Dublin
Got home from our 48-hour Dublin experience about 15 hours ago, so hopefully I haven't forgotten anything particular I wanted to share with you all. Also, I wrote everything interesting down as it happened. So I could wait, because I have a big list right here, but I know you're all reloading your Valblogski page every minute, anticipating this post. I couldn't let you down.
Dublin was, in a word--no I can't think of one. It was enjoyable, but not uber-memorable. It was fun, but not over-the-top. It was rainy, but not torrential. The people were incredibly nice, and didn't run away from you when you asked a question like they do in London. It was surprisingly expensive. It was hard to find a meal under 10 Euro (in the area of town we frequented) and a pint of beer was gonna run you about 4-5 Euro. That's six bucks if you're scoring at home. The cheapest beer I had was my first, a Guinness, of course, for $3.90. The city center itself is very compact, and you can (and we did) walk from end to end of it if you so desired (we didn't after doing it once). The bus system was fairly user-friendly and we never got stranded anywhere. The buses, however, apparently have the right to stop their routes any time they want to, as we were twice told "last stop" before we were anywhere near our destination.
Our first night there was probably the most memorable, and one of my favorite cultural experiences of the trip so far. We ducked into the nearest shady-looking pub--lounge, as they say--in hopes of experiencing a Irish Thursday night. The Cat and the Cave, I think it was called. We were not disappointed, as a man playing acoustic renditions of Bob Marley's "Redemption Song" and Oasis's "Don't Look Back In Anger" played to a packed house of drunken sing-alongers. One of these drunks nearly fell into Kristie's lap as we were leaving. He ended his set with an a capella version of what we determined to be the Irish national anthem, as everyone in the bar stood up, stopped drinking and sung along.
Most of Friday afternoon was spent walking to and touring the Guinness Storehouse. Not part of the actual brewery anymore, this building serves as one of Dublin's very few essential tourist attractions. The tour itself wasn't terribly thrilling-the best part being the history of the advertising campaigns and display of the various artifacts from the beer's 250-year history. But, it did provide lengthy tributes to each of the porter's four ingredients: water, barley, yeast and hops. The hops description began like this (yes, I wrote it down): "Hops, coming from the Latin 'Wolf Plant.' Like the wolf, it grows wild in the country. And like the wolf, man has tried to tame it. But the hop will always remain wild at heart." A-ha.
The Dublin Airport was organized and its staff extremely helpful, but it wasn't without fault. For example, the entire airport had FOUR cash machines. I know this, because at the one I stood in line for 20 minutes for, there was a note explaining the location of the other three WHEN YOU REACHED THE MACHINE. I was delighted to learn of the other locations after I had finally reached the front of the line. Also, near the end of your transaction, you were asked if you "required an advice slip."
We also visited Dublin Castle, which is not a castle so much as a government building, and spent many hours walking up and down Henry St., Dublin's main touristy shopping area. Everything I had read about Dublin told me not to miss Temple Bar, which is not a bar but a hip area of the city center. Miss it we did not, and it was in fact the center of eating, drinking and local shopping. And it was filled with street musicians, playing all sorts of songs, from U2's "With Or Without You," (obvious), to Elton John's "Your Song," (not surprising), to Deep Blue Something's "Breakfast At Tiffany's," (completely bizarre). There were also unconfirmed reports of Hootie and the Blowfish's "Let Her Cry" echoing in the distance.
I continue to be amazed by the selection at American fast food chains in Europe. I completely understand that the menus differ according to the tastes of the culture. Baguette sandwiches at Burger King I can understand. But I had no idea that the Rodeo Burger remained popular ANYWHERE. Not only did they have a Rodeo Burger, but also a Double Rodeo Burger.
Also, the selection of U.S. sports apparel is confusing. Every store has tons of soccer, rugby and other European sports apparel, whether it be hurling or cricket or whatever. But you can usually find a small selection of American apparel, maybe a New York Yankees hat or a Dallas Cowboys jersey. Yet Dublin seemed to have a strange fondness for two teams: the Jacksonville Jaguars and the University of Oregon Ducks. I have no explanation for this.
Well that's my wrapup of Dublin. Hopefully, I will be able to put more pictures up soon. I keep promising that I have some, and I do, and I keep getting denied when I try to put them up. If you are really interested in seeing some, let me know, and I'll keep trying. Otherwise, I'll just show you the whole lot upon my return.
