Unlike some places we’ve been on our odyssey, Dublin is not a city we know well. So we’ve been trying to learn our way about, and immersing ourselves in Irish culture (i.e., primarily but not exclusively, pubs). While there are a good number of attractions here, including museums, churches, and even a castle, we suspect we’ll be spending the majority of our time just hanging out, listening to music, reading great literature, and trying to pick up the gift of gab. Talking of music, it’s everywhere, and we’re really enjoying that aspect of life here!
Our neighbourhood, as we’ve mentioned, is very centrally located, just outside of Temple Bar and fairly close to most of what we’re interested in. It is not itself especially desirable, with few restaurants and shops, and a Lidl grocery store that is clearly below par (unlike the one in Cyprus!). But there are some nice grocery stores not too far away -we are rapidly becoming fans of Dunne’s – and a number of weekend markets we’re eager to try out.
Our host gave us a great summary of the areas of Dublin (assisted by a terrific map which hangs in the bedroom), and some of the good sites nearby. She also pointed out our local, the Brazen Head, which is supposedly the oldest pub in Ireland. The food was very good, but it was overrun with tourists. We have yet to see if we can distinguish ourselves from them by repeat visits. And we may also search for a substitute local.
Dublin itself seems relatively compact, and the Liffey is very helpful for orientation. Nothing seems very far. We had to go to the American embassy, towards the end of town, but even that was only about 45 minutes by foot. The shopping districts are lively and fun to be on, with lots of different kinds of shops. The buildings are mostly Georgian, with brightly painted doors.
We think we are already picking up on some differences between this and our most recent Catholic country. There are indeed churches everywhere, but not, of course, the omnipresent papal presence that we experienced in Rome. And the saints here have cool names: who knew there was a St Audoen?
We know it rains a lot in Ireland. So far it hasn’t, but it’s been cloudy much of the time. We are enjoying walking around in the many green spaces and admiring the beautiful buildings. We love the Irish habit of documenting things: there are signs all over telling you what happened where when. Not surprisingly, Ireland’s history is very close to the surface here.
One of the things we’ve noticed, already, is how friendly the Irish are. They are chatty and easy-going. And when we are standing looking at our phones for directions, they often ask if they can help us. They are also quick to make fun of us when we do silly things, which we don’t mind at all.
And the food in Dublin, so far, has been just what we expected: potatoes and Guinness. (This is not a complaint!) But especially around the university, there are quite a number of health-conscious places (of which we saw hardly any in Rome). We’ve also noticed that most major ethnic cuisines are represented here, including Indian, Japanese, (tons of) Italian, Mexican, and Middle Eastern. This is a change from previous visits, and you can bet we’ll be trying some (all?) of these.
So our first impressions on the whole are very positive. We’re sure we’ll find a lot to discover, and the size of the city will make it easy to re-visit favourite spots. Which of course we will report on in our posts over the next three months!
