SIGHT SEEING
Phoenix Park
Near to us is a large park called Phoenix Park. It is 707 hectares and in it you will find the Dublin Zoo, the President of Ireland’s house, the United States Ambassador’s residence, the police headquarters (police are called Garda in Ireland), a castle, some monuments, some deer, lots of trees, dog walkers and quite a few crazy runners in small shorts with frozen legs.
The National Gallery of Ireland
I was pleasantly surprised to find that Dublin has its own National Gallery. It is quite a bit smaller than the London one but it has some famous paintings. There are quite a few by the Irish Artist, Jack B Yeats.
The National Museum – Decorative Arts & History
The National Museum of Ireland is split into various buildings across Dublin, each housing something different. We went to the one with Decorative Arts & History. The building used to be a military barracks which was closed and re-opened as part of the museum in 1997 - it is still being renovated further. There is an interesting section on Irish history where you can learn about The Easter Rising (1916), the War of Independence (1919-1921) and the Civil War (1922-1923). Otherwise the rest of the museum is about the clothes, jewellery, coins and pottery of years gone by.
St Stephens Green
St Stephens Green is a rectangular park in the city centre near to Dublin’s main shopping street, Grafton Street and the shopping centre called St Stephens Green. There is a large lake and some statues and pathways all around and through the centre.
We didn’t spend that much time in the park, just walked through it to get to the shops. Once we walked through on a really cold day (26 December) and the water had frozen in the lake and the seagulls were crash-landing onto the ice.
Royal Canal Park
The area we live in is called Royal Canal Park and there is a canal that you can walk along. There are two big swans that live in the canal and a few ducks that we regularly go feed. It's nice to have some wildlife nearby.
Last week another swan appeared – it has some brown feathers, so maybe it’s a young swan.
SHOPPING IN DUBLIN
Dublin has a few shopping centres - these are the ones I have been to:
Blanchardstown
This is the one that’s closest to us. It’s quite nice and has a good choice of shops. It also has a cinema and free parking -which you don’t find very often these days.
Liffey Valley
This one is a bit bigger than Blanchardstown and bit further away. It has similar shops – a big Marks & Spencer and there is also a Spur! There is also a cinema and the parking is also free here.
Dundrum
This shopping centre is on the south side of Dublin. There are some different shops to the ones above, like Harvey Nichols and Hamleys (the famous toy shop). However, not all the shops are under the one roof and we found ourselves running across to the other shops in the pouring rain.
I still don’t understand how in the UK and Ireland, where it is so cold and wet all the time, shops are still out in the open.
Parking at Dundrum is a bit of a nightmare. We went there close to Christmas and spent absolute ages trying to find a parking, and then when we wanted to leave, we couldn’t find where we had parked! And you have to pay per hour.
St Stephens Green
This one is in the city centre – at the end of Grafton Street, which is a popular shopping street. It was built in 1985, in a style that makes it look like a big Victorian greenhouse. Unfortunately the shops aren’t that interesting. We did, however, find a nice Chinese buffet on the top floor which had lovely views over St Stephens Green.
EATING AND DRINKING
In the City Centre
The city centre is quite large and similar to London. The River Liffey runs through it and there is shopping, eating and drinking to be done on both sides.
I’ll start the journey North of the river in a street called Parnell Street. Here we found a butcher that stocked biltong – yum! There is also an Australian Sports Bar called ‘The Woolshed’ which has South African beer and boerewors rolls on the menu. There are many different areas in the bar to sit and watch sports on loads of TV’s and projector screens – like all good sports bars should have. Unfortunately the boerewors roll was disappointing and the bottle of Castle was warm and cost €4.60! We were there when England lost to Ireland in the 6 Nations rugby and realised it was completely full of Irish fans (even though there was Super 14 rugby on at the same time). I’m not sure how authentically Australian the rest of the menu is – they offer things like an Aussie burger –which has lettuce, tomato, beetroot, pickle and cheese topped with a fried egg (?!), also a ‘Chook Burger’, ‘Fiddly Fingers’ and ‘A Bloody Good Steak’!
