The night I arrived in Dublin Ireland was playing in the Euro 2012 championships. The Irish are proud of their team, but as Rowland later pointed out, they aren’t very good at soccer. Hitting up the tourist district with some folks from the hostel and meeting up with Rowland, there was drinking in masses. One local chugged a pint of Guinness before immediately washing the street outside the pub with it. His friend, somewhat less obliterated, quipped that they had been drinking since early in the afternoon.
During my stay I visited the Guinness Storeroom, which guided me through displays about how beer is made before delivering me to a pub where you can pour your own beer. I also got to see their panoramic “gravity bar” from which great views of Dublin can be had. Following the Guinness tour, I found some fish and chips, a good reason to continue the semi-regular run routine I have going on.
I stopped by Trinity College and, while the library holding the Book of Kells was closed, saw some improve comedy from some University students.
The next day I spent searching for replacement glasses after an arm fell off my original set. I went to tweak their position on my face and the arm without hesitation gave up the ghost. I might stick to better quality glasses from now on… fortunately I had the prescription on my computer and was able to e-mail it to the Specsavers shop, who put some lenses in the chosen frames for 74 Eur.
I met up with Rowland again and as he went off to meet another friend, I went to “The Indian Tempest,” and adaptation of “The Tempest” by Shakespeare. While it rained, the real issue was a difficulty understanding the mixture of accents and muffled voices during the play.
I visited one of the presentations by a Trinity University student troop at St. Stephen’s Green which was an amalgamation of many of Shakespeare’s works – this was much easier to understand than the earlier play and was quite entertaining.
I went to the Jameson brewery for a similar tour, although this one involves distillation while beer production does not. After the Jameson brewery, I looked at the outside of the curious “BIllion Euro House” – housing bricks made from a total of over $1 B in shredded Euro notes, the artist proudly displayed a tombstone decrying the loss of Irish sovereignty with the adoption of the Euro. Interesting.
Finally I ended up on a tour at Trinity College and saw the Book of Kells. I also went to a prison that was quite involved in the 1922 birth of the Irish Republic, having held many political prisoners and being the site of the execution of rebel leaders which prompted further outcry.
A world escaping from the world. Known by students as the “Death Star.” NB: I think this is the first picture I have up with my new glasses.
Finally, on Friday I headed on a day tour to the Cliffs of Moher. The cliffs were beautiful and we were only spit on a bit – so the cliffs could be seen quite clearly. Oddly, there were no simple Cliffs of Moher tours, and the one I took stopped at a farmhouse to feed a lamb, go on a walk, and have some people try to sell you pie and coffee.
“On your journey to the Cliffs of Moher, you must first feed this lamb.”
Well, it should be pretty clear I loved the cliffs. I don’t have as much content to write about because I spent a decent amount of time catching up with Rowland, who had joined me on a road trip to Vegas a few years ago and who I knew through some friends he volunteered in Cambodia with.
Ireland was an interesting place to visit. There were many jokes by the Irish at their economy’s, and even moreso their government’s, expense, but the service received didn’t always match the expectation you might have for someone living in a country facing serious economic problems.
PS. The cliffs are better in person, but you can click on the pictures for a bigger version.