Convivial Dublin

     I've never heard anyone who has not enjoyed Dublin.

   It's hard not to love the Irish. OK, maybe I'm more susceptible-the first were Gaels and so were the native Scots, who were not Picts. 
   Kindred spirits or not, they live as they are; spirited, imaginative, creative, gregarious, lovers of the word and art. 

    Dublin is all of that and more. It's become a magnet for 

  for many from Europe, especially a young demographic. It is a city  of culture, history, and personality.

 Oscar Wilde statue in Merrion Square

Artist-Danny Osborne

     As a visitor, it is easy to fall in love with Dublin and to simply enjoy it. It is both classy modernity and classically historical. 

   At every turn it is vibrant and there is a great photo op.

  The Gaels started living here in the 7th century. The Vikings came, and so did the Normans. In the early 20th Century the spirit of independence gave birth to the ethos that led to the establishment of the Irish Republic. Dublin was pivotal. 

   Intellect, literature, story telling and music are in the DNA.

    These few frames can barely introduce the vitality and feeling that Dublin exudes and thus entices with.

    I learned that author Jonathan Swift lived and served here but not by choice. That is the subject of a coming post. 

    Close to 2 million live in the greater Dublin area, and it is a capitol of culture as well as government. 

    As someone who has traveled for work and pleasure I was surprised by how Dublin chefs have become such all stars and champions. I did not expect it.

    

     And in the spirit of full disclosure, as a long time Guiness fan, I took advantage of the abundance of the home town product, in Dublin and elsewhere in the beautiful nation. 

    A few words and a few photos here cannot embrace the culture that is Dublin. Historic and cutting edge, sensorial and cerebral, a full on passion for life and it is no wonder you can't help but enjoy Dublin.

    Irish side trips and We Walked Into A Pub, Chapter 2 are still ahead.

And a Note from Home

   The rain season has begun on the California Central Coast and we are seeing our annual Irish tint on the hillsides. It will be a green Christmas this year and that will call for a toast to our Irish friends, Kay, Willie, Kay and Jack and to our envoy Maura.

      See you down the trail.

The Teaser

    Graham Greene spoke truth when he said, "There is always one moment in childhood when the door opens and let's the future in."
     That moment occurred when I read Robert Louis Stevenson's Treasure Island. My imagination was ignited and a desire for travel was launched. 
     Stevenson was an ambassador of travel and early I took to heart what he wrote; "I travel not to go anywhere, but to go. I travel for travels sake. The great affair is to move." 

     My life of journalism and documentary production allowed a decent bit of "moving," globe trotting and cultural immersion. 
   I was asked once to write a piece about the adjustment one must manage when returning from extensive travel. A meager truth I surfaced was this; the re-entry to normal also helps enshrine the intoxicating, psychoactive, or mind stretching affect of travel.

    As you have read we have been away for a while, celebrating a milestone in our marriage, connecting with ancestral roots. Ever the journalist and curious explorer we return with a couple thousand images and even more memories. 

    I want to share with you what we saw, did and felt.
   

   We were on country roads, navigating large cities, at historic sites, immersed in the local culture, in Scotland and Ireland. There was much to see and learn.

     There is history that makes ours seem youthful. Complexity, intellect, and human endeavor that is profound.

   Abundant beauty, nature and culture.

Always near is history that shaped humankind.

  We are fascinated by mysteries of ancient cultures, older than the great Pyramids, cosmic riddles.

Profound beauty, picturesque charm. 

Music and culture.

  Exploration and discovery. 

Food and other feasts of the senses. 

   Grandeur and majesty.  

   Politics, struggle, and the DNA of fighting for independence. 

  Whimsy, expression and stunning beauty.

  Intellect and impact. 

    And there are the people. Our exploration of Scottish history, genealogy, and nature was organized and moderated by research and experts.
    And so it was in Ireland, though our guides were friends, people we have hosted in California.
     We benefited wonderfully from the expertise of Irish friends who kindly shared the magic of their Republic. An endless gratitude to Kay and Willie,
  

 and to Kay and Jack. 

  So stay tuned. In the days to come there will be scenes, experiences, history, and the pastiche of travel and culture.

   I hope you will enjoy what you read and see, in a vicarious travel adventure.

   I'm tempted to say come along for a foreign adventure but I'm reminded of Stevenson's summation; "There are no foreign lands, it is the traveler only who is foreign."

   We have been the foreigner and now we seek to interpret and report.

   These are strange days on both sides of the Atlantic, a cultural metamorphosis is in the offing. 

    It is my humble suggestion we have reached these vexing times because we have become to tethered to small worlds, of small screens and small words and small ideas, and led by small people. 

    Greene said it well when he wrote in Burnt Out Case, "The more base a life is, the more we fear change."

     We have much to share. I hope you enjoy the ride that is to come. Let's move. 

     See you down the trail.