Dublin

Dublin is a beautiful city! The architecture is absolutely stunning, seeing as it is all ancient! Ok, not ALL of it, but for the most part, it ressembles le vieux Montréal, or le vieux Québec – but older. Every building has its own character, so there’s no shortage of things to look at. In fact, I think I spent the bulk of my time here looking upwards, which, as it turns out, is problematic seeing as every walking surface is very different from the next. Old cobblestone, new pavement, tile-style pavement, intricate brick work, etc. Luckily (and somewhat miraculously) I have not tripped yet. Now that I’ve obviously jinxed myself, let us move on.

The green spaces here are also impressive. Designed around the same time as the buildings that surround them, they are filled with trees, flowers, ponds, bridges, gazebos, statues, etc. Spring is starting to sprout in Dublin, so some flowers are blooming, and trees are thinking about growing some leaves. A far cry from January in Edmonton!

The Liffey at night (with flying snow).

 

 

A street in Dublin.

 

This church is for let, should you want to set something in Dublin.

 

 

The Spire.

 

 

Samuel Beckett Bridge, designed to ressemble the harp, Ireland’s national symbol.

 

Ha’penny Bridge, appropriately named during the era when it was built in, seeing as the toll to cross the ridge at the time was… half a penny!

There are so many different types of food available in the downtown area of Dublin. I can’t speak for the entirety of the city because I wasn’t all over the place, but in the downtown area, there is a LOT of Japanese restaurants. Like… a surprising amount. There are also many Indian, Thai, Shawarma, Pizza, American, and, obviously, Irish places to eat. There are also many different coffee shops, and a concerning amount of specialty donut shops. In the morning, there are lineups outside the donut shops. I’m not kidding.

 

I spent a few euros on one Japanese meal that completely blew my mind. I walked into this noodle place called Yamamori, and the guy was hesitant to let me in seeing as it was 11:30 PM. I convinced him I would order quickly seeing as the kitchen was closing momentarily, and he let me in. I ordered this ramen soup with chicken, pork, prawns, a hard boiled egg, some dried seaweed, some bok choy and obviously, some ramen noodles. All of that was surrounded by this super tasty broth. I also ordered a pint of Japanese beer, which was just the cherry on top. I left a seriously happy camper.

The soup in question. ❤

While there are lots of places to eat, there are even more places to drink.

Pat (a high school friend) and I enjoying a pint or two of Guinness in the iconic Temple Bar. Naturally, we solved the world’s problems.

Temple bar, the obvious drinking area of Dublin, is filled to the brim with different watering holes. Almost all of them offer live music on Friday and Saturday nights. Walking around Temple Bar during those times is completely hallucinating. There are tourists and locals everywhere in the cobblestone streets. Different languages are being spoken at every corner, and musical drifting out of every establishment. There are lights strung above, and on the weekends, vendors set up shop to attract the drunk and not-so-drunk to purchase some trinkets at the end of their evening.

I mentioned it in my past blog posts, but jaywalking is very common here. I think I’m starting to become good at it. Kind of. I always run accross the street in case I missed seeing a car coming, and instinctively I look around for a Garda official (police officer) to hand me a ticket. Of course, that won’t happen here in Dublin, but old habits die hard.

I didn’t see everything I wanted to see here, so I will definitely be back. Next time, though, I will have a more defined walking plan as opposed to just wandering through the streets (although that also has its merit. I think)

“Dream me a city where I can be myself. Where brewery hops drift on the morning breeze, & a tin whistle swells your soul. Where the rain sparks the cobbles, laughter surrounds and a nation’swoes are solved from a barstool. Where tales get taller, and old friends become new. Where conversations start as a day ends. Dream me a city, and I’ll show you Dublin. And you will feel home. “