There is a giant spire in the town center, as seen below. I could not get the full thing no matter how far back I stood, how low I got, or how angled the camera was, but here's most of it.
That and the many bridges over the Liffey are the most prominent features of Dublin. The Liffey river divides the city into North and South, North having a rougher reputation and the South a yuppie one.
A view of the Haypenny bridge to the left is the north side, the right southDirectly on the southside of the river is temple bar, an old section of town lined with cobblestones. There are a ton of bars and it is quite close to Trinity College (surprise surprise). There are other neighborhoods, but that is the jist of Dublin, or what I'm going to write about after this:
This is just a fun, random statue on top of the Customs Building, which is on the Liffey...UNICORNSo, the day I arrived, post four hour nap. Sarah and I wander around and then meet her Dad at the Connoly Station where you can get buses, DART (like bart but Dublin, not Bay) and the LUAS trains all meet. We took the LUAS out to the Guinness factory to cheers a pint at 17:59. We arrive at the factory only to discover this Arthur day thing is an exclusive event. Tom Jones is playing there and you need tickets and all this craziness, so we wander over to the pub across the way which was PACKED. We got out Guinness with barely enough time to let it settle and then it was slainte time!
Guinness put on quite a show. Basically performers were everywhere throughout the world and all being broadcast on a station once the clock struck 17:59. After we finished our pint we realized it wasn't just around the world, but here in Dublin as well. Abrahm, Sarah's dad, took us around and wanted to show me Ireland's oldest pub, but it was sealed with velvet ropes and you needed a ticket to get in. We continued on to Temple Bar and found many of the pubs there had the same situation. Sarah and I are witty lasses though and so we managed to sneak past the velvet ropes and into a bar called the Palace. It is where the journalists and intellectuals go apparently. We stayed there for some time and then a local artist began to perform. Arthur's day backed a bunch of big name, and small name Dubliners to perform at the famous spots around town. After a night on the town, a good ol' welcome to Ireland, and of course a happy birthday to Guinness I went to sleep.
The next day, September 25 was Sarah's birthday. We woke up and made grapefruit juice mimosas much like we did a year ago when we were in Mo'orea. After the mimosas we wandered out onto the town. We looked in some shops went to Grafton Street, a very swanky shopping road, and then wandered to a place called St. Stephen's Greens. They are stunning. Just look at what I was greeted with...
Entrance to St. Stephen's GreensThen, I discovered the lake the flowers, the birds, and the sculptures. They have a really amazing Potato Famine Memorial but the lighting was horrible, so if you click on it, it's a bit better, but trust me it is amazing!
As I left the greens I saw this building and smiled because it is all fall colored and has the bright door. The bright doors throughout Dublin are a giant "in your face" to the British (I can't think of a better way to phrase the very vulgar, but more common way of describing this act of the rebellion). The British has strict regulations on what colors could be used on homes and once the republic was formed the doors went up all over the place. Wandering through I always see yellow, blue, red, even pink; all vibrant, all a statement.
Here is a green one!
Queen of Tarts was next on the agenda. This cafe has great food at a great price, and we enjoyed our savory tart, salad, and foccacia. Wandering is what we do best and we did that until dinner time when we went to a town called Howth, north of Dublin. It is a tiny fishing village slowly being yuppie-tized (sad!), but for now it houses great fish markets, boats, and grey seals! We had a lovely dinner then ended the night with the Big Lebowski.
Welcome to the Market...
and oh, what a market! we went to the Saturday market which is bustling and full of local vendors with baked goods, cheese, olives, raw food, flowers, and OYSTERS. There is a stand that serves you six sliders, brown bread, and wine for 12 euro...it's amazing and the oysters are damn good!
The platter, a bit blurry, apologiesNext, we found a great alley with all local crafts. We perused and then were off to go see some churches. I am not the most traditional of folks, but old churches are amazing masterpieces and are awe inspiring. So I wanted to go and peak at Dublin's two most famous ones, Christ's Church and St. Patrick's Cathedral (and yes that is the Saint Patrick).
Christ Church
Christ Church is stunning, not the most catching on the outside, but inside it is amazing. I was particularly enthralled by a World War memorial that had actual flags from both of the wars hanging. The old tattered flags from multiple countries are quite striking. The church also has a pretty elaborate crypt. Not to mention everything in these churches is done with painstaking detail...look at the floor!
Then there is Saint Patrick's Cathedral...
Need I say more, really? It's beautiful and HUGE. Oh and one fun anecdote, they don't have pews like I always thought of them they have linked chairs, but as a result of this there is not convenient little kneel bar, so what was the solution? Have pads on the back of every seat, but not just any pad, each one is unique and some of them are really fun designs. In the picture below the pad second from the left is a surfer, see fun!
And again with the floors!
Well that's all for now folks, lots of writing in that entry and I left out tons, but I hope you enjoyed it! More to come!
Stay tuned,
Bri
FLUKE...I didn't get a picture of the THREE breeches we saw