This Boys’ Choir, with its enthusiastic conductor, singing in front of the GPO was really nice and made you feel like Christmas. They were singing all well-known Christmas songs and you couldn’t help starting to sing together with them. The choir was from one of the local Boy’s Schools nearby and the age of the boys was between 13-18, I guess. They seemed to enjoy it a lot and the the girls, who probably were from Girs’ School and who happened to pass, enjoyed it a lot too.
Tag: dublin
A quick weekend in autumn
After my work trip to London, I took the weekend to make my own trip to Dublin. We didn’t tell about it to anyone, so the surprise that I caused with my entrance to my boyfriend’s sister’s place was exactly as big as we planned.
It was nice to be back, even as for such a short time as I had. And as everything has gone well in London too, I was really relaxing and enjoying my time. In London, I was happy to see Mamma Mia musical, and now one of my main dreams is to go to see a musical together. I could be in London, it could be in Dublin, or it could be in Tallinn as well, but as we both like musicals, and we have never had a chance to go there together, I would have to start to wish it and take it into practice very soon.
I didn’t take any photos this time, but I took some in London, where I really had time to walk around and take pictures.
The colourful doors of Dublin
When you walk around on the southern side of the Liffey river you can admire the Georgian houses and the colourful doors which are very significant to Dublin, found on postcards and tourism magazines. If you look closely you can see that every single door is like an artwork and there are no similar doors side by side. It’s said that back in Georgian times the people were allowed to paint their doors whatever colour their wanted and of course, everyone wanted to differ from their neighbours and added some ornaments, iron knockers, fanlights above the doors or differently shaped windows. Everyone wanted their door to look the best. It’s also said that it all started with two writers, who didn’t want the other one to knock on his door when coming home drunk in the middle of the night. So one of them painted his door green and the other one red. Who knows if it’s true, but it’s a funny story and quite Irish too.
Just one nice Sunday
It was the first time when somebody came to visit me in Dublin and I could feel a bit more local, and I really did, in spite that my son has also lived in Dublin years ago. So it came out that the straightest (or cheapest, or the most exciting) way from Canada to Estonia goes through Dublin, with a 10 hour stop on Newfoundland Island and so my son landed in Dublin airport early on Sunday morning. As his visit was just 2 days short, we had planned the both of the days quite well. Soon after the breakfast we went to walk around in town, to find out who of us knows Dublin the best. And I have to say that I was the winner because he hadn’t been to parks and to churches and even not in some well-known pubs. Probably he knows more about McDonalds and night clubs.
We started from the Temple Bar area and the band was already playing at 12 at noon, but we didn’t stay, just had a quick look at the Unknown Whiskey Drinker and headed to St Stephen’s Park, then to Iveagh Gardens, to Dublin Castle and Christ Church and St Patrick’s Church, then to totally different Church where he met his friends and I left him to have drinks with them. We finished the day at the Thai restaurant.
Walking around on a cloudy day
Weather is the only thing I can complain in Dublin. I know that we have mostly the same, but our summers are still warmer and if we are lucky we can get the sunshine for weeks. Here you never know what you need when you go out. Definitely, you don’t need an umbrella because usually it also very windy and it is so easy to lose it if it’s not raining, but more likely you need a raincoat, that fits into your bag, warm jumper, good flat shoes which don’t get wet and don’t have open toes and underneath you need also some summer blouse because it might get warm for 15 minutes during the day, and if you’re lucky, then even for more. Unfortunately, you never need summer dresses without sleeves, minidresses, shorts or tops, ok, maybe some tops if you don’t forget to take your jumper and raincoat.
Here are some photos of a typical cloudy day by river Liffey, I was lucky, I didn’t need my raincoat.
Walking in Temple Bar
Temple Bar is not just a bar, but the whole area full of different bars and pubs, hustle and bustle, mostly meant for attracting the tourists, but at the same time something you cannot leave out if you are visiting Dublin the first time. I was taken there on my first day in Dublin and straight into the Temple Bar – now I am talking about a bar, named Temple Bar and located in the Temple Bar area, the one with the Unknown Whiskey Drinker and a request to return him back to the pub when found. To make it more confusing, there is also a Temple street, which is not even near to the Temple Bar, but actually on the other side of the river.
This time, I was just wandering around in the temple Bar area, watched the street musicians, the hordes of tourists who were going to leave their money into the bars, the Leprechaun who was doing his best making the tourists stepping into the pub, took some photos of the gorgeous bar fronts and headed back home to have my dinner.
In Merrion park
Unfortunately this year the Street Performer’s Festival didn’t have the music festival included, but anyway, the Dublin band Keywest gave a short concert in Merrion park and a group of touring French musicians performed just for fun. They were the best part of the day because they were so much enjoying themselves and with their colourful and weird clothes they looked very funny.
The reflection of summer
The second summer in Dublin is ahead and this year I have lots of time to wander around on my own. Actually, that’s exactly what I have dreamed about – to stay somewhere as long as you get to know the place, have time to walk around, notice the things around you, go back to the places you’ve already been, understand that you are able to take short routes and not get lost and have someone waiting for you at home asking about your day and being happy to see you.
And that’s exactly what I have got here and right now I have come back to the Trinity College Garden, where we started my very first walking tour in Dublin a year before. I can even see the reflection of it myself somewhere inside the big golden Universe – is it the past or the present or the future, who knows, all is acceptable 🙂
Easter time in Dublin
This year our Easter time was the time of computer nerds 🙂 But a lot of work got done and a lot of pieces were fixed, just to the places where they were supposed to fit and they did. And the peace that was in my mind settled down there and started to feel itself like at home. I love that feeling.
Anyway, I walked around here and there and for my surprise found the Big Easter Event just some steps from my home. OK, I knew that it was there, but somehow I had forgotten it, or just it didn’t fit into the computer nerds’ world.
I guess it was interesting because it woke up a bit of historical Dublin and definitely I will go and see it on some other Easter, but this time I just got some pieces and a lot of crowds all around that.
Here are some pieces of Easter just some steps from my home.
Life is like a Merry-go-round – and we watched Mary Poppins just a day before
Besides being a computer nerd we also watched a lot of movies
Looks nice and red 😉
Votes for Women – the topic was 1900-s
An old steam engine on O’Connell Street
I had also a good opportunity to meet some new cousins from England and we had a nice family dinner on Sunday. I think that there are so many cousins whom I have never met and I cannot even imagine if I can remember them all by name. But the best part was that I could understand them all quite well and after being shy for a while I even started to talk. Unfortunately, every time when that happens and I feel that I am confident enough to talk, my time is done and I have to fly back. But one day it will change and I will skip this being shy period.
Of course, I couldn’t leave without scrambled eggs, I never do that. Here are my personal scrambled eggs and I have never got anything better. And the asparagus was delicious.
New Year’s Luminiosity Festival
The astonishing 3D projections on Trinity College facade. I was standing there stunned and got it all on video. I think it was the best part of the New Year Celebrations in the city.
The second best was the procession through the streets, even the rain that started to fall quite heavily didn’t ruin it at all. All these colourful costumes and vehicles that passed me made me want to see the St Patrick’s Day Procession. Yes, I know, that one day I will see that too, but just don’t want to wait too long for that.
And the new year 2015 came to us at home where we enjoyed our New Year Dinner and watched The 100 Best musicals on TV. And as we both love musicals it was the best way to celebrate the New Year, the first one that we have really celebrated together.
Dublin Accent 