Usually the holiday weekend in January is reserved for skiing. This year, it turned out to be the perfect time to go visit my cousin in Dublin. Ireland has been on our list of must-see places for a while now and we are determined to get back and see more of the countryside. We couldn't pass up a chance to see the city, especially when we had a place to stay and a somewhat local to show us around. (Side note: Every person that I told I was "going to Dublin to see my cousin" immediately assumed I was going to see my Irish cousin from Dublin. Those who know Alisa know that she's just another American living abroad for a bit!)
We had an enjoyable weekend seeing the sites in the city and catching up with Alisa and Brayden. Dublin is an interesting European city and is less cosmopolitan than most places we have been. Ireland has also fallen on some hard times and the city does reflect some of this in its many closed store fronts. Despite this, we finally enjoyed being in a country where we spoke their language and actually kind of looked like we had some potential to be locals.
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| Lovely scene over the River Liffey |
Dublin did surprise me and here are a few reasons why:
1. The weather is not as bad as people think. When you think Ireland, you probably think rain. While there was a spontaneous rain shower one day and the wind was a bit high, the weather was quite pleasant in January, especially compared to Northern Italy where we have had nothing but fog and rain since November. Nobody thinks Italy = bad weather, but this gray, overcast monotony is brutal.
2. There are palm trees in Dublin. I wish I had a picture of this, but many yards and public places had these palm-tree like plants that looked completely out of place. I at least thought there might be shamrocks growing abundantly all over the place...but palm trees?
3. The Kilmainham Gaol is a fascinating tourist attraction. Although it's a bit off the beaten track, it's well worth the visit, especially if you're not too familiar with modern Irish history. I learned more in the short tour and museum than I have my entire life about Ireland's recent struggles for independence. It's also a bargain at 6 Euro for a guided tour and entry to the museum.
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| Inside Kilmainham Gaol |
4. The Guinness Storehouse tour is overrated. The Irish know it's their most popular tourist attraction and charge an arm and a leg to enter the Disney World-esque factory. They talk about the main ingredients of beer, such as water, like they invented them on site. Although there is an interesting exhibit on old Guinness commercials and marketing efforts and a 360 view of Dublin from the Gravity Bar, the museum is a bit of a tourist trap. I know, I know, it's a must-do when in Dublin, but for a better, slightly cheaper tour, visit the Jameson Distillery where you might even be chosen to become an official whiskey taster!
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| My goodness...my Guinness! |
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| Official Whiskey Taster! |
5. There are surprisingly a lot of NFL fans in Dublin. I have nothing more to say about this for obvious reasons.
6. Phoenix Park is a lovely city park. It also happens to be the largest city park in all of Europe. We visited the park for a bike ride and took in the sites with many other Irish runners, rollerbladers and bikers. The park is home to the President of Ireland, the US Ambassador to Ireland and a bunch of deer. Alisa told us about the deer in the park, but I thought maybe we'd see one in the woods. Imagine my shock when we stumbled upon hundreds of deer grazing on a soccer field in the park! Seriously one of the strangest things I have ever seen. Check out the antlers too!
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| Deer, deer everywhere! |
7. Dublin is diverse. I'm sure the majority of people are of Irish descent, but there were several other nationalities represented in the city. We ate dinner at a delicious Czech-Irish pub and passed by many Slovak gift shops. It's also pretty easy to get Indian and Thai food around the city.
8. The night life is pretty intense. We ventured out to a few pubs on Saturday night and found every single one packed...like special event, New Year's Eve style packed. Alisa also warned me that Irish ladies wear dresses in pubs at night. This is very true and thanks to Ryan Air's one bag limit, I definitely left my dress back in Italy. The night scene also goes pretty late. While we were headed back at an unspecified time of the evening, the streets were busier than they were in the middle of the day! Most restaurants were still open and serving food too.
9. Irish television is quite entertaining. If you ever get the chance, check out Take Me Out- a great Irish dating show that we need to have in the States.
10. Everything in Dublin, by law, is in English and Irish. I thought it was called Gaelic, but the locals call it "Irish". Apparently most people don't actually speak the language in the city, although it is taught in schools. I thought I was bad at French and German...I don't know a word of Irish.
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| Special thanks to our gracious hosts. |
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