Living the Irish Experience

There are some places that you enjoy because of the weather, and there are others that you enjoy in spite of it. Last time I was in Dublin, my dad and I had nothing but beautiful, sunny, early-summer weather. It was awesome.

2 years later to the day, I returned with Michael. Flying in, I noticed some heavy cloud cover and what looked like rain in the distance. Completely jaded from my previous experience, I convinced myself that it was only the Dublin equivalent of San Francisco's morning fog. I mean, it was only 7:30 in the morning. It'd burn off, right? Wrong.

Basically, typical Irish weather, I am now realizing, is cool, mostly-cloudy with intermittent moments of sunshine, and a 30% chance of rain at all times. Wind varied from breezy to "watch your head, there goes that lady's umbrella!".

In spite of all this, Dublin is an AMAZING town to visit. Considering its sizable population (506,000+ in the city itself), it exudes a much smaller, quaint feeling. Streets are lined with 4-6 story buildings (shops in the bottom floor, residences on the upper),with dominating landmarks being churches and the important municipal buildings. There are several wide pedestrian malls, tons of walkways lining the River Liffey, and Phoenix Park, one of the largest enclosed parks in the world at 1,750 acres, all kept spotlessly clean. And, of course, the locals are extremely friendly. With all the crap Ireland has been through in its tumultuous history, I am always surprised by the consistently pleasant demeanor of Irish people. No matter where I went (tourist traps like Jameson's Distillery, music bars, cafes, shops), it was always easy to strike up a conversation with someone. In fact, most people were downright chatty, to the point it was hard to break out of a conversation that started with, "Excuse me, but do you know where St. Stephen's Green is?" I love it.

As far as what Michael and I did in Dublin? On Friday, we did a bit of walking, saw St. Stephen's Green, went to the Irish Museum of Modern Art, I got a late lunch of fish & chips, then walked back to our hotel (tiny, but well worth the price. For some reason, it also had a sauna). When the hunger pangs hit later, we walked down the street to a bar that offered free "tasting" plates with the purchase of a beer. It was all prepackaged frozen food, but it did the trick. Saturday, we woke up early to catch Dublin's Temple Bar Market. I had heard many good things about it, and we weren't disappointed. It featured a wide selection of local and specialty foods, with most of it being organic. Once again, Michael and I pigged out. Natural yogurt with organic blueberry topping (Michael had goat's milk yogurt), fig-raisin sourdough bread, a gluten-free, raw mixed seed protein bar dipped in organic chocolate, fresh apple cider spiked with apple brandy, and some exotic Spanish fruit. I also picked up a Mayan cacao spread, which is insanely delicious. It's sweet but finishes with a nice spicy kick thanks to some added chile and cayenne. We then went to Jameson's Distillery, where yours truly was picked to do a sampling of different types of scotch and whiskey. I got a diploma and all. We had a great authentic Irish dinner (I got a meat pie) and headed back home.

We're now in Galway about to head out to catch some live music. I have a good first impression of this small, very walkable city.. Tomorrow we take our first organized tour of the Cliffs of Moher. Weather is calling for a 30% chance of rain, a high of 59, and winds at 20mph. Bring it.

“May you always have walls for the winds, a roof for the rain, tea beside the fire, laughter to cheer you, those you love near you and all your heart might desire.”
--Traditional Irish Blessing