Day 13

Today I met Kenny, a bartender at our favorite pub.  We have been there before but didn't speak much past the usual bar talk.  However, Kenny and the other owner Alan remembered us right off the bat.  I felt bad knowing nothing about them after they catered to us extremely well and even sent our table free shots so we stuck around to talk to them.  The pub and its owners aren't like the other places we've been.  The music is actually fantastic, the drinks reasonably priced, the staff is friendly and it's always how I fantasized those neighborhood pubs where "everyone knows your name."  I just never thought they actually would.  Kenny and Alan were beyond nice, continually asked if we were okay and seem like my kind of people.  Dressed in simple jeans, black t-shirts, and friendly smiles, they had an obvious laid back aura.  I thought I lost my camera at the pub so Kenny went looking for it and offered us to stay for our first lock-in.  Although it felt odd to be the only two there and not helping at all to clean up, Kenny had a reassuring smile on the whole time and handed us a free pint to relax with.  I have to admit, this may have been my meeting with the most impact.  I mean, we're American girls who have only been in Europe for two weeks.  Some won't give us the time of day but the pub was a much needed friend for the night.  I'm not even a regular at Starbucks after three years of patronage, but somehow we found another place to call home.  I have to thank Kenny for that.

"Home is not where you live but where they understand you."