Category: Dublin

Dublin Potpourri

JWF 3 Comments

We were on our own our last full day in Dublin and mostly wandered around. We checked out the very complete Dubray bookshop, had a lovely wine, cheese and charcuterie lunch, spent some more time in a very populated St. Stephen’s Green Park, and then topped it all off with a superb dinner at Pichet.

Most of the bridges that span the Liffey River are of a more conventional design or delicate like the lacy arched one with lantern lights and the occasional seagull atop it. Bolder and dramatic is the Samuel Beckett Bridge near the convention center. I just loved this bridge when we crossed it coming into town, and this time we walked across it. I photographed it from multiple angles. It was designed by Spanish architect and engineer, Santiago Calatrava, and opened in December 2009.

Samuel Beckett Bridge
Dublin Convention Centre (2010)

Speaking of seagulls, Dublin makes me think of Portland, Maine. When walking down a busy street, you can hear the seagulls’ distinctive honk, seemingly no where near the nearby water. Even in the parks, there are few pigeons, but many seagulls. The variety here are plumply white and much more elegant than pigeons.

Several years ago, we watched a legal drama series called Striking Out. We were struck by the opening footage of a tall red poles in front of a contemporary building on the edge of the water. This scene in Dublin was shot at the Grand Canal Dock and the reddish poles are on a plaza in front of Bord Gail’s Energy Theatre. On foot, we set out to find the place and we did!

The poles are not all red now, but slightly faded, yet still stunning. This plaza with poles was designed by Martha Schwartz, an American landscape architect, whose firm of the same name has offices in London, New York, and Shanghai. This whole dock lands area was re-developed in the early 2000’s.

Red poles in front of theater
Red poles at Grand Canal Dock

As to food, we had the perfect lunch at Fallon & Byrne’s Wine Cellar. With a food hall on the main floor, the cellar below, and a full restaurant on the upper level, it’s a place for every taste.

Dinner was at Pichet, contemporary Irish cuisine with a French twist. We had two courses each with luscious lamb as the Chief Penguin’s entree and roast cod with sauce verge mine. The presentations were beautiful and each bite delectable. My favorite dish of the meal was the torched heirloom tomatoes on gazpacho.

Tomato gazpacho a la Pichet

Given that Dublin is a city known for its famous writers, it seems appropriate to end with this expressive bust of James Joyce.

James Joyce bust, St. Stephen’s Green Park

Note: All photos ©JWFarrington (some rights reserved).

Dublin: Library, Castle, Cathedral

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This was Day 3 in Dublin and we spent about 4 hours with a tour guide. James was knowledgeable, enthusiastic, and brimming with historical details. The highlight for me was the Book of Kells exhibit at the library at Trinity College It was a well thought out exhibit in which selected pages and images from the Book had been digitized and blown up so you could see the details. The book is a 4-volume work from 800 A.D. consisting of the gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Of course, there was one of the actual four books, well protected in a special glass case and opened to a particular page.

Enlarged image from the Book of Kells
Jesus as depicted in Book of Kells

Upstairs we spent time in the Long Room, a stunning long barrel vaulted reading room with layers of stacks on each side of a central aisle. It was built between 1712 and 1732 with the impressive ceiling only added in 1860 to provide room for more books. All in all, there are 200,000 volumes in this space.

Long Room in Trinity College library

Along the sides at the ends of the stacks are busts of notable individuals from Cicero to Jonathan Swift. We felt fortunate to be able to get into this space as all the books are being moved out and the building closed and renovated beginning in several months!

Jonathan Swift

Guide James is obviously fond of the whole Trinity campus and consequently, gave us names and dates about other buildings including the historic earth sciences building (detail in header photo), two other libraries, and the lovely campanile in the center of the green. Today, there are 19,000 undergraduates at Trinity and about 7,000 graduate students.

Bell tower at Trinity College

Our next stop was Dublin Castle. This castle was from the 13th century to 1922 the center of British rule in Ireland. After independence, it became and still is the site for state occasions such as presidential inaugurations. We did not tour inside, but instead spent time walking around some of the perimeter of this large and sprawling complex.

Portions of Dublin Castle from the exterior

Our last stop on this comprehensive tour was St. Patrick’s Cathedral. Established in 1191 and the site of where St. Patrick baptized people, this cathedral was initially a Roman Catholic Church. Later, it became the national cathedral of the Church of Ireland, an Anglican Church. Steeped in history, and like many sites in Dublin, it is associated with Jonathan Swift, one of its many deans. Swift is buried here in an upright position.

Outside the cathedral is a lovely park created by the Guinness family. Known for their beer and ales, this family has been a generous benefactor throughout Dublin.

St. Patrick’s and adjacent park

Note: All photos ©JWFarrington (some rights reserved.)

Dublin: Walking, Day 2

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Yesterday we were on our own all day and feeling restored from a good night’s sleep, we walked and walked and explored some of the streets and lanes on both sides of the river, crossing and re-crossing over several bridges.

