This week was an historic week in the Republic of Ireland. On the invitation by President Mary McAleese, Her Majesty, The Queen, Elizabeth II, crossed the Irish Sea for the first state visit of a reigning British monarch in 100 years. There were a lot of security concerns over the, and these were valid. There were a few bomb scares, but nothing happened. It was interesting to be here during the visit. TCD was closed for several days, since the Queen was visiting the Book of Kells. Roads were cordoned off, thousands of Garda were brought in to Dublin, and my trip to the Guinness Factory with Amy and Christina was cut short on Monday, since they were closing early to prepare for the Queen's private tour on Tuesday. However, as luck would have it, I was able to see the Queen. Amy, Christina, and I were going to meet my friend Eanna for coffee, but the road we needed to cross was blocked off, so we figured that we would wait for the motorcade, since there was a good sopt open to view the road. A few minutes later, we saw the royal caravan, and saw the Queen and Prince Phillip drive by, as they waved to us. While the road and building closures were a bit annoying, it was cool to see the Queen.
Now its been announced that President Obama is coming to visit, and like Bill Clinton, he will be addressing a crowd on College Green (his preferred location was vetoed by the Garda for its impracticability). Roads and buildings will be closed again, but I doubt that there will be the same amount of electricity in the air for his visit. He is flying in Monday morning, meeting with a select group of people from his ancestral home town, making a short speech, and then going to London. I doubt that I will go see him. I have seen him speak before (he is not as good as a public speaker as he is made out to be) and I don't really feel like waiting in line for 5-6 hours to listen to some empty, hollow rhetoric (especially since last time, he showed up two hours late). Anyways, it is some pretty interesting times in Ireland.
" Tere were a lot of security concerns over the, and these were valid." First, I think the Irish accent is affecting your typing. Second, over the what?
ReplyDeleteAnd even in my cranky hunger I thought Obama was still a good speaker, and while he has a bit to learn I think he will continue to improve.
Woo! the Queen!
i occasionally drop the "th" sound from words when i speak too, its just spreading now lol. i didnt think that obama was a bad speaker, just not as good as all the hype that surrounded him, and there is no substance to what he says (which is true of a lot of politicians), so i dont want to spend 8-10 hours in line on one of my last days in Ireland waiting to see someone who i have already seen, i guess that was the point i was trying to make
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