Went to Jail and Loved It!

Today Ruben had to start work, so he took the car and headed out of the city to the Intel factory. We realized late last night that we were staying in the same hotel as one of his co-workers and his wife and son. I hadn't gotten any info about her name or cell but I wasnt surprised when I was approached by an outgoing American lady with a Texas A&M backpack at breakfast. In an international dining room it's usually not hard to pick out your own kind, especially if they use the word ya'll. :)

So Carey, her 8 yr old son Owen and I hung around for most of the day. We took a cab across town to Kilmainham Gaol, a famous prison that now gives historical tours. It's interesting because, as scary and arcaic as Kilmainham seems, it was built with several very forward-thinking principles such as separating the prisoners into individual cells and using lots of natural light to help the mental state of people inside. It was about then that capital punishment became less common (like public hangings) and people were spending longer time in prisons, so prisons needed to be more humane. But it was still very difficult: very little food (and horrible quality) was given and it was extremely cold in the winter.  Our tour included a lot about politics as the prison held political prisoners after each of Irelands uprisings against the British. Until the last prisoner held was their future president! 

After our tour we split up and I had a quick bite to eat in a pub while I Facetimed the kids back home. 

Then after Ruben came home we went to an Irish Music kind of education/performance. It was fantastic! We heard about the unique instruments Ireland uses in their traditional (trad) music, and how musicians are taught their craft, learn new pieces and "have a conversation" with other musicians. We loved their singing too, many songs were sad and haunting but a few cracked you up! We finished our night with some delicious Thai food. I've included some photos of Dublin in general as I walked back from the prison to the hotel.