Sunday, 18 August 2019

Lauren's Incomplete Review of The Dublin Tourist Scene

So in July, I had a pretty sweet job where I basically got paid to be a tourist.

I worked as an activity leader at an English language school, taking between 20-50 students on various activities.

Some of my opinions are skewed by the fact that I was trying to either speed up or slow down teenagers through these, so may or may not need to do them again, and adjust my top 10 accordingly.

Below is a complete list of all the activities I did as part of this job, so you know what I'm choosing from.

10 - Butler's chocolate factory


Butler's chocolate factory tour involves chocolate, and awkwardly looking over the shoulders of factory workers, staring through glass windows on a mezzanine level above.

There's heavenly morsels of chocolate distributed at the end as well as a little hot chocolate, but compared to the Dunedin Cadbury chocolate factory tour (R.I.P), it was very very very lame. No climbing stairs all over the place, very little chocolate consumed, and no chocolate waterfall.

But there was still chocolate involved, so it's in contention for my top 10.

Transport from Parnell Luas stop: 18 min drive, 60-70 mins on public transport
Entry price: €12.85 per ticket
Time for tour + round trip: 2 hrs if driving 3-3.5 hours if PT.

9 - National Wax Museum Plus


I'm not sure if it was because I spent so long completing the worksheet I made the kids do our because it's objectively good, but I really enjoyed the National Wax Museum.


I really liked the Irish writers section - reminding me I'm in the right country to be a great author - and also the Irish history section, as it made it feel like you were meeting figures from the past. I also really enjoyed the Irish mythology section as it helped to explain a few of the cultural references I've heard, as well as being very visually appealing.

Transport from Parnell Luas stop: 10 min walk,  9 mins on public transport
Entry price: €14.85 per ticket
Time for tour + round trip: 1.5-2 hours

8 - EPIC Irish Emigration Museum


This is a great place to take young and old guests. It offers pithy information with fun interactive games and unique visual displays. 


Far from the staid dull exhibits history can sometimes lend itself to, this account of Ireland's history and the multiplicity of reasons for Irish to emigrate paint a fascinating picture of how Irish people have thrived despite - some could go as far as because of - tremendous adversity.


One does get the sense that 'everyone is Irish' by the time one leaves, but I can think of worse heritages to have.

Transport from Parnell Luas stop: 16 min walk, 14 min walk + Luas
Entry price: €15
Time for tour + round trip: 1.5-2 hours


7 - Dublinia


This is a museum showing the Viking influence in the settling of Dublin city, and Ireland as a country.


I love the style of this exhibit, visual, auditory with stories playing in the background, interactive in an old school kinda way. There's a one way system so you can't get lost.

The second level with the ancient village that you actually walk through, I loved!


There's a bell tower you can climb and get a great view of the city, and your can also have a sneak peek of Christchurch cathedral as part of your entry.

They also provide free guided tours around Dublin with an archaeologist every week during summer, taking us to where Vikings first landed and the old city walls, parts of which are still standing. All included in the entry price - very good value for money!

Standard entry price also gives you access to the bell tower, and as you leave, you can have a wee look into Christchurch Cathedral, but there is a separate entry fee needed for that (additional €15). 

Transport from Parnell Luas stop: 17 mins on bus, 25 min walk
Entry price: €10
Time for tour + round trip: 2-3 hours

6 - Belfast - Titanic experience


Ok not part of Dublin, but an important part of Irish heritage. I love the story of Titanic, but the Titanic museum is super interesting from a historical and mechanical perspective, less so a romantic one.

I really enjoyed learning about how the ship stopped at about 5 ports prior to sailing the Atlantic, and learning about how the ship was built. Seeing the size and scale of the ship yards is mind blowing, and learning about how they launch the ships into the harbour.


Interesting facts: takes about 1 min to launch, then almost a full year to furnish the interior while it's just chilling in the harbour.



Transport from Parnell Luas stop: 2-2.5 hr bus to Belfast, then 15 min taxi / 600 bus to Titanic Quarter
Entry price: 19 pounds
Time for tour + round trip: 2-3 hours in exhibit, then 3 hr trip each way - make a day of it.

