Pubs & Souvenirs

July 17, 2010

I’ve started a few new collections while in Ireland, not just hundreds of photos of our adventure or postcards from every town we visit, but also items I’ve picked up a the countless pubs we’ve stopped at: coasters and pint glasses. They’re not stolen items in my mind, but souvenirs of the good times we’re having. Now I can bring a bit of Ireland’s culture home with me.

Each pub has a different set of cardboard coasters. Absolut, Bulmer’s, Carlsberg, Guinness — each coaster promotes a different beverage with clever designs and marketing. These are simple to pick up when you order a drink because they’re stacked next to the drafts or even just arrayed across the wooden bar top.

The pint glasses prove more difficult. A sense of skillfulness and --- accompanies their swipe. Last sip, eyes glance around to hope no employees or cameras lurk, and into the purse it goes. The Carlsberg one is from our last night in Killarney, a night when we hopped from pub to pub on the surprisingly crowded streets. (Though some people may not understand why I wanted a Carlsberg glass, it was the beer of Copenhagen from my second trip to Europe, and I still proudly wear my green “THE best beer in the world T-shirt.”) And like many of the other girls here, a Bulmer’s glass is also in my collection. The sweet cider of Ireland is what we all agree we may miss the most, and we’re already on a quest to find a similar version in the States. My particular glass is from a crowded night in The King’s Head in Galway, the night that Spain won the World Cup.

Four would be a good number to stop at. Of course I need a Guinness glass, but I’m not sure what the final one will be. I had hoped Murphy’s, the beer of Cork, but we’re long gone from that city and the frequentness of that draft. But I know I’ll find something.