Dublin - Monday 25th May 2009

This was my last day in Dublin and my flight wasn’t until later in the afternoon, so I decided to make the most of my day. I went on the Malahide Castle and North Coast bus tour (I got a discount as it was run by the same company that I did the Dublin Bus Tour with). The first short stop was along the roadside where the Marino Casino was – it is not a casino as we know then today, it was a building built for the purpose of housing guests and having parties. The building was designed to deceive the eye – it looks a lot smaller than it actually is. The building contains about 16 rooms, plus kitchens, bathrooms, dining rooms etc. The window at the front of the building actually goes across two stories, and the urns on the rooftop are actually chimneys. Next stop was the beautiful, quaint Malahide Castle. The castle is set on a large portion of land that has a large manicured lawn along the entrance to the building. Inside the castle, were took a tour through the lovely rooms with its extravagant furnishings and paintings. Unfortunately though, the last descendant in the family just passed away earlier in the year, so the family line has come to an end. A fair few years ago, Rose, the last descendant moved to live with other family members in Tasmania and sold the house and all its contents, as she could not afford to tend to the house and pay the fees of the land.
After the castle we took the bus along the majestic coastline towards Howth. Across the water you could see Irelands Eye – a small island just off the shore. The day had turned overcast and a mist had settled across the hill tops – it was very pretty. We stopped at the port of Howth, and were able to get out and go for a wander along the dockside. While I was taking a photo of some of the fishing boats, I spotted a few seals that were floating around near the boats. There were about 5 of them in total – they kept moving from boat to boat in the hope of a fish being strewn into the water. There were also a lot of seagulls that were flying above the fishing boats and diving down to eat any of the fishy scraps that may still be on the decks of the boats.
We then went up the hills in hope of seeing the normally breathtaking view of the coastline. Unfortunately the fog was so thick up there we only got a few glimpses of the coastline below – I did find the fog over the water and hills very pretty though, so I was still happy.
After the bus tour, I still had a little bit of time to visit the National Library of Ireland and have a look through the William Butler Yeats exhibition before collecting my bag and heading off to the airport and back to the UK.

Dublin - Sunday 24th May 2009

A few of the galleries were closed today, so I wasn’t able to visit them but I was easily able to fill the day anyway. I went for a walk through the grounds of Trinity College, looking at the magnificent buildings and the Campanile that towers over the plaza area.
I found it interesting that the street signs and information signs around Dublin are written in both English and Irish language. They were fun to try and read. I walked to the heart of Dublin, along O’Connell Street and up the hill to Garden of Remembrance. I stumbled across the James Joyce statue, and then decided to walk along the river where the impressive Custom House overlooks. There was a Lord Nelson ship docked along the river where people were practicing rigging the sails high up on the yard arms. On the opposite side of the river there was an old Viking ship on display. I walked over the Sean O’Casey Bridge then along the river to where the famine statues are. I walked behind the custom house and back along the other side of the river in the direction I had come from. I kept walking until I came across the round, columned building of the Four Courts. I then crossed the river again and visited the relics of St Audeons Church. Parts of the walls are still standing with no roof remaining and a few tombs within; a renovated section of the church is still intact. You can see where the church has been changed over the years with the arched patterns of stone displaying where old doorways and windows used to be. The gardens around the old church were filled with pretty coloured flowers as well as a large selection of herbs, which made it quite fragrant. Next to the old St Audeons Church is the new one – it has a monstrous sized columns across the front facade. After St Audeons I visited the Dvblinia Viking Museum. The building containing Dvblinia is joined to Christ Church Cathedral by an enclosed arched walkway that goes over the roadway. The museum was quite interesting with some fascinating facts on the life and times of the Vikings. They had interactive displays of a market setting, and they also had wax statues of people and animals depicting farming scenes. At the end of the museum tour I climbed the tower to get a bird’s eye view over Dublin. After the tower, I walked through the bridge that joins the two building together to get to Christ Church Cathedral. As it was Sunday, there was a service happening inside, so I only poked my head through the doors and didn’t venture in any further.
I then strolled down some streets I haven’t been down before and found some more cute pubs and cafes. One cafe was called the ‘Queen of Tarts’, I am guessing that it was named after the ‘Tart with the Cart’. I found a nice souvenir shop and bought a few gifts, postcards and a lovely necklace for myself – the pendant is round and gold with colours on in it a celtic pattern. I went for a walk around the Dublin Castle, where I had just missed a display they had on the green inside the castle grounds. Along the street there were two guys dressed up as Leprechauns – very fitting, and there were many buskers playing music. The atmosphere was fantastic. I also walked past the door of the smallest pub in Ireland, and possibly the world – they joke that it is so small that you may run into yourself on your way out!
St Stephen’s Green was full of people out enjoying the sunny weather and the music that was being played from one of the gazebos. I eventually made it back to O’Donoghue’s late in the afternoon and discovered that there was a group of people singing and playing music in the courtyard area. I popped myself on the stairs and enjoyed the music for the afternoon. Later that night I went back to the Knightsbridge Bar at the Arlington Hotel for the dinner and show deal – 3 course meal and show. I sat next to some really nice ladies – the two on my left were young teachers working in the UK from New Zealand, and then the group of five on my right were teachers from Gibraltar. They were friendly and chatty and were amazed that I was travelling on my own. The entertainment was fantastic, this time it was two ladies and two guys with a large variety of instruments and great singing talents – they also sang some songs in the Irish language. The Irish Dancers were fantastic again too.