5 - Walking tour

Technically I led several city orientations, so you can't necessarily go on one of those, unless you ask me nicely, but Jared and I would HIGHLY recommend a 'free' walking tour with the yellow umbrella people, and also their revolutions and uprisings walking tour.



Really engaging, well researched, super interesting, long but not too long and full of great stories to tell people who are even newer to town then us!


Transport from Parnell Luas stop: 5 min walk
Entry price: Koha / tip
Time for tour + round trip: 2-3 hours

4 - Howth

Now I have a slight confession to make - technically I've not been to the Howth cliffs, but by all accounts they're amazing.


I can attest to the pier, the beach and the waterfront being rather lovely and the fish n chips being very average.






Transport from Parnell Luas stop: 15 min walk to Connelly station, then ~45 min train ride, can also bus to the Howth Cliffs, then walk back
Entry price: Free - just need train fare.
Time for tour + round trip: 2-4 hours 


3 - Black taxi tour


Purely on an eye opening front, this is worth doing, but it's worth doing it with someone who is legit and someone who was actually there. Black taxi tours in Belfast are a dime a dozen, but people who lived through the troubles from the outset are few and far between.


There is a tour up Shankill Road - the protestant stronghold, acknowledging their heroes, and also on the other side of the peace wall through the Catholic section, Falls road. We saw a number of murals commemorating significant figures on both sides, and listening to the harrowing facts of the matter.


Meet John of Mural Tours
We've been with John of Mural Tours. And he is legit, incredibly knowledgeable and very balanced. He paints very vivid pictures of what life in Belfast used to be like and what it is still like now. Even though Belfast /northern Ireland is technically at peace, it is still very factional and dysfunctional in a lot of ways, most notably the peace wall and several sets of iron gates that shut every night at 9pm to separate protestants and Catholics still.


It is grisly listening, but important to understand things like the Good Friday Agreement, the Troubles, and why there hasn't been a functional parliament in Northern Ireland for over 2 years now.
Also what damage Brexit could have if it does in fact go ahead without a deal. 

Transport from Parnell Luas stop: 2-2.5 hours to Belfast
Entry price: 40 pounds
Time for tour + round trip: 2 hrs for tour + 2.5 hrs x 2 - do Black Taxi tour in the morning and Titanic Experience in the afternoon, and make a day of it. Does require booking in advance.

2 - Glendalough

Glendalough is worth a day trip, minimum half a day. Take a picnic, take your togs, and enjoy.

The information centre is a necessary evil otherwise some of the other parts don't make much sense, but I reckon you could get by without. There's a 20 min video about how it used to be a monastery, the end.


The natural beauty of Glendalough cannot be overstated.

Lower Lake

Upper Lake

The lower lake and the upper lake are quite close together, and there's a nice picnic spot at the top. You can walk up from the visitor centre and monastery ruins, but you can also drive up.

The walk is very pleasant though, fairly flat and takes about 40 mins- an hour round trip.


But the lakes.... Oh they are a sight to behold! And I dabbled my hand in the water and it seemed totally warm enough to swim in! It is very high on my list of things to do to spend a day picnicking out there.


Transport from Parnell Luas stop: Green Luas to Dawson - 10 mins or so, then 1 hr 20 from Dawson Street on the 181. (Not sure of price.) Alternatively book a day tour from as little as €15 for the day.
Entry price: €5 for the visitor centre, otherwise free.
Time for tour + round trip: Requires minimum of half a day. It is in County Wicklow, and it s bit of a hike to get there.

If you do go here, consider adding Powerscourt House, as it's very close and also spectacular.


1 - Castletown house / Malahide castle

Pick one, but you won't be disappointed by either. Both lovely old buildings with excellent guided tours. Both have extensive grounds, both about 1 hour from Dublin city centre.

Castletown House



Castletown House is in Celbridge, inland from Dublin, built and owned by the Connolly family for generations, the architecture is stunning, and the grounds extensive and just waiting to be explored. There is also a cafe on site.

