Showing posts with label ireland. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ireland. Show all posts

Tuesday, 22 October 2013

Dublin

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I got decent weather to pound pavement and see a bit of Dublin.

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It's small enough so you can hit the majority of sites in a long weekend.

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It seemed like a bit of a tough town. I never felt unsafe, but there were some characters out.

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They really have capitalized on stereotypes though.

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There's a couple big old churches- Chirstchurch and the eponymous St. Pat's.

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I tried to get this kid to pose like a swimsuit model for me because he kept photo-bombing me, but he totally half-assed it when his friends started laughing at him.

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Both of the main churches cost money to go into, which helps pay for the upkeep, but I skipped out on that as I've seen enough churches in france to know what expect. It's dimly lit. There's probably a half-naked jesus, looking sad on the cross. Maybe some nice stained glass with bible scenes. It may or may not smell like a headshop with all that incense.

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I was disappointed at street level culture. There were a lot of chain and mall shops, and I was hoping to find more interesting galleries and shops. I found that part of the city pretty uninspired, but I could have just been in the wrong neighborhoods. Also, Paris has spoiled me.

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But there were tons of pubs.

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I got to meet up with some lovely nice people that were met in Turkey, that I had threatened to visit. They totally thought I was bullshitting. Surprise! I'm here!

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Which meant I had to try and drink a beer. This is what I feel like when I have to drink an entire pint of beer or lose all street cred.

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I just....can't. I fail at Dublin.

Monday, 21 October 2013

Trinity

I love being a tourist.

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Although, I try to be a good one. A traveler, rather than a tourist. I shun the traditional American uniforms of jeans and tennies for comfort, and try to dress up a bit. Think petticoats. I do get asked directions quite a bit while I'm in a strange place, so my undercover costume seems to work.

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The only thing I really knew to do in Dublin, aside from the ever-present alcohol distractions, was Trinity College.

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Mostly I knew it because they have the Book of Kells on display.

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For an extra buck on top of the admission fee into the library, a hunky young grad student will give you a little campus tour. Worth it, even though I learned little. It was just...so...distracting.

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The library is something to see (the books are organized by size, which is mind-blowing) and the Book of Kells is amazing. Despite only being able to see one page, what a page it is! They do have a nice display of other pages of the book in the museum, along with fairly exhaustive explanations of the creation and history. Yes, of course the complete book is digitalized and online for you to see. The illustrations are spectacular.

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