clog blog: Diddly Eye Dublin

After a delayed flight, forgetting our toothbrushes and getting off the bus at the wrong stop, we finally made it to Dublin! We are staying with Justin's friend from UCT, Allan, and his Irish girlfriend Deirdre. They have a very cosy place in Dublin itself and have made us feel very welcome. We have been very spoilt with amazing home cooked meals. Thanks for everything guys!!

Dublin is definitely colder than London at about 1-3°C in the day and today the wind dropped the temperature even more. Hats, gloves and scarves are essential!! The days are also slightly longer than London at the moment with the sun setting closer to 5pm. But we have had more sunlight hours than London so far. In the three days that we have been here the sun has been out for two of them and it rained only on one day.

As we only have 5 days in Ireland, we decided to stick to exploring Dublin and catching up with Allan and Deidre. We kicked off exploring the city with a visit to 400 year old Trinity College. The buildings are so old and beautiful, linked with cobble stone streets and patches of grass with ancient trees. The main attraction at Trinity is the the Book of Kells which is the four gospels of the Bible written in Latin on calf skin and elaborately decorated by monks in about 800 AD. It was really fascinating and reminded us how much people will do to spread the gospel.

The other interesting part of the college was the long room in the library which is an old beautiful room with a vaulted ceiling. The long room houses 200 000 of the library's oldest books which are reached by wooden staircases. The room is lined with marble busts and is a really romantic view of a very old college library! The long room is also home to an original copy of the Proclamation of the Irish Republic which started the 1916 Easter Uprising when Patrick Pearse read it out outside the General Post Office in O'Connell street on Easter Sunday.

The next stop was the Guinness Storehouse at 8 St James Gate, the original brewery of the black stout. It might be a bit touristy but it was a great visit and is well laid out. The storehouse is 7 floors high with a bar at the top with 360° views of Dublin city. It is a self tour through the storehouse and starts with the ingredients used and the brewing process. You move up the floors going through transport of the finished product, advertising, responsible drinking, a taste test and how to pour the perfect pint. The entry ticket includes a pint of Guinness which you can enjoy when you learn to pour a pint or at the Gravity bar on the top floor. We really enjoyed the visit and sharing in the vision of Arthur Guinness. He was so positive about the success of his brew that he signed a 9000 year lease on the storehouse property. Imagine if we were all that positive?

The next day we did a walking tour and made our way to Christ Church Cathedral via St Patrick's Cathedral. It is a beautiful old cathedral which is still in operation and you can join in daily prayers for peace and holy communion.

Next stop was Kilmainham jail. Entrance includes access to the museum and an hour tour of the jail. We enjoyed an impressive tour by a very knowledgeable guide and learnt a lot about Irish history including the potato famine of 1845-1850 and the Easter Uprising of 1916. It was pretty sad though, thinking of the people who had been imprisoned and suffered there often for no more than stealing food to stop from starving. It was absolutely freezing in the jail and we cannot imagine what it must have been like when the jail was in use when people were often only dressed in the rags they arrived in. The jail closed in 1924 and hasn't been used since but has been restored and is a national monument now.

We also went past Wood Quay which is the site of the original harbour built by the Vikings but were disappointed to find not much there anymore. Only a token piece of wood from the hull of a Viking ship marks the site. We had a bite to eat at Temple Bar which is a bit of a touristy area in the city but worth a look. Locals don't tend to visit the 'trendy pubs' there but prefer the 'pub for a pub' pubs that the tourists don't know about. We had a nice meal there though.

Last night we had a great meal out with Allan and Deirdre at a Japanese restaurant, Yamamori in town. We tried out Irish sushi and then moved onto a local 'pub for a pub' pub. Justin is going to turn into a pint of guinness soon!!

Today we took it very easy. After a slow start, we took a walk along the canal to St Stephen's Green, a park in the city. For us, and most South African's I imagine, the concept of frozen over lakes and rivers in winter is quite foreign. Today, however, we expereinced it first hand and realised it is quite real! lol. The lakes in the park were almost completely frozen over and we spared a thought for the ducks and swans paddling past. After the park we walked through the high street shopping areas of Grafton and Nassau streets. We ended the afternoon with a hot chocolate and mixed berry scone in a cosy local coffee shop.

We will probably be taking it easy at home tonight. It is freezing outside and we have an early start ahead tomorrow as we want to go a bit out of the city to Trim Castle, Tara Hill and the Boyne River.

Other impressions of Dublin are it is really expensive and the Irish people are very friendly. Prices in London are mostly comparable to South Africa for most things including eating out but Dublin is rather expensive. So we haven't done too much shopping! lol. The people here are also extremely friendly and forgiving to tourists. We often don't know which bus to take or how much it is but the bus drivers are infinitely patient, help you out and tell you where to go. Yesterday we were standing on a street corner with our map out looking lost and a friendly lady approached us and asked if we needed help, how awesome is that? So when you hear that Irish people are friendly, it is not an exaggeration! There isn't a well connected train system here like London and Europe but the buses go everywhere and are pretty often. We are walking mostly but do catch the odd bus.

We fly back to London late on Monday eve. Till next week!