Handprinted wallpaper from Lady Louisa's renovations

The Ballroom!

Transport from Parnell Luas stop: 10 min walk to the river. Catch the 67 bus from by the Liffey, then 15 min walk at the other end. 1 hour, 15 mins each way. 
35 min drive.
Entry price: €8 for the tour, but you can peruse the grounds for free
Time for tour + round trip: Tour is about an hour, so 2-4 hours.

Malahide Castle



Malahide Castle is more accessible, in some ways more grandiose, and the grounds are breathtaking. It is easier to get to by public transport, but it is slightly more expensive. Both are beautiful buildings and well worth half a day. If you can arrange it so that you get there for a concert then all the better.



 Transport from Parnell Luas stop: 25 min drive, 1 hr 10 by bus or train
Entry price: €14 for castle and gardens, or €7.50 for only gardens
Time for tour + round trip: tour around castle takes about 1.5 hours, then gardens easily another 2 hours or more. We did it in half a day, but it could easily be a full day.

There are also concerts and festivals that are hosted here, so that could add a fun flavour to your visit.

Now why did I rate these above the acclaimed Glendalough? Well I feel like these speak more to the best and the worst of Irish history, and are somehow more relevant. Glendalough speaks to the ideal of Ireland as a land of saints and scholars, but Castletown House and Malahide Castle have, in my opinion, more interesting stories. 

This Top 10 has been chosen from the following:


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Speedy Biped

In 2010 the travelling Ice Skating Rink came to Wellington's water front. George, Steven and I went ice skating. It was probably my idea, that sounds like something I would suggest. But I do not actually enjoy ice skating very much. I have the theory of it, but don't trust my sense of balance or the gap between my feet and the earth, so I end up slowly inching around the edge. Not quite holding the side, but not so far from it.

After several laps of getting the hang of it, I begin to pick up speed from a 'shuffle' to a 'grandma walk speed', after several more laps, maxing out at around 'other people's walking speed' (not mine, I walk fast).

Have you ever had someone say something really off-hand and it has totally penetrated your perception of self? 

Now, while we're skating, George sees me on lap 2 or thereabouts, very much still in the shuffle stage, and says 'I've never seen you do anything slow before!' as she zooms by. A harmless observation, but I'd never really consciously thought about doing anything at variant paces. 

She had a point though.
I walk fast. 
I sprint fast.
I swim fast.
I drive fast.
I talk fast.
I type fast.
I think fast.

I live my life in such a way so as to try and fit 2 lifetime's worth of life in.

Obviously, if you can do things fast, you should. 

But I skate slowly. It is outside my comfort zone. It is a tentative enjoyment that I have with ice skating, one that is predicated upon relinquishing some control in return for not taking all my dignity if/when I fall in my ass/face.

I was musing about this anecdote as I walked the 4km or so home from work today (16 Aug 19), trying to wear my best poker face to cover the latent rage that I experience whilst walking around Dublin. 

My inner monologue went something along the lines of 'I am not someone who walks fast, I am fast. It is who I am, it is a form of self expression, and you are not merely walking slowly and taking up the ENTIRE footpath, you are getting in the way of my self-expression!' whilst I skirted onto the road to get around the troop of tourists. (What is the collective noun for tourists?)

I love the feeling of walking fast. I like the movement in my body, the pace, the momentum. I like that I can feel my hips loosen and my lower back wriggle back into place, my arms swinging by my side. I like the heat that is generated in my body and the energy that is released. I feel lithe and strong. I don't view it as a race per se, but passing people is just par for the course when you walk nearly double the speed of everyone else it seems.

There is an infuriating lack of rules as a pedestrian. In some ways, this is just as well - I break the few there are constantly. But having lanes for pedestrians, so at least there are sides that people should vaguely stick to and/or pedestrian break lights or indicators... Well I can think of worse ideas. Thailand actually mandates that particularly on stairs you should keep right, so it's not entirely out of the realms of possibilities. 

