Rub-a-dub-Dublin (and Galway)

Well, it only took three posts, and I'm already out of witty comments to make about the cities that I'm visiting. It's unfortunate, I'm losing my touch. I guess I'll just have to stick to what I actually saw and leave the flights of fancy to a minimum.

Actually, given that I've been here a week, I've seen quite a bit. In the interests of cutting down on reading time, (and incidentally, my writing time), I'll use the example of two days ago as typical of my experiences in visiting Dublin (and most other cities, as a matter of fact).

Typically, my day starts around 9 in the morning. As much as I would like to sleep in, when sharing a dorm with 16 other people it is the earliest riser that sets the pace for others, not the latest. Accordingly, I quickly showered and changed, and set out in my best tourist gear: khaki shorts revealing hairy legs, plaid cotton short sleeved shirt, mocassins (just because), water bottle, Canon "Sure shot" 80, and tattered copy of "Let's Go: Britain and Ireland" (bought for the pictures, as I'm definitely not going to read on my vacation).

I headed up O'Connell st., the main shopping artery of Dublin, until I reached Parnell Sq. Parnell Sq. had a nice statue to Parnell, an Irish "patriot" (called something different in Britain). They also had a memorial garden to other patriots that had died, which was quite nice. I went to the Irish writer's museum, where I looked at displays on many Irish writers, Swift, Shaw, Joyce, Beckett etc. They also had a nice Zen garden, but it looked slightly neglected, after the tour, I left.

I left with a vague feeling of unease, and I desire to take up my previous passion for writing. As I walked along Parnell St, I turned over in my mind a couple of novella plots that I hadn't had the opportunity to develop, and resolved to work on them when I had the chance. Fortunately, this resolution lasted only until my next stop, the Jameson Distillery tour.

I hadn't had breakfast, and only a light dinner the night before, so I came out of the tour, and ensuing whiskey-tasting a bit unsteadily, and with a bottle of Jameson I had bought at the museum store (note, to date, this is the only item I have bought at any museum store on my trip). I turned from spirituous matters to spiritual ones, and after a light lunch at a delicatessan, I arrived at St. Patrick's Cathedral on the south bank of the Liffey. Actually, I had been aiming for Christ Church cathedral, somewhat to the north, but had gotten slightly lost on the way, and reasoned that one cathedral was as good as another.

After the cathedral, I tried once again to get to Christ church. I found it, but masses were just beginning, so I had to postpone my visit for another day (or be condemned to go to church). Instead, I went to Dublin castle, which is a bit of a misnomer. A better name would be the Dublin Happy Time Fun Palace, and so much has been destroyed and remodelled over the years, that the structure resembles a palace the way a camel resembles a horse. But still, it houses the state rooms of the Irish republic, and I got a free tour, so I'm not complaining too loudly.

From the Castle, I wandered around for a bit until I stumbled upon the Chester Beatty Library, which had an excellent exhibits on Iranian steel, world religions and Orientalia, so I stayed there until it closed. I hung out in the gardens of the castle for a bit, and then headed out to dinner.

I had dinner at the Hard Rock Cafe, but only because I had a coupon for 5 euros off a main course. I went, and even with the 5 euros off, it was the most expensive meal I've had in Europe. And all I ordered was the pasta.
I had bought a pass to the Dublin "Working class heroes festival" which was basically a bunch of garage bands from across Ireland playing all sorts of music. The pass was 22 euros and the festival went on for 3 days. I went every night and enjoyed myself immensely. That night, I went with a German girl from the hostel whom I had told about the festival and we had a great time. The festival took place in the Temple Bar, which is the most active district of Dublin, with pubs, clubs and people out for a good time.

So far, Dublin is the city in which I've had the most fun while in Europe, perhaps because it reminds me a bit of Montreal, with lots of pedestrian walkways and many fun-loving people.

The next day, I went to Galway. On the three-hour trip over, I could see why the Irish hostellers I met in Edinburgh recommended that I leave Dublin to see the "true" Ireland. Loads of rolling hills, greenery and quaint houses and sheep all over the place as I bussed through. That being said, I was rather glad that I had the protective barrier of the bus to shield me from all that quaint excentricity. Otherwise, I might have caught something and started thinking wholesome thoughts and talking with a weird accent or something. I arrived in Galway at 1:30.

Galway was....nice. It had a nice pedestrian mall, and sufficient people to be a decent place to live. While I was there, I admired the scenery, and went wading in the Atlantic Ocean. I even went on their "Long Walk" and admired the Spanish arch. That being said, after that, there wasn't a hell of a whole lot to do, so I caught a movie in the Omniplex and had dinner in a traditional pub before catching the 7h30 bus back to Dublin.
That's all, and I'm heading for Brussels on the 9th. I'll be posting from there now.