Dublin was, in a word--no I can't think of one. It was enjoyable, but not uber-memorable. It was fun, but not over-the-top. It was rainy, but not torrential. The people were incredibly nice, and didn't run away from you when you asked a question like they do in London. It was surprisingly expensive. It was hard to find a meal under 10 Euro (in the area of town we frequented) and a pint of beer was gonna run you about 4-5 Euro. That's six bucks if you're scoring at home. The cheapest beer I had was my first, a Guinness, of course, for $3.90. The city center itself is very compact, and you can (and we did) walk from end to end of it if you so desired (we didn't after doing it once). The bus system was fairly user-friendly and we never got stranded anywhere. The buses, however, apparently have the right to stop their routes any time they want to, as we were twice told "last stop" before we were anywhere near our destination.
Our first night there was probably the most memorable, and one of my favorite cultural experiences of the trip so far. We ducked into the nearest shady-looking pub--lounge, as they say--in hopes of experiencing a Irish Thursday night. The Cat and the Cave, I think it was called. We were not disappointed, as a man playing acoustic renditions of Bob Marley's "Redemption Song" and Oasis's "Don't Look Back In Anger" played to a packed house of drunken sing-alongers. One of these drunks nearly fell into Kristie's lap as we were leaving. He ended his set with an a capella version of what we determined to be the Irish national anthem, as everyone in the bar stood up, stopped drinking and sung along.
Most of Friday afternoon was spent walking to and touring the Guinness Storehouse. Not part of the actual brewery anymore, this building serves as one of Dublin's very few essential tourist attractions. The tour itself wasn't terribly thrilling-the best part being the history of the advertising campaigns and display of the various artifacts from the beer's 250-year history. But, it did provide lengthy tributes to each of the porter's four ingredients: water, barley, yeast and hops. The hops description began like this (yes, I wrote it down): "Hops, coming from the Latin 'Wolf Plant.' Like the wolf, it grows wild in the country. And like the wolf, man has tried to tame it. But the hop will always remain wild at heart." A-ha.
The Dublin Airport was organized and its staff extremely helpful, but it wasn't without fault. For example, the entire airport had FOUR cash machines. I know this, because at the one I stood in line for 20 minutes for, there was a note explaining the location of the other three WHEN YOU REACHED THE MACHINE. I was delighted to learn of the other locations after I had finally reached the front of the line. Also, near the end of your transaction, you were asked if you "required an advice slip."
We also visited Dublin Castle, which is not a castle so much as a government building, and spent many hours walking up and down Henry St., Dublin's main touristy shopping area. Everything I had read about Dublin told me not to miss Temple Bar, which is not a bar but a hip area of the city center. Miss it we did not, and it was in fact the center of eating, drinking and local shopping. And it was filled with street musicians, playing all sorts of songs, from U2's "With Or Without You," (obvious), to Elton John's "Your Song," (not surprising), to Deep Blue Something's "Breakfast At Tiffany's," (completely bizarre). There were also unconfirmed reports of Hootie and the Blowfish's "Let Her Cry" echoing in the distance.
I continue to be amazed by the selection at American fast food chains in Europe. I completely understand that the menus differ according to the tastes of the culture. Baguette sandwiches at Burger King I can understand. But I had no idea that the Rodeo Burger remained popular ANYWHERE. Not only did they have a Rodeo Burger, but also a Double Rodeo Burger.
Also, the selection of U.S. sports apparel is confusing. Every store has tons of soccer, rugby and other European sports apparel, whether it be hurling or cricket or whatever. But you can usually find a small selection of American apparel, maybe a New York Yankees hat or a Dallas Cowboys jersey. Yet Dublin seemed to have a strange fondness for two teams: the Jacksonville Jaguars and the University of Oregon Ducks. I have no explanation for this.
Well that's my wrapup of Dublin. Hopefully, I will be able to put more pictures up soon. I keep promising that I have some, and I do, and I keep getting denied when I try to put them up. If you are really interested in seeing some, let me know, and I'll keep trying. Otherwise, I'll just show you the whole lot upon my return.
posted by Kristie at 1:57 PM
1 Comments:
I'm so looking forward to sausage and ketchup chips!
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