Grafton St. Shops to Moore St. Markets

today we went into the city on foot, which i haven't done yet (on the double-decker buses before). we went down grafton st., which is sort of the rodeo drive of dublin, in terms of shops: dior, chanel, etc. but it's not exclusive, and you don't feel like an invader being there, because most people have to go down it to get across the river. it's a cobbled street and amazing people-watching (we walked next to a quartet of young, rowdy, scantily dressed irish girls for about five minutes, and i saw a man dressed all in silver), and absolutely PACKED. we passed about six landmarks on my map: bank of ireland, trinity college, the molly malone statue, the spire (literally, a huge silver spire). we were making our way to moore st. market, an open-air produce market operated by some pretty sassy irish broads. all the food is super cheap and so fresh. the food here is amazing--everything tastes like earth and ocean. my roommate bought some incredible salmon yesterday, we've been devouring mushrooms, and even the potatoes taste better. it's also home to the closest thing dublin has to a ghetto--the mall is pretty chintzy. we had a bit before class, so we went into christchurch cathedral, which was just beyond beautiful. i'm not a religious person, as we all know, but you would be hardpressed not to be inspired in a place like that. they have someone play the organ all day, and the building, despite numerous renovations, is breath-taking. there's a crypt downstairs with lots of old silver and catholic accoutrements, and tomb statues. pictures are forthcoming, because our internet is still shot. also in the crypt was the cat and mouse mummies they found in the pipe organ in the 1800's--literally a cat chasing a mouse into the pipes.
we had devising class today, which is a kind of community-created, organic physical theatre that i thought would be pretty much bullshit, but ended up being a lot of fun. our schedule is intense--we have class from 9-6 tomorrow and wednesday, and two hours of class each other day--but i think it's going to be worth it. and the plays we're seeing are out of control--the newest one i found out about is 'happy days' with fiona shaw (aunt petunia for all the harry potter fans) and bailey and i just booked tickets for a one-woman show with vanessa redgrave. we're also seeing some experimental theatre that's taking place in an apartment. tomorrow we're seeing 'no man's land' and have class all day (dressed all in black--the dress code for the school, which just makes us all look like funeral mourners, but it's easier to see the stage pictures we create). more info tomorrow!
p.s. the yogurt (or 'yoghurt') is amazing here, and there's blackcurrants in everything. delicious.