DUBLIN 2000 (24th July - 1st August)

I was a bit cautious about going to the 'Emerald Isle', as it's full of Irish people. (Just kidding guys, I love you really!!) I had to go, though, if only to stop Ellen from pestering me about when I was going to see her!!! I dragged Jen along for good measure :)

I probably know Dublin airport like the back of my hand. I was stuck there, alone, for 3 hours before Ellen could come and meet me when she finished work. We then waited another hour for Jen to arrive. My first impression of Dublin, therefore, was the airport is tiny, and from the arial-view map of Dublin on the wall, Dublin was pretty tiny too!! I didn't go far wrong there!!!!

During my sole hour or so with Ellen, we had a drink and a chat. I always referred to her as scary (mainly because she insisted I visited her!), but always knew deep down that she wasn't all that bad. Anyway, I was as quiet as a mouse, and Ellen had to force conversation out of me, but otherwise, I think we were ok to be alone!

Jen's plane finally came in, so we got the bus to the city centre, and then a taxi to Ellen's. She couldn't bear to see us struggling with our luggage, otherwise we'd have walked it! Then we went to MacDonalds or something. I know it was some junk food place, anyway!

When we got back, Ellen had to study (-she's a busy girl!), and so insisted me and Jen went out. I didn't want to cause I'd just got there and it had been a long day at the airport, so Ellen pushed, and Jen pulled. We just went to Molloys - a nice, quiet pub, down the road from Ellen's flat.

Ellen's flat is in Christchurch. Therefore, mine and Jen's first visit on Tuesday was to the Cathedral. Pretty impressive! I especially liked the fully tiled floor (-you have to go to Christchurch Cathedral if only to admire the floor!), and the crypt. There was one memorial in the crypt which particularly struck me, for this man who sounded amazing! I've never seen so much written on a tombstone before!!!

After the Cathedral, we went on 'The Viking Adventure', also nearby. (Erm... pretty much everything is nearby in Dublin, cause it's so small!! Anyway.) I'd recommend it to anyone who either has children, or IS a child! (Myself and Jen were the latter category!!) We had a great time there, and Jen even got married (to a 10 year old boy!) for good measure!! :)

When Ellen arrived back from work, none of us were particularly hungry (- Ellen had 'nibbled' at a meeting, me and Jen couldn't really be bothered), so we chilled for a bit, before eating at a Thai place, I think it was. Very nice. Shame about the Bud!! (-We all got a free bottle of Bud. I gave mine to Jen cause beer is beer and beer is gross, but they made me have a sip all the same! VILE!!)

Wednesday Jen and I decided to visit the Tourist Information place. Something which struck me about Dublin, was what had become of the churches! Half of them would appear to have closed as a place of worship and become something else, and the Tourist Information place fitted this category! Anyway, we picked up a fair few leaflets, and left.

Jen decided it was time to find our cultural roots and go to an Art Gallery. Therefore we made our way to the Museum of Modern Art. One word of warning. The map on their leaflet gives a false name for the road you need to find going out of town, and the signposts leave a lot to be desired. We ended up going to the 'Garda' (Police) to ask where to go!! We'd missed the road because of these two factors, making the journey 1/2 hour longer than it needed to be! (OK, so maybe it was 15 minutes, but when it felt like you'd walked all day, and it's as hot as it was, why not exaggerate?!) About 3 of the works really appealed to me, but it was an interesting place. There are a lot of war images, and we're not even talking about the Irish Wars!

That evening, we were a bit tired, and so decided to give the pub a miss. We also decided to start cooking for ourselves to make our money go further. After eventually eating, we went for a walk along the River Liffey (which runs straight through the centre of Dublin). It looks really great at night! After our stroll, Jen asked if I wanted a drink, so we discovered 'Daniel O'Connell' (-the pub, that is! DO'C has been dead a while now, but is a leading historical figure). We sat right at the back, where there were some foreigners. (OK, so we were foreign too, but that's not the point!). Jen also saw someone who she'd seen around College, but decided not to say 'hi', as she didn't know him as such. Made me want to bump into Terry or Ender from Uni...

Thursday arrived, and what a day it became! We decided to do the City Tour (the cheapest one!), where you can get on and off the bus at 13 points as and when you liked. The tour also included a few vouchers for places to visit, so that was kewl. Places we went to were Trinity College (though we never saw the Book of Kells which is kept there, mainly due to time), the Castle 15 minutes before it closed, and The National Art Gallery. At Trinity, we saw 'The Dublin Experience'. It just reinforced all we'd already learned about Dublin, but was worth it. I think we should have become historians while we were there!! I can't remember much about the National Art Gallery, but that was probably because we had so little time there before the last bus, that I skipped most the paintings! I do remember, however, falling up the stairs, which was pretty embarrasing, as there was a Gallery-watcher-person at the top of them!!

