NZ was extremely thoughtful when I stumbled (literally, since I had felt obliged to wear evil high-heeled shoes for the occasion) out of the interview: having relieved me of my overnight bag, she took me straight to a delightful icecream parlour. So by the time we headed on to an Irish pub, I was feeling much revived. I have to admit I was disappointed to find Dublin itself scattered with tacky tourist-ish "Irish pubs", but NZ is a local and knows how to find the real thing that these travesties attempt to imitate. I learnt that Ireland has just passed a new law banning smoking in enclosed workplaces; I couldn't help feeling that the pleasant atmosphere of the pub was much improved by not being smoky!
Then we headed back to NZ's halls so she could run a rehearsal. She decided that Dublin was lacking any equivalent of OULES, so she established one. It was a very fun rehearsal, and NZ's friends are lovely people. They were missing one of the cast so got me to read in for a character who turned out to be an IP law geek, a rôle I felt able to cope with despite my lack of acting ability! Finally back to NZ's flat where she fed me supper and we continued chatting and catching up.
I slept rather late in the morning, so we didn't have time to do much more than walk into town and then for NZ to put me on a bus to the airport. It must be said that NZ, as well as being a generally lovely person, is a particularly useful guide, given that she is doing a PhD in contemporary Irish history and therefore knows lots and lots about everything a visitor could possibly want to know! The prettiness I remembered from my previous visit to Dublin is rather spoiled at the moment by the fact that the whole city is being dug up to build a tram system, but when that is in place I think the city will feel even more elegantly European. I was also endeared by the bilingual signage and that sort of thing!
To round off an excellent, if rushed, trip, I dropped by