This is a really strange time to write a blog post. Not because I haven't written in a while, though that's also true! It's basically because I'm not sure what will happen today in terms of my travels, but regardless, I won't be able to come back to Ireland for a while.
Here's why:
1) I'm flying (ideally) from DUB - LHR - IAD - BUF today, and I've got about an hour here at the airport before that first flight leaves.
2) BUT, and I emphasize this, 8 countries have so far banned travel from the UK as of this time (5:30 AM GMT), and although I read an article this morning saying the US does not plan on blocking UK flights, that could change really at any time. I'm just hoping that time isn't prior to Noon GMT, when my flight leaves LHR.
3) Key to this point is one of those countries banning travel from the UK is Ireland, so let's say my flight gets cancelled/blocked, I can't just come back here to Ireland if things don't work out flight-wise. Then I'll have to get creative about how to get home I guess.
How do you cope with those panicked moments? By distractedly writing about the last week or so I've spent in Dublin! Which really is a great place. If it were cheaper, or I wealthier, I would undoubtedly spend more time here.
Where did I stay?
Yes, yes, hilariously my apartment number was 69.
I stayed in a nice little apartment right near the Jervis Shopping Centre... which is right by the Dublin Spire, a short walk from Temple Bar, and right exactly where I'd want to be staying in Dublin as a tourist. My host (John), was apparently a musician of some renown... his place was strewn with signed posters of him singing with famous artists like Elvis Costello and then a bunch of Irish people I didn't really know. And he was in the chorus in Riverdance! Sadly I didn't meet him, but happily I took advantage of his lovely apartment.
But for example, I was about a 10 minute walk from the Ha'penny Bridge, see below:
I spent my week here working remotely and having one or two good outings a day in the city, and two good outings outside of the city. So let's separate this down that way.
Cool Shit Sam Did in Dublin City
Look, I spent a lot of time around these two districts. But I also tried to follow the guide/advice of my host insofar as stuff was still open. I mean, the above picture was one of the few times I didn't have a mask on.
1) Guinness Storehouse/Winter Village
Yeah, yeah, I'd been here before. But they suckered me back! They said they had a "winter village" with local shops and people were apparently signing up to go even if they were locals.
I... may have been duped. Apparently here "winter village" means we put up some fake snow and trees and have like 4 kiosks on the ground floor selling crappy crafts.
They did have food trucks outside though I didn't partake. I mostly wanted to get a picture of the one hilariously (for here at least... possibly racist in the US) called the "Sambo Ambo", which was clearly made out of an old ambulance.
I did go in and have the most legit Guinness of my Irish experience though at the Gravity Bar at the top of the factory. Did it take much longer than it should have? Was I only allowed to sit for 30 minutes? Did this make me grateful for the earlier tour I'd had last year? The answer to all 3 of these questions was yes.
2) Food Let's chat about something else. The food. It's great here! Weirdly enough, the absolute best thing I had to eat was some Nepalese food on the recommendation of my host. I didn't try the "raw lamb tartare that comes with a shot of whiskey"-- for those that don't know, I don't like cooked lamb for starters-- but I did have some sizzling squid and fish curry that was amazing.
Probably the coolest place I ate was this old church called... "The Church". The food was solid, but cooler was that literally you were eating next to a huge pipe organ and with tombs and stuff all around you.
Apart from the food and all that, I saw some strange things, but let's save those for another section. Meanwhile...
An Escape to Dalkey
Turns out, the Dart train (think metro/subway) can very easily sweep you away to nearby villages. So I thought based on some recommendations I'd check out Dalkey. Heck, Bono lives near there! Apparently all the Dutch/German tourists mob his house.
Now like South Park before me, I don't particularly revere Bono (I do enjoy a good "biddy" reference). But checking out a small little village and going on a hike sounded great! Plus it's only about 30 minutes by train from Dublin City Centre, and it's an absolutely gorgeous train ride by the coast.
Taking my host's advice, I got a bowl of soup in the town centre, watched it all go by, and plotted out a hike.
After this, I had a few options. But one of these was to go check out an obelisk. How many of those do you stumble upon these days anyway? Google Maps route did not instill confidence at first, as it led me down a gravel road that eventually turned into a path. A very muddy path.
But it did yield some gorgeous views of the whole Dublin area as you climb up the mountain!
Now, I did get kind of horrifically muddy. But on the plus side, the many dogs who their owners brought up the hills with them were also pretty muddy. And while I don't have pictures, it did make me smile quite a bit.
When you finally do get to the top, you see a mini ziggurat and then the obelisk. I'd describe it as "kind of worth it", but I really had to go to the bathroom (that'll come up in random pics later).
These were bigger than they appear I assure you. Anyhow, after all this, did the hike back down, walked into the most famous pub here (Finnegan's) where Obama and Bono had a beer. But it was *crowded*. Like, even Sam the fearless realized this is a health hazard crowded. So I just took the train home.
A Brief Trip to Howth
Like Dalkey, Howth is a posh little seaside village you can easily visit from Dublin. I just have a couple pics and a couple points:
Couldn't believe there were boats out! It was freezing!
Apparently, Howth is where middle-class-ish Dubliners take their kids to play outside, because there was a lot of that. You're supposed to have pints at O'Connells, watch the sea, get some fresh seafood tapas at Octopussy (great name), and check out the Howth Market. But after surveying all of these places, how busy they were, and how hungry I wasn't, I pretty much just booked it home. It was after all my last day in Dublin and I had to do some shopping!
Random Things
Side Note about the above-- it was taken in one of the shittiest bathrooms with flooded floors I have ever desperately used. But when you're half an hour's hike from anywhere better, you take what you can.
Moment of Zen
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