Bridge over the Liffey River

Our hotel is on the south side of the River Liffey. This area is popular for its smart shops, cafes and restaurants. The north side is less touristy, and parts of it are attracting more visitors. We will probably explore the north side more in depth tomorrow. We did briefly go into the Irish Emigration Museum.

Exterior of Irish Emigration Museum

ARCHITECTURE AND PARKS

I love the clean lines of the Georgian buildings that remain and their different colored doors. We walked to Merrion Square Park and admired the Georgian structures that surround it. It’s smaller than St. Stephen’s Green Park and attracts many more locals to the picnic tables, to the wide expanse of lawn (one man’s dog had great fun running after and retrieving a ball, over and over again), and to the few long benches.

Throughout Dublin, there are formal statues to famous and not as famous people, mostly all men. Here on the edge of Merrion Square Park is a casual statue of Oliver Wilde resting against a large boulder. It’s a striking contrast to the other statues we’ve seen.

Oscar Wilde sculpture in Merrion Square Park

Doors on the Georgian buildings are often painted shades of blue or red, but I also noted yellow doors, green doors, and even a couple pink ones.

Door on a Georgian building

DINING FROM SIMPLE TO SOPHISTICATED

For lunch, we ended up at Peter’s Pub and Snug on South William Street. I think we were actually seated in the snug, a back area a bit away from the front of the establishment. There were small round tables in front of a long banquette with low stools opposite. The three bar men we interacted with were all very pleasant. Between us we ordered the smoked salmon plate (Chief Penguin), ham and cheese sandwich on white toast, and a little cheese plate. The Chief Penguin tried a pint of a local stout. It was simple fare, but easily satisfied us.

Salmon plate at Peter’s Pub

Dinner was at The Pig’s Ear, a contemporary Irish restaurant recommended by friends and a guide book. If you were able to climb the steep narrow staircase, you were welcomed at the door and ushered into an airy space with a wood floor and simple wooden tables and black chairs. We had a lovely table by the window, and I could watch the buses and pedestrians on the street below. We ordered two courses each. But first we began with green olives and some brandade with little potato chips (that is, crisps.)

The CP had smoked salmon in a citrus broth while I started with lovely little scallops and a cauliflower floret. Main courses were cod for the gentleman and free range chicken with hen of the woods mushroom and a bit of Bernaise sauce and black garlic on the side for me. Service was friendly and efficient and, it was a tasty dining experience.

Scallops and cauliflower on a red plate

Note: All photos ©JWFarrington (some rights reserved).

Dublin: First Impressions

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ARRIVING IN DUBLIN

As our flight across the Atlantic began descending into the Dublin airport, I was struck by blocks of green. Green fields, neatly regular plots of green, and here and there rows of houses and houses grouped in a circle around a central business district. At least two other international flights arrived about when we did, but getting through immigration only took ten minutes. The wait for our bags was at least 30 minutes, so we were relieved when our bags came down the chute.

As we exited the airport, we noted the very long line of folks waiting to enter. We were told that it could mean several hours in line, so we should get to the airport early when we depart. We will!! The ride to our hotel in the center of the city was about another 35 minutes.

Buildings are all low, no skyscrapers; many are older of gray or beige stone, but marked by front entry doors painted in solid colors. Red, royal blue, pale yellow, emerald green, or even a yellow green. These pops of color add interest to the facades. (No photos yet, but I’m determined to get a few!) And here and there, some stunning new architecture.

Contemporary Dublin architecture

Given that it was before noon, our room was not yet ready. We walked through the streets around the hotel including Grafton Street, a main shopping street. Lots of restaurants, cafes, and bars, many with outside seating, in addition to both local and chain stores. It was a cool 60ish degrees. Most people were very casually dressed and wearing fleece or down jackets. Lots of denim jeans and sneakers.

Shoppers in Dublin

We checked out several lunch possibilities (most opened at noon), and finally decided on Davy Byrnes Bar and Restaurant. We had a very friendly waitress, and our orders of fish and chips (first rate with mushy peas!) for the Chief Penguin and roast chicken over puréed potatoes with peas for me fit the bill.

To round out the day, we spent some time sitting in the very attractive hotel lounge until our room was ready and then went out for another walk.

Flowers galore!

This time we strolled a bit in St. Stephen’s Green. This park is lovely and a bit like a mini Central Park with flower beds and statutes of historic figures. We will return for a more extensive tour.

We had an early dinner in the hotel’s casual restaurant. We both started with delicate smoked salmon. The Chief Penguin, a connoisseur of such, pronounced it the best he’d ever had anywhere! He then had some whole shrimps in Romesco sauce, and I ordered their classic Caesar salad covered with a blizzard of finely grated Parmesan. We had wines by the glass.

A pair of young women at the next table greeted us, joked when the CP dropped a piece of silverware, and just before they left gifted us with second glasses of wine. A surprising gesture! Overall, we are finding folks here very friendly from service staff to others we have encountered.

My salad & 2 glasses of wine!

Early to bed to be restored for a more active next day!

Note: All photos ©JWFarrington (some rights reserved).