Things I’ve seen in Dublin that I’d never seen before:

- Advertising signs with a measure of humility, “Probably the best coffee in Dublin.” And subliminal truth in advertising, like placing the “cereal bars” right alongside the candy bars:

- Ketchup in tomato containers:

- They don’t offer you bags for small purchases here. I bought a juice box, an apple, and a yogurt this morning, and the guy just gave me change and turned away.

- Giant golf umbrellas are totally acceptable for use on city sidewalks, and indeed seem to be preferred:

- Ashtrays with chimneys:

-This miserly toilet paper dispenser, which distributes a single square at a time from the center of the roll:

When we leave for trips, Hank usually hugs us, kisses our faces, and asks what kind of toy we’ll bring back. That was the drill for all of our travel for the last couple of years, it just didn’t really phase him. Until Saturday, that is. Bryan told Hank he was leaving on a work trip to Ireland, and Hank was displeased. I’ve been traveling a ton this summer, and all of Hank’s friends have been leaving daycare to go to preschool. Hank’s preschool doesn’t start until later this month, so he’s been feeling a little left behind.

Apparently, Dad leaving was the last straw. Hank refused to make eye contact for a few hours, and then began to shriek, “DON’T GOOoooooo!”

Oooh, my friends.

So I find myself unexpectedly in Dublin. The original plan was for me to stay home with Hank, because I was busy preparing for the Mighty Summit. But the heartbreaking dismay of our three year old happened to coincide with a crazy cheap last-minute ticket sale. When we realized we might be able to swing it, we asked Hank what he thought.

-Kiddo? Mommy and Hank and Daddy could all go on the airplane together, would you like that?
-Oh, YEEEES! That would make me very much happy!
-OK, should we pack your suitcase?
-YES! YES! Oh, thank you! I love you so much!

We love you too, little guy.

Also, it’s 2 a.m. in Ireland. Go to sleep.

(photo from The Standard Edition)

Man, I’ve spent a lot of time in New York this summer. When I mentioned the horrible (albeit cheap) teeny hotel room from my first trip, lots of you asked about good places to stay when you’re in town. Stay at the Ace.

We were at the Ace for a week and threw a cocktail party there with Federated Media (photos here). Because we needed the suite for the party, we ended up staying in three different rooms. By the end of the trip, I felt like we lived there.

The Ace is a boutique chain with other properties in Portland, Seattle, and Palm Springs as well. All the hotels have strong, free wi-fi throughout the property. The New York Ace has a welcoming lobby with a bar, an old timey photobooth, and a Stumptown Roasters attached. The coffee is so good, you’ll want to bathe in it.

Most of the rooms have walls painted by local artists, and the in-room fridge has a pony keg.

I can’t say that I’ve ever been inspired to take photos in a hotel gym before. I wonder what the decorators would have to do to inspire an actual work out. There are lovely details everywhere you look.

They even manage to make ironing less irritating, and Laura wanted to take the bathroom home with her.

Plus, you can’t beat a room that comes with a guitar.

Anyway, if you’re booking a trip to New York, I highly recommend a stay at the Ace. Where do you stay when you’re in town?

I just ordered some flats, because I’ve walked holes in all my everyday shoes. The ones above are Kimchi Blue Asymmetrical Skimmers. They’re cheap, so I assume they will hurt me, but I’m taking a chance because of the cuteness.

I also ordered a pair of Tieks, which were recommended to me as the ultimate travel shoe by someone on Facebook (was it you, Lisa Kohara?). Because I am a miser when it comes to clothes, this is the most I’ve ever spent on a pair of shoes, but they look perfect for traveling. If they last, I may decide to always own a pair forever and ever amen. If they don’t last, I’m going to be pissed. *(Update: My Tieks arrived, and they are genius. Very solid, and compact, and great quality. Highly recommended. I could not be more excited to have found them.)

Have any sensible shoe favorites I should know about? Spill.

I’m currently on a four-hour layover at Miami International. While I’ve got some time on my hands, let me ask you something.

Were someone to offer you an unsolicited international trip via email, would you assume it’s a Nigerian prince scheme? Yeah, me too. Which is why I did a little research when the Jamaica Tourism Board contacted me about a week ago.

I know I’ve been on sponsored trips before (And I hope to take many such trips in the future! Captains of Industry, do drop me a line). But “free” travel usually comes at the end of a year-long pitch process with twenty different companies, and the conversations go like this:

-Will you stop using your laptop, and instead use our MP3 Player’s voice-activated “BlogUp!” feature?
-No.
-What if we let you keep the MP3 Player?

-Will you guarantee fifteen Tweets about video games over a two day period, using the hashtags #GameOn! #Cabo!
-No.
-What if we have our intern write the Tweets for you and set them to auto-post while you’re away?

So you can imagine my surprise when Jamaica contacted me about a week ago with a note that boiled down to, “What’s up, Maggie. Do you want to come to Jamaica?”

Uh. Yes?

And then I didn’t even bother to look for my hand-knit Rasta beret with attached dreads until a few days later when Jamaica was like, “Cool. Here’s your ticket.”

So now here I am in Miami. If you don’t hear from me in a few days, send a dispatch to Nigera, would you? Thanks a million, team.