I have tried the idea of 'keep left' but this unequivocally doesn't work here. Instead, I usually end up on the road side of the bollards that line the edge of the footpath, walking the (not insubstantial) tightrope of concrete tiles between the edge of the footpath and the road. (Mum, they're about 40 cm wide before you freak out.) 

Walking around the rather narrow streets here can get stressful. There are bus stops every couple hundred meters, taxis parks half on the curb, and people walk 2-4 people wide, ambling along as if it's the only thing they have to do in the world. Walking in Dublin is made even more treacherous by broken concrete tiles spotted around the uneven, narrow paths, or pedestrian streets covered in cobblestones. 

How did this speed-stepping start? 

My mum walks fast. I remember having to nearly run when I was little to keep up, and complaining "Mum, you walk too fast!" Her rebuttal was always "No, you are just walking too slowly". I think I was about 9 when I finally learned to keep up. She had things to do, and places to be, and you had better hurry up, or you'd be left behind. 

When I was little we walked a lot. Wellington is a veritable treasure trove of nature walks and every Saturday there was a different walk - usually involving a very significant hill. I have now figured out my parents strategy with this - exhaust us so we didn't pest them. Yes, Lauren, you should definitely try running up that shoal cliff, see if you can roll down that hill, hop on those rocks! Oh you fell off? Try again....run and catch up to Peter, make sure he doesn't go too far ahead (cos if I walked fast, Peter and Daniel Rankin walked faster). 

My brothers and I would often walk to school - from Belmont to Kelson was a good 2.5 km, and we'd usually get a fair amount of the way home before mum would fetch us. 

Intermediate was the same - 3km walk to and from. I actually used to have classmates when I was at Intermediate who would walk with me after school so that they could catch their bus - otherwise they'd miss it. I was the girl who walked fast. 

When I first met George and we walked from her place in Melling up to my place in Belmont, I forgot that other people were not used to walking up hills. My default pace is fast, and does not slow down while going up hills. 

When Jared and I first got together, he delighted in the fact that I could walk as fast (faster, let's be honest) than him rather than trudging along like his other SOs. 

It is delightful having to walk around Dublin, not having the option of a car, it is the most I've walked since I was 15. 

I met some girls for drinks the other night with Girls Gone International, and one had only been in town for 4 days, so I walked her home to Grand Canal Dock which added about 5km to my walk home, but I was on an extrovert high from meeting new friends and it was a beautiful clear cool night and there were zero fucks given, quite the contrary, I enjoyed the walk, intentionally going through what were supposed to be 'really dodgy' areas of town after I left her, just to see if they were in fact that bad.

They weren't that bad. 

I saw maybe 10 people. It was very tame. My inner bad-ass trained martial artist was rehearsing which wrist lock to perform on anyone who tried anything and she was a little disappointed, I'm not gonna lie. 

I also snapped this gem of the old Customhouse: 



I spent most of July walking around Dublin, taking a hoard of tourists with me - anything from 9-100 students, depending on the day. I discovered that I do in fact walk fast, by Irish standards, but also I'm basically sprinting compared to Italian or Spanish standards. This led to some.... 'heated discussions' with group leaders and students particularly around crossing the road before the man turns red, and getting off the road when there are cars coming - things I did not think I would need to explain. So I compromised and went around half of my normal pace, and still left most of them in the dust. 

So all of this got me to thinking that perhaps I was missing something while I was rushing around the place. Perhaps there's some reason that others enjoy such a leisurely pace, strolling along. July at half speed shed no light on the answer to this pondering. 

If I find out what this secret to slowness is though, then I won't be able to walk fast anymore... Do I want to take that risk? I'm not convinced. Perhaps the secret is just less post-walk melting? Eh, I'll just keep my speed and grab a towel to pat my forehead.

There is an inherent value in being intentional about your speed of doing things. I read a really interesting book called 'In Praise of Slowness' by Carl Honore when I lived in Laos. It spoke to the counter-culture movement of slow eating, and slow living, intentionally getting out of the rat race and choosing a slower life.

