I always wanted to go to Ireland. I have Irish friends. I find all of them a bit eccentric. Funny. Warm. I like the fact that most things good about the "English" are actually Irish. The Beatles for a start. Elvis Costello. Guinness.
So I was there, in Dublin. Checked into a nice hotel, near Grafton Street (one of the main pedestrian shopping streets in Dublin), opposite St. Stephen's Green (more on this below). I arrived on a Sunday, around lunch time, only to find that the room was not ready. A blessing in disguise. I went out and explored St. Stephen's Green, a gorgeous park. Around it was work by local artists, some great paintings, but expensive.
The meeting started - it was on asking tobacco questions in surveys. This was organized by the CDC folk, Atlanta - in Dublin for some reason. Breakfast was brilliant, so was the room. I ended up watching a number of World Cup games on the telly, as well as the Irish Derby.
I managed to go out on the last day, and see a bit of the town. I did, actually, sneak out to the nearby pubs (zillions of them, many with the Guinness logo) almost every day at the end of the meeting, to have a couple of pints of Guinness. It was expensive, almost 5 Euros, but it was worth it.
So I was there, in Dublin. Checked into a nice hotel, near Grafton Street (one of the main pedestrian shopping streets in Dublin), opposite St. Stephen's Green (more on this below). I arrived on a Sunday, around lunch time, only to find that the room was not ready. A blessing in disguise. I went out and explored St. Stephen's Green, a gorgeous park. Around it was work by local artists, some great paintings, but expensive.
The meeting started - it was on asking tobacco questions in surveys. This was organized by the CDC folk, Atlanta - in Dublin for some reason. Breakfast was brilliant, so was the room. I ended up watching a number of World Cup games on the telly, as well as the Irish Derby.
I managed to go out on the last day, and see a bit of the town. I did, actually, sneak out to the nearby pubs (zillions of them, many with the Guinness logo) almost every day at the end of the meeting, to have a couple of pints of Guinness. It was expensive, almost 5 Euros, but it was worth it.
The meeting finished early on the last day, so I did 4 hours of walking round the city. It was late and most places were closed for the day (although it was daylight until 10 p.m.), but I did get to see the Guinness Storehouse, the Dublin Castle, Christ Church Cathedral, Temple Bar, Trinity College, and other locations. And the icing on the cake was seeing Phil Lynott's statue, which was apparently very close to the hotel, off Grafton Street. For those of you who do not know Phil Lynott - he was the lead singer of Thin Lizzy, also a poet, and a composer, the first black rockstar/singer from Ireland. Great bass player too. I stood a few meters from his statue, and took pictures. And as always, I sang with my toes, feet, ankles, knees. I sang "Don't believe a word", I think- slow version.
This is the city of writers and thinkers - Shaw, Joyce, Wilde, Yeats, Behan, Beckett. As I was leaving, I thought I need to come back - and this time, not only for Dublin: for Ireland.
Phil Lynott's statue, off Grafton Street. The life-size statue. I would have thought that there would be others looking at this, but there was no one else. I forgot that it has been more than 20 years since Lynott died. The new generation barely knows him, I suppose. Nevertheless, I did not see the man while he was alive, but it was nice to pay my respects to the man, albeit for a few minutes.
St. Stephen's Green. Goes back to the 17th century. I spent time here thanks to the hotel, where my room was not ready upon arrival. I sat, watched, admired. I even talked to one of those eccentric types, with whom I was sharing a seat.
Christ Church Cathedral, built circa 1030.
This is the city of writers and thinkers - Shaw, Joyce, Wilde, Yeats, Behan, Beckett. As I was leaving, I thought I need to come back - and this time, not only for Dublin: for Ireland.
Phil Lynott's statue, off Grafton Street. The life-size statue. I would have thought that there would be others looking at this, but there was no one else. I forgot that it has been more than 20 years since Lynott died. The new generation barely knows him, I suppose. Nevertheless, I did not see the man while he was alive, but it was nice to pay my respects to the man, albeit for a few minutes.
St. Stephen's Green. Goes back to the 17th century. I spent time here thanks to the hotel, where my room was not ready upon arrival. I sat, watched, admired. I even talked to one of those eccentric types, with whom I was sharing a seat.
Christ Church Cathedral, built circa 1030.