Last night was my last in Dublin. The other guys from the hostel were headed out for some pool and clubbing, but I felt a little like being alone. Backpacking around you're constantly around people - you wake surrounded by people, shower with people, go out with people, eat with people, and go to bed with people. So - sometimes, it's nice to take a stroll by yourself.

In this case, I got lost. I wandered south of the river hoping to find some Irish music in a pub at Temple Bar. However, Temple Bar is a place for fun, but not genuine Irish-ness, if you get my meaning. It's become Dublin's main tourist attraction. So I didn't find what I was seeking... instead, I kept walking, hoping for something a little more cozy. I didn't find that either and ended up lost in the eye of a storm at St. Patrick's Cathedral.

Charlotte also has a St. Pat's. It's across the street from my parents' house, so I saw it every morning as a child waking up. Being near its big brother made me feel almost as if I were taking a stroll at home, so I sat by it for a while.

I asked a young thirty-ish man walking by to "point me north," because I could find my hostel from the river. He (Glen) asked me where I was headed and, upon hearing I wanted a pint and some food, invited me to have a drink with him. He was on his way to some late work at his office in the city and wanted a walk first, because like me, he does a lot of work alone, indoors, and from home. Of course I followed him and he took me to my now-favorite bar in Dublin: The Lord Edward. The Guinness is cheaper than anyplace I've been, and better, everyone is pleasant, it's very intimate, and the atmosphere takes you back to when England, rather than the US, was colonizing places. Go there.

In any case, we planned on a pint but spent the whole night there - Glen invited his girlfriend Pilar over, and she was quite nice. They're both fascinating people who have traveled all over the world - Glen is a designer as well (I think much better than me) and he builds graphics for an Irish TV station. We kept drinking over stories of African bribes and South American extortion, and eventually Pilar went home. A couple hours later Glen and I stumbled somewhere to get some food and then he led me to a point from which I could find my place. It was maybe the nicest night I've spent with a complete stranger.