Dublin - Saturday 23rd May 2009

I set off for the day and caught the Dublin Tour Bus again, as I had a 24hour pass and had to take advantage of it. We went past the magnificent St Patrick’s Cathedral and then stopped at the Guinness Storehouse – this is where I was going this morning. I was quite impressed with the Storehouse. It is set in a multi-storey building that has a glass shaft that goes up the centre of the building in the shape of a pint glass. The tour took us through the process of the making the perfect Guinness, explaining the important ingredients and their origins. We got to sample some Guinness and then I took up the opportunity to pour my own Guinness!! I poured the perfect Guinness and then got a certificate as proof of my task. Guinness is definitely the drink of choice in Ireland. When I was at O’Donoghue’s the precious night, they have a person behind the bar who is continuously pouring pints of Guinness – each Guinness has to sit for 2 minutes after the first pour and then get topped up my pure Guinness (no gas) at the end. So to keep people from waiting, they constantly have them ready. At the top of the Storehouse there is a bar in a round glass sided room; you can see over the city of Dublin and also see how far the Guinness brewery extends over the landscape. I am not a beer drinker, but I have to admit that Guinness wasn’t too bad. I couldn’t finish the pint (it is like a meal in itself) but I had about 1/3 of it – I was quite happy with my effort. They had a video showing a film from the 1950’s of a man making the wooden barrels that they used to hold the Guinness in. It was really interesting watching the technique, skill and muscle power involving in making the humble barrel. They even had some of the old tool that were used to make the barrels on display.
After the Guinness Storehouse tour (which took a few hours) I joined the bus again and listened to the usually jokes from the driver as he told us the stories of the places we drove past and of the people we saw along the way. It was quite funny at one point when we were driving past the zoo, and there was a group of girls who flagged down the bus waving their tickets. The driver slowed down to let them catch up and then took off again, slowed again, took off again – the whole time joking about the girls running after him. He did eventually stop and let then on, the girls were giggling and then he mimicked them giggling – it was very funny. Because me ticket was going to expire that afternoon, I rode the bus around the city twice before getting off to make sure I got to see everything and take photos of things that are too far to walk to.
Along the journey the driver pointed out a pub that has traditional Irish entertainment every night, of which he recommended, so I departed the bus the next time we stopped near this pub; got some details about the nightly entertainment and then continued to explore – this time by foot.
I crossed the river along the Ha’Penny Bridge – this bridge used to have a toll to cross it of half a penny, hence the name ‘Ha’Penny’. It is now just a decorative foot bridge that takes you into the heart of the Temple Bar area. I strolled through the streets passing the many pubs that are on every corner and street front. The pubs in Dublin are so cute looking – they exactly what I imagined them to be – colourful, decorative, cross sectioned windows, wooden doors, live music, posters on the walls. I came across the statue of Molly Malone; known by the locals as ‘The Tart with the Cart’. I then stopped in at the National Gallery which is set inside a superb old building and had a look some of the Irish artists work that is on display. Outside the gallery is Merrion Square – another large green filled with statues, trees and open grass areas. There was a statue of Oscar Wilde in one the Squares corner gardens – he is lounging across a large rock. Outside the square, on the adjacent corner the where the statue is, is the house that Oscar Wilde used the live in.
I found a great music shop that sold a wide range of Irish music and I was very happy when I found an Altan CD – a best of! I love their music and I think it will be special to add a CD direct from Dublin to my collection. I also bought myself a tin whistle from the music shop!!
This are of Dublin is the Georgian area, with the illustrious Georgian doors – wooden decorative doors with the arched glass window above. Each door is totally different – in colour, size, pattern and style. After wandering around the streets all afternoon, I went back to my room to rest for a little bit and have a shower before heading out to watch the nightly entertainment.
After my rest, I then walked through the busy Saturday night streets, through Temple Bar and across the river. It was about 8pm and the sun was still shining and putting a nice glow over the buildings along the river. I then found the Knightsbridge Bar at the Arlington Hotel and settled in for a night of traditional Irish entertainment. They had a band that played a variety of well known Irish songs, and then they had some Irish Dancers perform on the stage. That was great. One of the dancers was a world champion, so that was exciting. After the dancers the band continued to play until the late hours of the night.
Once the entertainment was over, I walked back over the river and through the Temple Bar area. It was bustling with people, there were a few stag night groups walking around and some hens nights too – all dressed up crazy and having a great time. One of the stag’s was dressed up as a Viking – had the striped trousers held up by braces, no shirt on, a crazy red haired wig and a Viking helmet with horns. He looked very funny.

