Destination Dublin

Hello deprived blog fans,

It's been some time since Gabriela and I have been on vacation (roughly 1.5 months), and she's proudly announced that such a long and suffering wait will not be allowed to happen again. While during this rest period I've celebrated my luxury weekends at home, she hurriedly planned the many vacations we will be enjoying throughout the rest of this year. While I slept in, she booked flights. While I did laundry, she read travel journals. While I watched movies, she charted more than five vacations day-by-day, event-by-event. And finally - this past weekend her hard work got our travel ball rolling again. The cabin fever has broke. Destination: Dublin.

Not quite as lush as it normally is, being February and everything, the country of Ireland is still as beautiful and charming as any we've been to. Last year we spent some time in the south of Ireland, in and around Killarney. This year we headed more north, stopping in the capital city of Dublin. Dublin, like many other major cities, has a fairly fast-paced and lively attitude. But the humor and character of the Irish people make everything seem just a bit more relaxed and enjoyable than many other European big cities. All the locals are quick with a joke, especially about the city, the government, or the Irish love of pubs. Religion is always a topic of conversation, with Northern Ireland being Catholic and the rest mainly Protestant. But everyone comes together, brother-to-brother, when the Guinness is served and the music is played.

Gabriela and I started off our trip with a bus tour of the Wicklow Mountains. These mountains are known as the Gardens of Dublin and gave us an opportunity to explore the natural areas outside of the city. We enjoyed mountain views, looking down over the rolling Irish hills. We were introduced to the areas that some of Ireland's most famous celebrities live - U2 and Enya for example. We were shown the valleys where the Mel Gibson movie Bravehart was filmed (it being cheaper to film in Ireland than in Scotland). Along the route, we also learned about the sorted history of the nation itself, from the potato famine, to the mass migration caused by unemployment, to their fight for independence from England. We stopped in the usual tourist-trap restaurants and shopping areas along the route, but we really got a feel for the history and culture of the average Irishman. We also really could feel the pride that the locals felt when talking about their country. I can't say that during our travels I've met a group of people more proud of their country and heritage. These people are so happy to be Irish, and are happy to share their country with you.

Some of the best parts of our travels are simply learning about a country's people. One such charming tid-bit about Dublin is their fondness for their local hero Bono, the lead singer of Irish rock band U2. Apparently everyone in town has a Bono story - regarding their sighting or experience with U2's lead singer. It's a very Dublin thing to do when you sit around swapping Bono stories. There's even a book dedicated entirely to the experience of Dublin's locals with Bono. They will proudly tell you though that the Irish people understand the need for celebrities to be with their family, so they won't bother them if they see them out and about. I'm guessing that's complete crap, but I probably wouldn't really bum-rush Michael Flatley if I saw him around either. Assuming that for some reason I'd recognize Michael Flatley if I saw him. Or Enya. Pretty much no one knows what any Irish star looks like anyway. But I digress.

On our tour we were also shown the beautiful and excluded lakeside property that Michael Jackson was renting for 20,000 euros per week (gotta hide somewhere if you're MJ). Unfortunately, and amusingly, he apparently had to move out when Tiger Woods came and offered to pay 30,000 euros per week to stay there during a local golf tourney. The tour-guide told us that Michael then moved down to some other Irish town in the south, but that hasn't really been verified. Perhaps he, Michael Flatley and Enya are all living together wearing those surgical masks he's so fond of so that no one ever recognizes them.

That evening Gabriela and I took part in a Traditional Irish Music Pub Crawl, combining the two things Irish people love most - music and beer. We moved from one pub to another, listening to a pair of musicians describe what Irish music means to them, and to the country. They gave us some history, some instruction, and some tips for simply enjoying the unique sounds. We also provided the "chorus" for several songs, despite the fact that the Irish accent and the speed of the song barely allowed us to even understand the words sometimes. We had a great time and would recommend something like this to anyone who visits Ireland. The most memorable part of the evening came when the musicians were discussing the famine and unemployment years that forced many families to leave Ireland. These families eventually settled elsewhere, often in large Irish communities. They had children who grew up in these communities and married others within the community. Then they had children who also lived there. Then they grew up and had children who eventually returned to Dublin on vacation to enjoy the musical pub crawl. All us Irish people enjoyed their stories and laughed heartily at the truth behind his words.

During a city tour on our favorite hop-on-hop-off bus routes, the bus driver explained one of the unique characteristics of Dublin and it's cityscape. It appears that everyone and everything in Dublin acquires a nickname. There are bronze statues spread throughout the city, commemorating one thing or another. And for some reason, the Dubliners fell compelled to christen these items with a nickname. The sculpture of two ladies sitting on a bench with shopping bags next to them leads tourists to the shopping district of the city. This sculpture is affectionately known as The Hags with the Bags. A statue of Molly Malone, a strangely famous Irish woman from the 1900s who sold fish during the day and worked in a brothel at night, is known as The Dish with the Fish or the Tart with the Cart. There is also a gigantic new spire in the center of O’Connell street downtown Dublin. Originally known as the Millennium Spire, it wasn't finished until 2003. Now known as the Dublin Spire, it's more commonly referred to as the Stiletto in the Ghetto. It appears that you aren't officially a Dubliner until you've been granted a proper Dublin nickname.

The front doors of Dublin are also an interesting tourist destination. Photographers love this location because tradition has it that no two neighboring front doors will have the same color. As you walk up the street you'll see a bright green front door followed by a deep red, followed by a pale blue, and then a black or pink or peach. The architecture of Dublin is very antiquated and traditional, so the color of these doors is a great way to introduce a decorative flare and excitement to the neighborhood. Gabriela and I walked up and down the road, just taking pictures and enjoying the unique style of this "only in Dublin" tradition.

Best of all, throughout our brief time in Dublin, I can honestly say that Gabriela did absolutely NO SHOPPING (except for chocolate, which doesn't count). Though as our trip wound down in Dublin, she did enjoy a brief stint at a local bookshop (books in English!!!) where she began researching our future trips.

Dublin as a whole was fantastic. It's a great place to spend a long-weekend, and wonderful to be able to simply make a quick-trip there. The 2007 travel season has begun, and we'll surely be busy blogging from here on out. I hope you all will continue to enjoy our musings.

All our best to our Loved Ones back in the States.

Tony and Gabriela.

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