Welcome To Dublin
Mood:  lyrical
Now Playing: A Car Ride, A Plane Ride, A Walk.
As I mentioned, I dished the idea of subway-LIRR-AirTrain in favor of good ol' car with my brother driving. Here's the rub. We live just 15 minutes on the Belt Parkway from JFK. It took us over an hour. One guy in a broken van and that's the end of that.

That's what we all love about flying, right? Getting to the airport. Once there, everything went smoothly. Lonnie had already arrived (he came from Manhattan and got there way before me!) We boarded the plane and took off precisely at 8:30.


The flight was uneventful and before you knew it, we were both fast asleep.

There was a stopover in Shannon and then on to Dublin, just 30 minutes away. Picked up our luggage and taxied into Dublin city, just 5 miles south. The taxi driver (a woman) kept up a running commentary about her fair town. She dropped us at our hotel, The Chief O'Neill, sort of an industrial-chic boutique hotel. Very cute.


Lonnie in the lobby of Chief O'Neill's Hotel.

After an hour of napping, off we started for some coffee and lunch. I wanted to show Lonnie the lay of the land. Last time I was in Dublin was in 1998. The place was heating up then and it's even hotter now: lots of construction everywhere; new streetcar lines being built; people look good and they appear to be very young! We start out across the River Liffey and over to Grafton Street, Dublin's hip shopping street. It's pedestrianized and so it's very pleasant and an oasis from the maddening and ever-present traffic.


On Grafton Street.

We head to the historic Bewley's Caf?, which has been around forever. It's an old and elegant coffee house and cafeteria and we devour some wondeful soup and chicken sandwiches.


Historic Beweley's Oriental Cafe on Grafton Street.

Walking further down Grafton we found ourselves at St. Stephen's Green, one of Dublin's Georgian Squares. Here we are in February, having just survived one of New York's coldest and most miserable winters. Guess what? Dublin is alive with flowers! Crocuses, dafodils, brilliant green grass...the only thing missing are leaves on the trees.


St. Stephen's Green in the late winter sunlight.

It was in the 60's here today. Very windy but for most of the day, not a cloud in the sky. Brilliant! (as they are fond of exclaiming here). Grand! (they like that word too.)


Lovers sparking in the park.

Lonnie slept straight through the plane ride and then an hour or so in the hotel. He's pretty rested. I really haven't slept at all (the plane shot was faked). And so, I'm getting really, really tired now. It's about 5 and starting to get dark and my friend wants to stop at every store and then at every store!


A store selling just traditional Irish music.


We make our way back toward our hotel by traipsing through Temple Bar (the Greenwich Village of Dublin) with its narrow streets, cute cafes and restaurants. A quick stop for a Guinness before heading back across the Liffey.

"We'll each have a pint please."

Ahead of us is still dinner (which, due to fatigue, is around the corner from the hotel at Kelly and Ping - good but expensive). But our day has been wonderful and we cross the Liffey as the sun sets and the full moon rises. It hasn't rained. In fact, it's been as perfect an introduction to Dublin as we could possibly have hoped for.

Tomorrow, we head for the Guinness Brewery for a look-see at how the brew is produced and then a walking tour of town.

Good night. It's 10:41 pm and I'm going to hit the sack. I'll dream about the "full Irish breakfast" that's included with our room and which will be waiting for us tomorrow morning.


A beautiful sunset on the River Liffey.


Lonnie on the He' Penny Bridge.


The sun sets. The moon comes up.