I fell in love with Dublin in less than a week; I hadn't expected to.
If you believe the stereotypes, you might think Dublin is a quaint little village with more pubs than people, and they are mostly drunk and they sing Irish folk songs over their bland, potato-based pub food. Admittedly, my prior exposure to Dublin was an episode of Travel Channel's
The Layover, where Anthony Bourdain spent a somewhat dim, long weekend downing whisky and dark beer in Temple Bar. Which wasn't much to go on.
In truth, the longer I was in Dublin, the more I learned (and mostly adored) about the city. Here are 10 points that stay with me:
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| St. Patrick's Cathedral |
First, the capital of Ireland is a big city. Like over a half million people big. But there are no skyscrapers. In fact, most buildings are about the same height, at 4 or 5 floors high, lending to a low, nearly level skyline punctuated by church steeples, of which there are many.
Second, Dublin is a vastly popular destination, without a lot of rooms. So if you are planning a visit, book far ahead of time. (After many hours searching online with mostly "no availability" replies, I was worried we would have to sleep on a park bench when we arrived. We finally did find suitable accommodations, but had to split our stay between two different apartments.) Some tips about booking online are
here in another post.
Third, Dublin is an international, modern metropolis, where people flock from around the globe. I heard more Russian spoken than any language outside of English, but also plenty of French, German, Spanish, Italian, Chinese and Dutch, among others.
Fourth, the home of both Guinness and Jameson whisky, there is, as expected, a pub on every corner and three on each street between. But there is no drinking outside. Unlike New Orleans where rowdy imbibers are swigging in the streets, Dublin seems devoid of public drunkenness. Within the bars, people typically have good time without getting out of hand. Better still, the music playing in the pubs is loud enough that patrons can sing along, yet low enough for them to carry on their conversations without shouting.
Fifth, beyond typical sounds of people living, Dublin sure is quiet. Voices are heard at normal volumes; cars aren't tooting their horns; no helicopters are buzzing around; people don't yell; kids don't scream; dogs don't bark; even the trains are quiet. Clangy, jarring, industrial noises just don't seem to happen in Dublin. I don't know how they do it, but I like it!
Sixth, Dublin is a fantastically pedestrian city. Sidewalks everywhere are filled with people milling about, and this was energizing to me every time I went out. Landmarks and points of interest are quite near to one another, and it seems you can get from anywhere in the city center to anywhere else in 20 minutes or less on foot. Around every corner is a visual delight, easily missed if you're zooming by in a car: an ivy covered arch; a stone bridge; a brightly painted door set in a rock wall; an ancient church; a curving street lined with colorful pubs and groups of laughing friends.
Seventh, no street in Dublin is very straight or very long. Street names change at every intersection and curve. Which made navigating the city hard at first - you can't look at a spot on a map and say, OK, lets find Golden Street and follow it four blocks to St. Patrick's, because the street that turns into Golden the block before St. Patrick's is called something else where you're standing right now. And it's not always easy to find the name of the street where you're walking; blue street signs are typically posted on building walls, not on signposts or on the road, and some walls have no signs.
Eighth, we expected to have to search long and hard to find a good meal in Dublin, and then to pay dearly for it. A highlight was the really excellent food, and at good prices. In the US, I consider the mark of a decent restaurant one that puts as much effort into the vegetables and sides as the main dish. In Dublin, everything on my plate, every time, was well planned, lovingly prepared with the freshest ingredients, deliciously flavored without too much salt, sauce or dressing, and beautifully presented. From traditional Guinness Stew (OK, only Todd ate that, 'cause meat) to the best superfood salad I've ever had, hearty seafood chowder, excellent Italian, mild Moroccan, and Spanish tapas, Todd and I agree that the food bar has been set especially high by Dublin for the rest of our trip!
Ninth, as expected, all the Dubliners in our path were friendly, helpful, polite, welcoming, humorous, and genuinely nice. Oddly, their use of the "F" word far exceeded my own. Dubliners young and old bantered it about with such fervor and frequency that one might think it's not even a curse word. In fact, in Ireland, "F" is such a mild and inoffensive expletive, it's said that even the nuns use it liberally.
Tenth, horses! From our apartment window we saw a sign advertising "horse feed". At first we laughed (who needs horse feed in the city, right?), but an hour later we were walking to lunch when a boy whizzed past us driving a horse-drawn cart. Not the showy carriage type, but a 2-wheeled commuter cart. Horses trotting past us was a regular occurrence during our stay. Also, there are many horse drawn carriages of the tourist type. Dubliners, too, favor the races (and betting the ponies). More often than football (soccer), tennis or any other sport, pubs we walked into were showing horse races on the TV, both oval track races and steeplechase.
Is Dublin all roses and ponies? Of course not; real life happens here. But it's a city like no other, and these are some reasons why I dig Dublin, and why, in the words of The Terminator,
I'll be back!
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| Bridge between Dublinia and Christ Church |
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| A pony cart as seen from my apartment |
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| The lawn outside Dublin Castle and Chester Beatty Library |
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| These public bicycles are everywhere, and well ridden. |
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| Christ Church Cathedral |
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| Tiles, Christ Church Cathedral |
