No, we’re not wearing hemp clothes or starting our own organic farm. We went to Ireland and if I had to describe the island nation in one word that’d be it: Green. We only had a few days in the Dublin area on our way back to the States from Paris but it was easy to find the common theme. The countryside is all shades of grass. There are scary leprechauns standing on corners accosting tourists. On the street green is the perennial black. And don’t even pretend you can walk out of the Irish souvenir megastore without a bagful of shamrock paraphernalia.

Oh yeah, and then there was Guinness. Can’t forget this highlight, Ireland won’t let you. It’s everywhere and it’s flowing freely. Going to where it all began and still brewing strong was neato. Sipping the free pint at the 360 bar overlooking Dublin made it all go down smoothly.