Nirvighnam kuru me deva Sarva-karyeshu sarvada"
The weekend was planned 10 days in advance....the shopping for the non-perishables (condensed milk, cardamom, dessicated coconut, raisins) was done a week in advance...
Saturday was Ganesh Chaturthi...and the quartet had decided on the menu for Ganesha...well the fact that we did not have a Ganesha idol did not dampen our spirits...after all God is everywhere...:)
The menu was final...gajar ka halwa with icecream, black chana, veg pulao, maybe chapatis...(well…in the land of bread n fruits, its a feast!!!)
The carrots were bought on Friday...the shopping expedition carried out by all the four devout gluttons!
The discussion did not divert...the gajar ka halwa was on everyones mind as we went to sleep at 12...
Come Sunday and a shout...the infamous Irish weather was going to strike again...this time with a days notice (Lord Ganeshas blessings for all our noble thoughts, we claimed)...Sunday was to be a total washout...incessant rains and cold waves had been predicted...
Well, we had a choice to make...can we celebrate Ganesh Chaturthi on Sunday?
After a lot of inspired moral debates, we decided that Lord Ganesha would most definitely understand. We are after all humans...
As a compensation, lest he unleash his wrath on us...we made the chana and had it as prasad before leaving...
The plans were ambitious...I was leaving next weekend and in the 4 weeks that I had spent here I had not taken the LUAS (the trams here)...what a disgrace...so we would take a taxi from the apartment to Tallaght...the LUAS from there to the City Centre...and then the DART from there to Greystone...a long trip, but well worth it.
Note: Greystones was decided as a destination without much debate...as taking the LUAS and DART was a must!
The over enthusiastic quartet that we were, we decided to find out about how to buy the LUAS ticket from the taxi driver. When we explained our plans to him, he told us that Greystones was a very nice place (though 3 days later, while driving us home, he does mention that Greystones is not very clean, but is being developed and would be a great place in about 5 years!!!!). He also suggested that we should go to Howth if we find time. It is a beautiful village with a beach, harbour and cliffs...
At Tallaght, we took the LUAS and were on our way to the City Centre. The ride was uneventful...the LUAS was quite crowded...far removed from the glamorous trains with beautiful women that we see in movies.
As we were getting down at the City Centre...a comical bulb of enlightenment lit in the minds eye and thus was born the idea..."Destination Howth"...
So there we were, at the crowded DART (Dublin Area Rapid Transit) station, looking for directions (we once even looked upto the heavens!!!)...and more importantly gathering information about the places to visit...got a BIG map and 4 tickets...and set off to Platform 7...where a DART waited patiently to take us to HOWTH!!!!
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