Dublin - Friday 22nd May 2009

I took the very early train to Stansted Airport, and most importantly the train turned up and was on time! The Stansted train is the most unreliable of all the trains that go through Cambridge. I am constantly hearing the announcements of delayed arrivals or even cancellations of that service. I flew Ryanair – the Irish company, known for its cheap flights and the flight was hassle free. Once I got to Dublin though I was met with a 45 minute wait to get through the non-EU passport holders line through customs. I was not very happy with that – the EU passport holders were passed through straight away with no delay; the rest of us had to find our way to the end of the line that wound its way through the airport terminal. But eventually I made it out of the airport and onto Dublin soil.
I took the bus into Dublin itself and got dropped off at Trinity College. I then had a short walk to my place of residence for the weekend – O’Donoghue’s. Heidi that I work with at OCR organised my accommodation for me. Her partner’s Uncle owns the popular pub where they have comfortable rooms above. It was in a great location too, right near St Stephen’s Green and near the ever popular Grafton Street. After I booked in and dropped off my bag I ventured out to explore – I was not going to waste any of my time there.
When I arrived it had been overcast and raining slightly, but by the time I went for a stroll through St Stephen’s Green the rain had stopped and it was quite pleasant. In St Stephen’s there are lakes with swans, ducks and seagulls lazing about and a beautiful seating area in the middle of the Green with gazebos and water fountains.
I then decided to take one of the tour buses around the city. Some people at work gave me the advice of taking the buses that do the live commentary, which was definitely a good hint. The hop-on-hop-off Dublin Bus Tour (green bus) took me to the outskirts of the city to the Kilmainham Gaol, which was my first stop.
They do guided tours of the Gaol, and the tour leader we had was great. He had a round tummy, white hair and beard and a thick Irish accent. He greeted us in traditional Irish language (also known as Gaelic) which I loved hearing. The tour around the Gaol was very interesting; it also involved a little bit of Australian history – they shipped off some of their convicts to Australia (they had photos of the boats they used too, in their museum). There were some sad stories about the gaol and they people who were held within its walls throughout history. The Famine played a large part of the history of the Gaol and they were the saddest tales of all. Kids as young as 15 were put in gaol for crimes such as stealing a load of bread. Because they had lied about their age to be able to work, they were then sentenced to pay for their crimes in gaol. At one stage during the famine, people were committing crimes to get into gaol, because they were given full meals while within the walls. To combat that, they strictly rationed the food and the prisoners were given very little food – the same poverty as outside.
After my tour of the Gaol, it caught the tour bus again and completed a tour of the city. We rode passed Pheonix Park and saw the large Wellington Monument and then passed some of the grounds of the Dublin Zoo. We then continued along the River Liffey and then to the main street – O’Connell Street. The days are long at the moment, so there is much more time to enjoy the scenery. I strolled down the street, visited a few of the shops – including Penny’s Primark and bought myself a cheap blue dress to take to Greece with me. I then crossed the river, walked past the massive Irish Bank and the pretty Trinity College and then back to O’Donoghue’s. I popped into the supermarket to grab a bite to eat before heading down to the pub to enjoy the ambiance and music.
The pub is quite small, but very popular and there is standing room only. I strolled around for a bit and then found some people sitting in the corner of the front of the pub – they were setting up to play some music. They had a full range of traditional Irish instruments: guitar, mandolin, accordian, bodhran, uilleann pipes, tin whistle/pennywhistle. I stayed watching and listening for the entire night. They were a really friendly bunch and I chatted with others who were enjoying the music also, with the night finishing about 1:30am.