So the trip to Dublin was essentially short, only about 2 1/2 days. I didn't have a lot on my itinerary for things to do and that was a good thing because I really couldn't find all that many things to do. The main things I wanted to visit were the Guinness Storehouse and Dublin Castle, and indeed I got to both those places. Other places I got to, in no particular order, were the National Gallery, the National Museum of History & Architecture, Trinity College, Christ Church Cathedral, and more.
I considered other places such as St Patrick's Cathedral but never did get around there. I'd also planned to go to the Natural History Museum however it was closed for refurbishment so I could not do so. I ate lunch one day across from City Hall but didn't go on the tour there. I went by Custom House but had read something about the visitor centre being closed so I just kept on walking.
The city isn't overly large and with few exceptions (the docks, the zoo, etc.) it's not much hassle to walk from any venue to any other venue, and that's a nice thing. It makes getting around fairly easy without having to worry about taking a cab or public transportation. That said, for a smallish place there's certainly a huge number of taxis and buses going around. Not counting tour buses, the streets are simply littered with buses. My second night there I came out of the pub I was at, which was toward the north end of O'Connell Street, and there was nothing but taxis as far as the eye could see - dozens of them. Granted there are a number of pubs and restaurants in the area, but it was quite a sight to see on a Wednesday night. I'd not seen the likes if that anywhere, not even on the busiest weekend on Whyte Ave.
The weather was fine... nothing spectacular, but it's February after all. There was almost no rain (just a slight bit of drizzle Thursday afternoon) though it was mostly overcast throughout my time there. I didn't attempt to stay up for the lunar eclipse, but even if I had I'm not sure if it would have been worth it with all the cloud cover. The city is nice, there didn't seem to be many hassles around (no crime visible, a few panhandlers, lots of cigarette butts and other bits of trash that are omnipresent in cities) and the people were nice. There was a huge concentration of French people around though... I found that odd for some reason.
I'd looked forward to going there, and it's a nice enough place, but I think I'd be hard pressed to go back there. I'd still quite enjoy touring around the countryside one day, or visiting other cities (Cork, Shannon, etc.), but I really don't see going back to Dublin.
Labels: life
