouse even though the manufacturing process has been moved to a larger, more modern facility a few blocks away.

The Storehouse is a steel marvel with its original 1800's steel construction and beams still visible. We saw some beautiful awards that commemorate milestones in the company's history. One of the most striking is this beautiful wood engraving, depicting the history of Ireland, topped with a gorgeous glass bowl made by Waterford. There were also many displays depicting the colorful advertising of the past 150 years, including one popular but controversial slogan "A woman needs a man like a fish needs a bicycle".

From the Gravity bar on the 7th floor of the building we got an overview of the city of Dublin.

Of particular note are the cathedrals, hundred of years old, and the remains of a windmill which now holds a statue of St. Patrick and is known as St. Patrick's tower (the green-topped building in the photo below). While we are enjoying all these sights, local bands are playing Irish music and patrons challenge each other to dancing displays. What good fun.

We depart the Guiness tour and head to the area of Dublin known as Temple Bar -- this is the district of restaurants and entertainment. Our destination is a farm-to-table venue known as Cleaver East, located inside the Clarence Hotel. It is famously owned by Bono and The Edge from U2. Serving what is known as New Irish Cuisine, the menu features artisanal products from all over Ireland. The result is fabulous food -- the cod was absolutely amazing!

Tomorrow, we leave Dublin and head west across the southern part of the country, and we should see the rolling hills and lush countryside that I have longed for.