Since I'm the antithesis of a beer drinker, here was my first Irish drink...
Later, I shared a moment with these lovely ladies...
...then walked along the river until we stumbled into Ha' Penny Bar.
Thrilled, I was.
The others were also quite excited (though they look more perplexed than anything).
...because these three men were playing some traditional Irish music that was just lovely and it just about made our night.
We made it through a few hours here before having to escape to get some grub. We found an amazing pizza place in this square...
...where I proceeded to take quite a few pictures...
...before we wolfed down the excruciatingly hot pizza, and burned our little mouths. Charming.
The stumble home was breathtaking with views like these.
Saturday morning brought us the hilarity that comes when five humans share one bathroom and not a lot of hot water, followed by a much deserved traditional Irish breakfast.
James Joyce was on the menu as our first celeb sighting ;)
...then the walk through the town followed.
My first glimpse of the General Post office, from Earl Street North.
The Spire, taken from out front of the General Post Office.
Men dressed ridiculously: not so odd a sight around these parts.
The view at the north end of the river. There stands the O'Connell Monument, proud as the day is long. Troy swore he bore a striking resemblance to his father. Swears now that he's part Irish. As you'll see later, it turns out we all are.
Just before O'Connell Bridge, this is one of the spots we planned to hit up later. Not sure if it was called The Bachelor or Poet's Corner. One way, it sounded like a hoot; the other, a little intellectual hole in the wall. We thought it would be worth seeing.
We crossed over O'Connell bridge into Temple Bar. And the weekend began.
Love this little square in Temple Bar. Found quite a few bars there (and a pizza joint that saved us from starvation on Friday night)...
Enough said.
Temple Bar art gallery. Bizzarro world.
I found some of the famous doors of Dublin (Laura, this is just your type of place!)
Peeking back toward the river...
Through Temple Bar along Essex Street East brought us to Parliament Street...
City Hall!
At the end of Parliament Street we turned right on Lord Edward, toward Christchurch Place.
Ah yes, the Queen of Tarts...
...and all her awards ;)
Had the group not stopped to see their family crests across the street from here...
and here...
I would have never crossed the street, saw this door...
...these pillars...
...and the entrance to Dublin Castle. Good find, Bergamo.
Isn't Lady Justice so grand? And the colour of that sky?! It just can't be beat!
The walk to our next destination (the Guinness Brewery) was not exactly the most picturesque. Nonetheless, I found some beauty scattered here and there...
Though it was not a part of my plan, I went along with the gang to the Guinness Brewery on the other side of town. It was a long walk, but the sun was out in full force, and, at the end, it was so worth it.
The building was gorgeous, the history rich, and the architectural details were so robust and yet seemingly carefully placed. It was a magical place.
Did you know that Arthur Guinness signed a 9000-year lease on this brewery because he just knew the product would be remarkable? That's passion, friends, that is passion.
Four ingredients that make Guinness are idolized in this building: barley (roasted, available for tasting), hops (I didn't know the plants grow up to nine feet high!), yeast (a special kind is used; a reserved kept in a safe just in case something happens to it), and water. Guinness chose this place for his brewery specifically because it had a fresh water source that was to his specifications. Did this guy think of everything? I think so. Gotta love a planner ;)
The machinery in this place was just gorgeous. I marveled, floor after floor, in the ornate intricacies of each individual piece.
I think this is the best synopsis of the brewery:
Apparently everyone's Irish on March 17th. Righto.
Just for my Dad...
A wonderful bird
is the pelican
Its bill can hold more
than its belly can.
It can hold in its beak
Enough food for a week
I simply don't know
How the hell he can.
The toucan wasn't used originally in ads. In fact, the pelican was the first bird that graced the adverts. The poem above was written for Guinness ads. Did you know that, Dad?
.
View from the top of the brewery...
Time for some sexy time on the square boxes.
At long last, we scaled the six floors to the Gravity Bar. I drank nearly a PINT of Guiness before handing it over to Ryan. Twas a good way to start the afternoon ;)
What a magnificent view of the city! You can see St. Patrick's Cathedral, Trinity College, and the river over on the left. What a place!
There we are!
Yuck. The not-so-attractive vats that the brew is actually made in.
Ryan celebrated his birthday on Friday...and again on Saturday.
Since that pic was a bit too posed, I thought I would bring up the slack with some giggle-worthy beer sipping:
Found me a bench!
And the writing on the wall. Love it here.
The girls and I were starving, so we headed into this cafe for some sandwich and coffee.
St. Patrick's Cathedral was a beautiful sight. The pristine green grounds were full of children frolicking and dogs chasing each other. Families were all over the place, enjoying the sun and the warm(ish) weather. What a great day.
I couldn't get enough of this guy. I watched him from his vantage point...
...then turned around to see what it looked like behind him.
We then walked along Dame Street to the University. What a magnificent city: they've somehow managed to maintain the structure of the city so much that looking upon the entrance of the university looks exactly the same now as it did in the 1800's. There are no cheesy ads, no houses, no student residences, no bright neon. Well done, Dublin, well done.
Looking up Grafton Street from the College's entrance...
...and across the street at the street scape.
Inside the gates, the school spread out like a masterpiece. It was green and gray and blue and just remarkable.
Maybe this guy had a Nathan in his life too who struggled to say his real name ;) Nonetheless, here is Lecky! Note: to those who don't know, "Leckie" was my childhood nickname. I secretly love it a LOT and wished it carried on into adulthood. Alas, it didn't.
We found this small building tucked into a corner of campus and wandered up to it. It was under lock and key! Perhaps this sign is why:
The Hall of Honour?! Isn't that FAB?
The glorious reading room for postgraduate students. We were invited inside, took one look around at all the actual students reading, studying, writing, and, well, intellectualizing, and got the hell out of there. I felt like SUCH a tool, looking at those poor students like they were part of the tourist attraction. Sigh.
Since I had commissioned the group to only pose for ridiculous photographs, it was no wonder that karma cut us out of this one. Waaaay too posed for Dublin, says I.
Doing a little heavy thinking about that failed pic...
We stopped a moment to see the Berkeley Library...
...and views from just outside the Berkeley Library...
Saturday night brought Collette and her friend, Rory, to our abode. We endeavoured to take a self-group-photo. Um...
...yeah...
...there we go. Muuuch better.
One of my favourite sights was this Bookmaker. Here I thought this was a city-centre maker of books. Nope. It was a bookie. Charming. Oh you Irish...you get me every time.
The view from Temple Bar, looking over Ha' Penny Bridge.
And looking in exactly the opposite direction, back into Temple Bar.
We got to walking around and found some interesting art and what not...
But the pubs. Oh the pubs! They're just SO beautiful.
Walking back along O'Connell Street, one last glimpse of the Spire and the Post Office before we hit the tarmac and went home...
Alas, a familiar sight in a not-so-familiar place...
And the Maple Hotel, just outside of Our Place, where we stayed on Lower Gardiner Street (just north of Talbot Street), to end off the pictorial journey.
I hope your weekend was just as fun ;)
2 comments:
Is there really such thing as a leprechaun museum? That's fabulous....
Looks awesome!
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