10 Questions About…

Kate and I traveled from Galway to Dublin yesterday once Kate finished work. We got in late, and being fair we were both tired and possibly crabby. I had been outside all day and Kate had been working a new job. But after a drink we both warmed up. We are staying in the city center, half a block from the Liffey behind Trinity so we headed into town through Templebar, the touristy/trendy part of town, which wasn’t too busy but the bars were too boisterous. I dragged her to the heavy metal bar at Bruxelles, which was actually not busy and pretty nice. Then we hit The Palace, another old favorite.

Today I did something new (to me) in Dublin. I can’t say that every day! I walked to Poolbeg Lighthouse. It’s in Dublin Bay right where the Liffey pours in, well a mile out on the pier. My big mistake was walking to the site from the flat – it ended up being about a 7-mile walk. Part of it is a fun walk, down the Liffey, through a very-family park and then you hit a very industrial part of town. I found myself surrounded by stacks of train cars and power generation stuff. The road became less pedestrian-friendly. Mostly big truck were passing me on the famously too-narrow road. Occasionally, a jogger would pass. Then I passed a waste management treatment center. (Yes, it smelled!) I was about to turn back because I’ve sent myself on these sort of boondoggles before. Then I turned a corner and found myself on the beach on the “other side” of the Poolbeg Stacks, the striped-like-barber-pole chimneys. You’d notice them in any picture of Dublin Bay because you can see them from anywhere in Dublin. It was very cool! Then it’s a short hike to the pier to the Lighthouse. It was a gorgeous day – a perfect day for a windy, windy walk. I’d definitely recommend doing it – but I might drive, bike or uber to the pier. (Even I uber home after I realized I had 8 miles done and an afternoon of shopping planned.

Then I met up with Kate in town. We spent the afternoon thrifting around the city center. We had a lovely Thai lunch and checked out charity  and vintage shop in Templebar. We walked down Grafton Street where we got to see Christmas decoration and buskers. It was a perfect day of new activities and old favorites. And now we’re recovering before we head out tonight!