Saturday & Sunday - Week VII

SATURDAY

It was a cold, blustery weekend with snow fall. It's so strange to see snow in Ireland and most people seemed okay with having it because it's such a rarity. Last year apparently they had a snow storm in January and that was the first of its kind in almost 20 years.

I enjoyed the weekend despite the weather because Jean Marie took me to Dublin. She had been given two tickets to a concert/dance event by the 2008 XFactor winners, Diversity. They are sort of a break dancing/hip hopping/acrobatics team of young men and for this show, which they are currently touring around the UK and Ireland; they present a Christmas themed story to go with all their dance routines. More on this later.

So we left Galway bright and early on Saturday morning and arrived in Dublin just before 11:00am. Jean Marie left me off near the center of town because she was heading up to Newry, Northern Ireland to do some shopping and needless to say I wasn't the least bit interested in going back to that shopping town no matter how charming it's city center was.

So I started walking in the Temple Bar neighborhood of Dublin which is lovely with lots of great shops and restaurants. I first came upon their open air market where the locals were out to buy fresh vegetables, cheeses and other yummy treats.

I eventually made my way up to St. Stephen's Green, the park in the center of Dublin. It's a beautiful small park and there were so many people out despite the cold because it was simply gorgeous with all the snow that had blanketed the park. Despite the snow cover the feisty Irish flowers refused to shrivel up and instead remained strong and let their colors shine through. I walked all around enjoying the beauty of it and knowing this is something most visitors never get to experience. I think even the locals were enjoying it knowing that they too won't have the experience of walking in the snow very often.

I then took a walk through the St. Stephen's Green shopping center because it's just so beautifully decorated this time of year. After that I walked to the Power's Court center which is an extremely large yet elegant Georgian style 18th Century townhouse that, in the 80's was converted into a gallery of antique shops and fine restaurants. It's an incredible place and in the center, where there once was an outdoor courtyard, there now is a glass roof that seals the warmth and creates the perfect place for a ground floor restaurant and indoor balconies that lead to all the shops. It was exquisitely decorated for the holidays.

I then walked just a block across town and came to another creatively repurposed building. It looks like it may have been a train station or something in the past but is now a wonderful semi enclosed market with lots of carts selling a multitude of wares. It's a beautiful red brick building on the inside and out but also features smaller, two story buildings in various colors that are snuggled between the main entrance of the market building and the side entrance. It's a wonderful place to stroll, perhaps more happily on a warmer day but still worth it even in today bitter cold.

I finally stopped for a much needed lunch and found the perfect place to warm up my now fully chilled body. The restaurant was on the first floor of an old building and had large windows so I could enjoy the bright sunshine while the rest of my body enjoyed the warmth. As for the food, they offer a fantastic brunch menu at Salamanca Restaurant on St. Andrews Street for only 12.95 euros. I had homemade pasta with poached salmon and the wonderful Italian bread basket was yummy all by itself. And dessert was included in the price and they brought me a generous portion of strawberries and whipped cream in a tower of flaky pastry. I could have sat there for hours but I knew there was more exploring to do in the city before I had to meet Jean Marie around 5:00pm.

I got to the main shopping street which I would say was similar to our 5th or Madison Avenue but the shops where not that high-end. It was more like Boston's downtown crossing shopping area. They have several large department stores including Arnotts shopping center on Henry Street which was established way back in 1843 and even features an outdoor ice skating rink on the roof. It's an interesting old building and very modern inside to satisfy today's customers.

I was shocked given Ireland's intense economic climate that the streets and all the shops were simply packed. Every cafe, fast-food and pastry shop were all equally jammed with customers and they were clearly shopping because there weren't many people coming out of stores without bags in hand. I was actually happy to see it because there seems to be a sense that somehow they will make it through this crisis and they'll come out on top in the end. One can only hope so. And even the weather didn't deter these intrepid shoppers from their quest. I do think that in general the Irish people are a hearty do what needs to be done kind of people and they are just happy to out and about doing something they enjoy.

The decorations on the main streets were stunning and I loved the 50 or so large brightly lit wreaths that hung along the whole of Henry Street. There is such a sense of joy in the city and its infections even if the crowds did overwhelm me a bit. I ducked on to a side street and into the nearest seemingly quiet pub I could find for a hot coco. The pub I managed to find had only about 10 people in there and they were either watching the game on TV or sadly drunk and finishing off their beer. It was warm and I had a nice corner to sit and read for a half hour so I tried not to let the drunken woman who was singing very loudly make my resting period too bothersome. If anything it was sad to see this woman in her early to late 60's clearly just wanting some attention and sadly with nothing better to do on a Saturday night. The bar attendant was very nice to her and would periodically go over and say "you doing okay, Mary?" And usually Mary would quiet down for a few minutes or so. The strange thing was she had a whole pint of beer and a half class of beer in front of her but instead of finishing either she gave the full pint to an older guy, who she clearly knew and who truly had had his fill already and took a last swig from the half-full beer leaving a swig or two at the bottom and than said good night to all at the pub and presumably headed home. I guess even she knew she'd reached her limit.

So after that brief, but warm, people watching period I ended up meeting Jean Marie near the large brightly lit Christmas trees on the main shopping street. We headed to the Maldron Hotel on Cardiff Lane just a bit removed from the City Center. It was half a block from the new Samuel Beckett Bridge which resembles a whale’s tail I suppose and was interestingly enough designed and built in the Netherlands and arrived by boat in Dublin in 2009. The bridge apparently moves to one side to allow marine traffic to pass. We didn't witness that happen but it was fun to walk over the bridge especially covered in snow.

After checking in and getting our stuff to the room we headed out for the concert/dance performance at the O2 performance Center about a 15 minute walk down river from the hotel. It was a cold and slow going walk trying to take precautions not to slip on the ice. We walked over the unique new bridge and down past the new brightly lit (rainbow themed) convention center to the huge white Ferris wheel which sits happily next to the O2 center.

The performance was interesting and the venue which probably holds about 6,500 people was nearly full and mostly with parents and their teenage daughters who are most certainly obsessed with these young performers. The two 15 year old girls behind us nearly burst my ear drums with their continuous hi-pitched screams. But all-in-all it was a nice experience and Jean Marie loved it so that was good.

We walked back to the hotel with the hoards of fans all excited and energized by the performance and within a half hour or so I was sung in my bed and happily off to slumber land.

SUNDAY

Yes the day was cold and there was new snow fall on the ground but the sun had graced our sky once again and all was fine.

We had breakfast and I left Jean Marie to go shopping in town and I headed to mass about a 10 minute walk from the hotel. The old Immaculate Heart of Mary parish was charming and friendly and yes, they sang. Finally a mass that had lovely singing and happy people. The priest was lively and gave an inspiring homely, just what I'm sure we all needed.

I walked to the main shopping street again where I sat and had what you might ask, yes, a hot coco while I waited for Jean Marie to finish her shopping. It was only a half hour or so before she called so it was just fine. Then we were off to do some shopping at the home center in Liffey Valley just outside Dublin's city center and from there we drove an hour toward Galway to Athlone, one of my favorite small towns in Ireland. Jean Marie did a tiny bit of shopping at Penny's and we ate dinner and did the final hour drive home.

It got incredibly foggy the last half hour or so which kind of freaked me out but Jean Marie assured me she drives in this all the time. I'm sure she does since there is more rain here than other weather but still at night it's disconcerting to have such low visibility.

So now I'm in my room at the apartment where it's warm and cozy and I'll be off to be soon, hurray!