Travel Diary

Saturday

This would be the tough one. I had planned for it. I was prepared for it. But when the day actually came, it became pretty darn tough. Being in no immediate hurry, I took my time in the morning. I believe I slept in until about 8:30 AM and lazily got ready to go. Checkout was noon and I pretty much delayed leaving up until that point. You see, once I left my room there was no going back. Aside from a few rest spots in churches and museums, there would be no sanctuary from being worn out.

When I checked out, I was able to leave my bags at the front desk. This was a nice perk of the hotel. And it really was a nice hotel since the location was great, all of the people were friendly, and the price wasn’t that bad. If I’m ever in Dublin again, it will be high on my list of choices. The name is O’Callaghan Alexander.

Outside on the streets, I just started walking--looking for opportune moments for photography. At this point the luck in the weather ended, and it became cold fast. There were also moments of rain, but nothing too bad. It’s just tougher when it’s cold and rainy. My umbrella served me well though, yet I still found shelter.

Since I was right next to it, my first outing would be to Trinity College. Inside it looked great, although a lot of people starting to come in. I eventually found my way to the Reading room and the Book of Kerns. The book area allowed for no photography, and that was understandable, as it has to be preserved as much as possible. However when photography is shut down then my interest wanes as well. I know time makes me forget things. Photos allow me to share the events with others and with myself years down the line. As well, I didn’t find the book all that exciting. I can appreciate the history of it, but I still grew bored pretty fast. I moved on.

The Reading Room was nice to see. I got some photos of old books and learned a little bit history.  All in all, it’s probably not a place I would return to again.

My next stop was to Dublin Castle. And this was a pretty big disappointment, although I’m not sure I was ever promised anything big. I imagine it used to be a fabulous castle but now there’s not much left to explore. There were a few small museum exhibits inside and that was fun to see, although again, no pictures.

After that, the rain started again so I stayed undercover tried to stay dry for as long as possible. Luckily, I had returned a little earlier and fetch my warmer clothes (gloves, muffler, cap, scarf) and my umbrella. It would finally come in handy. I found my way to the city hall building and was able to hang out in there for a while and keep dry.

Leaving the area headed south, and found the Gaiety Theater. I checked to see what show would be performing that evening and luckily there was a play called “God Bless the Child.” I got a ticket and walked on. This way I would at least be able to stay warm and get out of the cold for a few hours during the evening.

Next I discovered a couple parks, which were interesting to explore. The first park had a lot of people and teens in it, making it hard to find any good photographic moments. But the next park was practically deserted and I was able to get some good shots of fountains and statues. I’m often in awe when such nice retreats of nature are not being used. It would seem like a no-brainer for many to come and picnic there on a Saturday afternoon, though there was the cold and rain to consider.

I then headed north again towards the theater. I needed some food and I found a little indoor mall where I was able to buy some candy from a vending machine and have some cheese fries. It certainly wasn’t the healthiest meal, but I basically needed calories to sustain me from all the walking I’d been doing.

That quest being done, I headed to a bar near the theater and looked for a Guinness. They did have a Guinness but they also have strawberry Mojito on sale so I decided to try that instead. Not sure was a great choice as there wasn’t much alcohol in it, but it was only €5.

I headed to theater and I found the theatre bar.  I was going to have a Guinness there but didn’t serve Guinness. The bartender said they had Murphy’s. I wasn’t sure if it was a good substitute so I pondered for a moment. The bartender asked,  “Do you want to try it?” I assumed by “try,” he meant to have a sample and see if I liked it.  Yet when I said yes he poured me a pint. Apparently, “try it” meant having a whole glass.

Very well; what’s done is done. I got a seat and tried my beer. So is it a good substitute for Guinness?

It is not.

It’s a poor beer and nowhere near as good as a Guinness. Lesson learned.

I then got my seat and waited for the show to start.  The play consisted of three adults acting out stories that the author had written about difficult childhoods. It wasn’t a great play, although it wasn’t terrible either. I think I was just tired, tipsy, and already tuned out. I mainly just wanted to sleep and all this dialogue was hindering that.

At intermission, I moved back a few rows.  Most people tend to move forward when they can, but for me it was the other way around. It was hard to see over people’s heads, and even though I wasn’t completely paying attentionm I wanted a clear view when I did decide to watch.

I believe I may have dozed off once or twice. It was ending before I knew it, and people were exiting the theater. I had hoped the production would’ve gone on longer as it was only 9:30 pm and I really didn’t have much to do until my 6 am flight, and I was not going to be going back to bed anytime soon.

So once again I started walking. I walked west for a few miles, seeing if there were any places to take photos. I’d eventually reached the Guinness Storehouse and that was pretty cool although it was closed of course. Since I was running out of things to see, I headed north to the main river and then began walking east back towards the heart of the city. I did find the train station although that wasn’t much going on at 11 o’clock at night.

I continued east along the river, taking photos of bridges whenever I came upon them. Most of the shots I’d already taken the night before. I suppose I was just obtaining backups then. It did become very cold along the canal even though my head was covered, my neck was covered, and my hands had gloves on. I pretty much covered up whatever I could. I don’t like being cold.

The city did start to get busy once again as I headed east.

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