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.

Citizens Speak

       On a dark December night, people brought the light.
     In our village tucked between the Pacific and the Santa Lucia mountains citizens joined others from Times Square to LA, at State Capitols, City Buildings, Court Houses, Federal Buildings, in dusky twilight and even in subfreezing ice and snow. From all corners of this nation, all kinds of people spoke the same words. No one is above the law. Impeach!

    The US is a democratic republic. It is made strong by participation.

     Marchers in a village are meager compared to throngs in  sprawling cities, but the message is the same, and so is the spirit. 

   It is comforting to know that US citizens in the height of a festive season of parties and busyness care enough to go out at night, leave the comfort of their couch, or party and speak their minds. To my mind, speak truth to a corrupt power.

   It is a rare moment in American history. On the eve of the impeachment vote a group of Republican strategists announced formation of the Lincoln Project and effort to take control of the Republican Party and turn it from the depraved Trumpist cult. Here's what one of the founding members, Rick Wilson said

...all of us give a damn about this country in a way that Trumpism denies and Trumpism is not about the the sacred nature of the American experience and about the propositional nature of this country. it is a cult dedicated to a madman who is displaying it today and tonight That he’s an unhinged maniac but he is lavishly corrupt and will do anything to defend himself and we happen to believe that the country is more valuable than a temporary moment, a blip in the politics of this country.”

      An unhinged madman indeed! I harken back to that August 2016 letter signed by 55 Republicans who worked at the highest levels for Republican Presidents; they warned us Trump was unfit and lacked the character to lead and said he would be a danger to national security. 
    I can only hope the Lincoln Project may have influence on Republicans in the Senate. If they do not listen to their parties elders, they will be forever smeared with fetid Trump taint.
    As one of our chants this evening said  IT IS THE SEASON TO END THE TREASON.

    See you down the trail.