Thursday evening we went to The Temple Bar. If you don't know Dublin (as neither me nor Jen did before we went!), the Temple Bar area is the main area for socialising. We just stayed for a couple of drinks.

Friday came at last, and me and Jen decided to walk to other places we didn't have time for on the bus tour. The first place we went to was Dvblinia. Another History place (so we decided NOT to do the Museum!), but probably the best one we went to in terms of content. One of the last things you do is go to the fair. It's worth a visit even for just that bit of fun!!

In the afternoon we went to the Wax Museum. Me and Jen also made a deal : she could go on the stupid ghost-bus tour that evening, if I could go on a coastal tour Monday afternoon. We struck a deal :)

I thought being without Jen on a Friday night would make things better, but it didn't! I walked along the river until I got sick of it, then went into The Temple Bar. Was glad when Jen came back so I had someone to drink with! We chose another pub in the Temple Bar area, though I forget the name of it. Then we had an early night, arriving back at about 10.30pm.

Saturday we decided to take things easy, as we were to go clubbing that night. We went to the castle which was brilliant. The tour is highly recommended! I think the Powder Tower is the best bit. Should have taken a powerful magnet or something so I could have brought some Viking coins back with me!!!!

I'd passed a club Friday night, but couldn't remember exactly where it was. All I knew, was it was along the other side of the riverbank, so we took a walk. Not sure if we found the place I found the night before or not, but we ended up at a hotel complete with it's own nightclub! I know where I'm going next time I'm in Dublin!! I can definately recommend that place!!! (Forget the name of the pub, but the pub was called 'Boarders' or something.)

Sunday morning me and Jen worshipped at the local Norman Church, St. Audeons. They advertise the services for an hour before they start, so we took a look at the displays of the history of the church before we went to the service. (I could cope with the 'early' morning after a 'late' night, but I don't think Jen was too pleased!!) The service was really good, and very Anglican! Jen said it was a lot like the services at her church, but it was an experience for me!! The people seemed friendly enough, and I did enjoy the service though :)

Sunday afternoon (after our Sunday lunch of veggie omelate turned scrambled egg with vegetables in it!), we went to St. Stephen's park. It was fun to watch the people around us. I also think the Geranium should be the Irish National Flower considering the amount of them I'd seen around, let alone in St. Stephen's park!!

On the way back from the park, we saw some buskers. One I particularly liked watching was a guy with a puppet. She looked suspiciously like a youthful Tina Turner to me, and danced beautifully! One little girl decided to dance with her!!! Unfortunately, they split up before I got a pic. Oh well!

Sunday night, we were walking past Molloys (as we often did!), when we heard a live band playing upstairs. We just had to go back in there to listen! I can't remember what they were called (or even if we knew what they were called at the time!), but they were really good. Me and Jen also struck up a conversation concerning the Van Gogh and Picasso paintings in that part of the pub. (We were downstairs before, and so didn't see them.) The people around us must have thought we were nutters, but we didn't care! We just appreciate good art is all :))

Monday came, and with it, my coastal bus tour! Was a really warm day when we set out, so I was a bit worried about being on a bus for nearly four hours!! Anyway, I had a great time! (The weather varied over the ride thankfully!) Ireland really is well worth a visit. It's not just the mountains either. The villages are scenic too. I couldn't resist taking a picture of one village in particular which shone like a rainbow! Then there was this little blue wooden church which the driver stopped outside of so we could take a picture :) We also passed by where BallyKissAngel is filmed, but that's more Mum's scene than mine!! (Although I think I found a programme which both my Mum and Jen enjoy watching!! )

I got back from the bus tour early, so I bought myself an ice-cream and sat eating it on Daniel O'Connell's statue, watching the world go by. Trust Jen to come meet me from the other direction!

Monday evening we ended up drinking at The Temple Bar for our last night in Ireland. There we met a guy whose grandson, Terry, makes films! Through this guy we met Elias, from Pompey, who was to leave that night, and who wanted to learn English. I ended up leaving Jen to talk to him (which she was MORE than happy about!), to talk to another Italian whose name I appear to forget. Oh well! Was fun anyway :)

Tuesday came, and with it, packing. What a sad occasion. We ended up walking heavily loaded to catch the bus from town to the airport. Got there eventually. Unfortunately, I left my 2 litre bottle of water by the bus stop, though, so I went thirsty for a long while. Not what you want on a hot day. (I didn't have much money left for lunch and couldn't afford a drink with it.)

Jen got away no problem. My flight, however, was delayed. Twice. I ended up leaving Dublin after I was due to land at Stansted. However, I did meet a nice Irish bloke whilst waiting for the plane, and he bought us both a drink and some food to keep us going.

Dublin's a nice enough little city. I'm bound to return someday, but I think it needs a break from me for the moment!!!

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