You can then head down O’Connell Street which is the main street that runs from Parnell Street down to the river. It is a really wide street (49m) and has nice wide pavements to walk on. There are some interesting old buildings on either side, some converted into shops. Down the centre of the street there are monuments and statues of political leaders. Right in the centre there is ‘the Spire of Dublin’ – which is a 120m high sculpture that looks like a needle. On our first day out into the centre, we popped into the Gresham Hotel for a drink. This is a 4 star hotel on O’Connell Street with a lovely seating area with big leather couches and chairs.
At the end of O’Connell Street, you cross over the river on O’Connell Bridge which is the bridge that is as wide as it is long.
The next stop is Temple Bar
Temple Bar is ‘Dublin’s cultural quarter’. It is also the main drinking area for tourists – everyone heads here. There are many traditional Irish pubs to go to and a number of restaurants. The streets throughout Temple Bar are narrow and cobbled.
We went a couple of times to a pub called ‘The Temple Bar' that has live music in the afternoons and evenings. We also went to a restaurant called ‘Frankies’. This restaurant is owned by Frankie Dettori (the jockey) and Marco Pierre White (the chef). The atmosphere, service, cocktails (many!) and food are all very good.
From Temple Bar you can then head down Grafton Street, which is a more upmarket shopping street, which eventually leads you to St Stephens Green park and shopping centre. On Grafton Street is a restaurant called ‘Captain America’. It’s a bit like Planet Hollywood in that it is American and is filled with music & film memorabilia. We went there and had a really large meal of nachos, garlic bread, burgers (me – mushroom & wine, him – the New Yorker), chips and a butterscotch milkshake.
Another street that runs parallel to Grafton Street is Dawson Street where you will find an interesting bar called Café en Seine and another Marco Pierre White steakhouse. ‘Café en Seine’ is a large café / bar. The décor is interesting - described as decadent art deco reminiscent of 19th-century Paris. It is big enough to get lost in - there are three floors and a 4-storey high glass roofed atrium at the back. We popped in here for a drink one day.
If you walk along St Stephens Green (the North side), there are two members' clubs and a historic hotel, the Shelbourne Hotel. The Shelbourne was built in 1824 and has been restored to a luxury 5 star hotel. We stopped here for a cocktail. There are lovely fireplaces in the lounge to thaw out next to.
Another place we went to for a meal and a drink is the Westin Hotel. This hotel is situated near to Temple Bar. It used to be a bank and was built in 1863. The historic building was transformed in 2001 into a luxury 5 star hotel. We walked into the reception area on a cold winter’s day and found a lovely warm fireplace welcoming us. There are a number of dining areas and we decided to try out ‘The Mint Bar’. The bar is in the former bank vaults and looks amazing.
We had some great cocktails and good food. After the meal, we popped up to the 'Atrium Lounge' for a drink. The lounge has a glass ceiling 5 storeys up and is a very relaxing place with its big couches to lounge in. Just be careful you know how much your whiskey costs before ordering it – some will set you back €25! Each! For a little glass!
There are so many streets to explore in Dublin city Centre - with restaurants, bars and shops - that you would really need a long time in Dublin to see everything.
Other areas
Near to us we found a great old pub called ‘The Hole in the Wall’. We found it when we were wondering around Phoenix Park. We’ve been there twice now (once to watch SA lose the rugby to Ireland). It's a long pub with lots of different seating areas where you can get food to eat or something to drink. There is also an off-licence where you can buy bottles of wine. We sat in a section next to a fireplace. The pub is filled with all sorts of old pictures and bottles and things – really interesting. We have only had drinks there but the food going passed us looked pretty good, especially the burgers!
y'know... it doesn't actually look that bad!
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