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.

Familiarity

     The fun of being in Trim Ireland in County Meath was seeing it with Willie and Kay who live in the historic village on the river Boyne. 

    Trim is also the largest Norman castle in Ireland.

    And it was in County Meath where Patrick came and met the pagan kings. There is a St. Patricks Cathedral in Trim.

   Trim, with some 9 thousand residents, is picturesque

      and hospitable. 

   When settling in for a Guiness in this pub I found a copy of runners and riders, the daily form chart for horse racing. 

   I urged my pal Griff to get to Ireland to meet his kin, some of whom have great pubs!

   This 12th century Norman castle may look familiar. 

    The castle was featured in the 1995 Academy Award Winning BRAVEHEART, the story of the Guardian of  Scotland, hero William Wallace. The film employed hundreds of Trim residents. Scenes were also shot at nearby Irish locations. 

  History is in the land around Trim in County Meath. A subsequent post explores how and why it is so prominent in Irish history, folklore and myth. 

    About a third larger than our Cambria on the California central coast, it has a familiarity. About the partial self portrait below, the scene in the window looked so homey, it needed to be shared. 

   It's a great spot for a hike or stroll, enhanced by history
and the wonderful green beauty.

  "An entry place to the other world" and "a place of great prospect" as we wonder County Meath and a mystical capitol in an upcoming post.  

   See you down the trail.