there's something about landing in a different timezone after a suuuuper long flight that is kind of awesome. some part of me seems to enjoy the challenge of seeing how easily i can trick myself into thinking it's normal to be awake and walking around when i would otherwise be fast asleep at home. this past May, when i flew to Dublin, Ireland to start my European tour, I gave myself a full day prior to the first show (as I always do) to get acclimated. it was definitely an adventure trying to distract myself from falling asleep all day, and i stopped counting the cups of coffee around 11 am because it started getting ridiculous. here are some highlights:

first, i think it's necessary to share the overload of shit i was carrying. a month's worth of clothes, CDs and tshirts, and a guitar make for quite a cart of cargo when you're by yourself. also, it sucks trying to maneuver this while holding up the line for the ATM machine that keeps refusing all the euros to your American card.

luckily, i finally piled everything into a cab and checked into my hotel. the key here is- once you check in- you CANNOT. SIT. DOWN. or you will fall asleep and mess up the whole day. jet leg wins if you fall asleep. and i refuse to let jet lag win. so i got another coffee in the lobby and started walking...

my hotel wasn't super far from the city center, so i killed some time just wandering around the streets. it was supposed to rain that day but ended up being really beautiful out which was awesome.

since i've only been to Dublin a couple times before and don't know the city super well, i consulted Design Sponge's city guide, which, despite being a few years old, turned out to be really helpful.

even though it was 2 AM LA time, i figured i should probably eat lunch when Irish people were eating lunch, so i stopped at Bear on South William Street. the place was super cute, and the open faced steak sandwich was absolutely delicious.

after wandering some more after lunch, i decided i had to try Murphy's ice cream (another Design Sponge rec) because it's handmade in Ireland and everyone said it was the bomb. they were 100% right.

post ice cream, i walked up and down Grafton street - which is a main drag of a bunch of shops in the city center - and stopped into Topshop to find a few things for my tour wardrobe. i gotta say, if there's anything that really successfully distracts me from the fact that i'm whacked out and absolutely exhausted, it's shopping. around 4 pm, when i knew i was starting to fade, i decided it was time to switch from coffee to booze.

i thought maybe grabbing an early evening cocktail would help me feel less crazy, so i posted up on the patio of Coppinger Row for their signature cocktail, the Flo & Basy - fresh basil leaves muddled with agave and shaken with gin, st germain elderflower, and fresh lime. while it was VERY delicious, it definitely tripped me out even more to get a little bit of a buzz. buuuuut it was totally worth it.

at this point, i caved and walked back to the hotel, thinking i would fall asleep around 6. but i POWERED THROUGH, ordering from the restaurant downstairs and writing in my journal in bed til about 9 PM. i think this might have been my most successful victory over jet lag in history.

the gig the next night was an awesome way to kick off the tour, even if the person who put my name on the marquee was potentially drunk.

LOVE Dublin and can't wait to get back!

what are your fave techniques for beating jet lag when you land??

Kate Vs. Jetlag: Dublin Edition