When I moved to Laos I didn't really realise that I had chosen that also. The ethos in Laos was that if you need to rush then you have a problem. Laos PDR is supposed to stand for the People's Democratic Republic, but it was affectionately explained to me as Laos PDR - Please Don't Rush. And that slowness was contagious. I started to slow down. I read more. I wrote more. I relaxed more, and relished in these times.

Lao people did things slowly and deliberately. It was far too hot to walk fast, and the pace of public transport definitely bred patience. It took 12 hours to cover 300 km in one particularly painful bus journey.

Also the slowness that everyone else had whilst driving their scooters meant that it was really easy to overtake them as I zoomed by on my scooter in all of my Western haste, speeding towards nowhere in particular, but just enjoying the act of going fast. 

I think sometimes the pressure to do things quickly when you would rather do them slowly is what creates stress. But the reverse is also true. Is speed or fastness stressful if you enjoy the speed? I do not think so.

In some things I'm a 'slow and steady wins the race' kinda gal. Reading would be one of these examples, as would tiling. These are where my values of 'thoroughness' and 'correctness' win over expediency.

But everything else? I'm a speedy biped.

Are there any activities that you intentionally do slowly? Leave a comment below and lemme know what you take your time with. 




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Saturday, 17 August 2019

A Dublin Perspective

I remember hearing someone ask the question: if someone had completed a 1000 piece jigsaw puzzle and it was hanging in their hallway, but there was one piece missing in the middle, would you focus on the scene the puzzle created, or would you focus on the missing piece?

I think it speaks to the human condition that most of us would focus on the missing piece, unless otherwise challenged. Our default setting is problem detection and analysis. 

But just because that is the default setting, doesn't mean it has to remain that way. 

You can choose to accept the default settings of your life, or you can choose to customise it. It might not be as easy as updating your ring tone, or changing your background picture, but with time and attention, and intention, you can choose how you view your life, and how you do your life.

We have had a really tough 6 months in our new home in a lot of ways. This has meant it has sometimes been challenging to enjoy our new home. We have spent a lot of time getting used to living in a big city rather than a small town, getting used to living in a smaller space, the differences in professional expectations here, in prices and value for money here, job insecurity, no safety net and all the other pitfalls of immigrant life.  

I remember my English teacher saying that one of the things he enjoyed most about having children was the chance to see the world afresh again. I had a great opportunity to challenge my perception this morning, to see Dublin through fresh eyes. (Thankfully, it didn't involve having children.)

Jared had to go into work today, and so I found myself at a loss of what to fill my day with. I went to St Stephen's Green, to read or perhaps write a bit. 

Somewhere near the middle of St Stephen's Green



Conveniently, Best Friend was free and we were chatting. So I headed home so we could video chat. Instead of giving her 30 mins of radio silence while I was walking, I decided to pepper her with photos on the way.

From the bridge in St Stephen's Green

 And with each photo something strange happened. 

The pond in St Stephen's Green - West End

In stark contrast to the normal road-rage-which-has-turned-into-footpath-rage, I saw Dublin through fresh eyes, and instead of throngs of commuters and tourists, I saw the steady, ever-present buildings that hug the streets, and whisper to a history which I'm just beginning to appreciate. 

I started at St Stephen's Green, a beautiful park in the centre of Dublin, and I moved up Grafton street, passing the horse and carts that I'm sure I'll ride with someone when they come visit at some point. 

At the entrance to Grafton Street


St Stephen's Green Shopping Centre
Instead of waiting for cars at the traffic lights, and looking for the opportune time to Jay-walk, I focused on the gargantuan glass structure that is St Stephen's Green Shopping centre. 


Even though it was 9am on a Saturday morning, and the city was yawning awake, it was a calm, clear, beautiful day and displayed Dublin in all of its quaint glory. 

I looked for things that Best Friend would appreciate - and I found quite a few.

A pretty dress I'd like to buy


I allowed myself to look into the shop windows on Grafton Street and admire the wares on offer, an indulgence which I have foregone for too long as there's no spending money at present, so why would I even look?

The Molly Malone Statue lives a little further around this corner on Suffolk Street.

Pretty sure this is a new shop because I do not remember passing this one before....
Best Friend and I had been talking about how we miss shopping together, so I ensured that there was a good selection of shops in my photo tour to whet an appetite for future shopping excursions.


Did you know that Butler's Chocolate is in only 4 countries in the world - Ireland, New Zealand, Pakistan and Bangladesh?

I passed the first Butlers Chocolate shop, which I don't think is in it's original location, but it's pretty close. 

I went beyond Grafton Street passed Trinity College, home to the Book of Kells and a really cool 300 year old library, and the Bank of Ireland building which used to be the Irish Parliament building. 



Fun fact: there used to be a tax on glass because it was really expensive to make. This is where the phrase 'daylight robbery' comes from. To avoid this expense when they build the Irish Parliament, they just walled up where the windows should be instead. 


From there I went up Westmoreland Street, and instead of the usual throng of commuters, it was just buildings. I was reminded of my delightful time at the National Wax Museum 'meeting' historical Irish figures.

But I'm confronted by the fact I walk past this stuff every day, and I spend more time internally raging at the slow walkers in front of me, weaving through the mass of people constantly thronging Westmoreland Street, awaiting buses, or trying to avoid broken paving stones so I do not trip and fall on my face. 


Did you know that Temple Bar is an area, and also a specific bar - The Temple Bar - and is named for a sandbar owned by the Temple family where boats used to land and unload to trade at the nearby merchant's arch? It is not, as I originally thought, a place where the Irish go to worship alcohol ;)


I snapped  the River Liffey on O'Connell Bridge from a picturesque vantage, and photographed the statue of its namesake, and trooped towards the GPO and the Spire, and several of the notable statues along the spine of O'Connell Street. 



O'Connell Street Lower

Sir John Gray is credited with getting a functional water supply to Dublin City and surrounding suburbs.
Jim Larkin features in a very interesting series called 'Strumpet City' - a story of terrible working class conditions in Dublin at the turn of the 20th Century, and how the Irish working class basically brought the city to a halt by protesting.

General Post Office - O'Connell Street. This building was the home of the IRA headquarters for a time before the 1916 Easter Rising and was also the scene for a lot of the fighting during that 9 day stand off. 
I haven't noticed the GPO building for awhile, as I often am more focused on the homeless people who often use it for shelter, and it punches me in the heart every time I see some poor soul sleeping on the streets, and walk past feeling powerless to do anything on a human or system level to change the circumstances that has created this reality for them. 

But today, I walked past the GPO, and crossed the road to gain a better vantage point for admiring the building. 

I bragged about having a movie theatre about 300 m from our apartment.

From there, I proceeded to Parnell Square, named after Charles Parnell who was instrumental in the home rule bill getting carried through Parliament. This is the final intersection before my street.

I showed Best Friend the Pho shop where I'd like to take her someday.

Parnell Street Pho Viet
The Parnell Luas Stop where you can catch the tram to basically our front door. 





We, instead of a corner dairy, have a corner liquor store. 
It sells a lot of New Zealand wines and particularly Oyster Bay, so I frequent this place quite often on the way home.

We live in a mini China-town, so there's also a bunch of really great Asian food shops close by. 

Moore St and 3 different supermarkets are also just around the corner, and today I experimented with buying fruit and veg from the Moore Street Markets.













I mentioned the James Joyce centre, just across the road from our building. 


I showed her the Georgian style buildings that line my street, and all the while I am having an almost outer-body experience thinking 'these pictures are beautiful'. 






This morning, I had a reminder that I live in a beautiful, ancient city, full of architecture and stories. I was reminded of how lucky I am that I can walk the length of the city centre in about 30 mins. 

I am also amazed by how quickly you can take things for granted, how easy it is to adjust to the new normal of living over the other side of the world, in a new place, and start to already wish you were somewhere else or ache for the other normalcy of home.

There's beauty everywhere, you just have to look for it - and that's a mere 30 min walk across town.

(I expect lots of visitors, now that you have a road map to my place. Don't forget to bring a bottle of wine from the Off-License on the corner!)

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