I have been slack. I have been sleeping. It is time to write ‘Irish’.

I went to Ireland in 2015. Never thought I would ever go there. Europe, in general does not appeal. Dark, dank, cold, rainy.

I fell in love.

My best friend lives there – horrors of horrors I originally thought. I remember many years ago the question from her “Do you think you will ever visit Ireland?” “No” was  my stern reply.

To celebrate a ‘special birthday’ I was given 12 month’s notice and a choice! Her invitation gave me two options: Ireland or Maldives  (the latter had an enticement she knew I would find hard to resist: a speedboat trip from the airport to my hotel!), but I did resist. Instinctively I replied “Dublin”. Her husband knew me better, he knew I would choose Dublin.

My 2015 visit had left me with a longing to return, to carry on my Irish exploration, not least because all my 2015 photo’s were lost in a hard rive crash, I HAD to return to re-feet my street as it were.

Landing at Dublin International Airport is always fun, it is like landing in a cow field. Bright green grassy landscapes (what else would you expect?). The airport is extremely efficient and a smooth exit into the arms of my loved ones was an excitement I dragged my suitcases into.

Part of my present was a return visit to the gorgeous and fabulous Westbury Hotel. It was so me that it has been nicknamed ‘Sue’s Hotel’. I could get accustomed to this 🙂

 

Dublin has a vibe. It is the people who are so friendly. It is the buskers on the street. It is the restaurants  and the great food and service. It is the old and the new. Emerging Dublin has got choices to make: do they go tall or do they remain small in terms of architecture and development. It would on the one hand be sad to lose the quaintness of Dublin with its historic buildings, monuments and vistas. To go tall could be done with innovative      architecture that retained its sense of position while pushing the frontiers of a new landscape…. perhaps?

So for five days I roamed recklessly along the streets and lifestyle of Dublin. I still love it. Perhaps even more 🙂

The people of Dublin are so engaging. I saw on Facebook a shop near my hotel, The Westbury, that made cashmere scarves (The Stable). I popped in wondering if I could afford one (nope!) but the owners were so engaging and we chatted about their trips to South Africa to promote their exquisite and divine fabrics. I later saw a profile on these two entrepreneurs in the Aer Lingus in-flight magazine. If you ever go to Dublin, go to their shop and buy one or two or three – I am confident your rate of exchange is better than ours 🙂

Museums, book shops,Trinity College, restaurants, sight seeing and just plain walking around town left me with a feeling of fulfillment. Time with my bestie – invaluable and a perfect ‘tour guide’.

 

Walking up Dalky Hill and Killiney Hill, gave Dooky the HUGE pooch a good walk while I breathlessly followed. What struck me was the perfect and moody light around the coast. Perfect for photography. It was fresh and exhilarating.

This visit was just before Christmas and Dublin was alive with glitter and decor. The infamous Panti Bar was a must in view of Ireland’s ground breaking vote to acknowledge same sex weddings. A lovely gay bar with all the trimmings… beef cake and all!

A treat of a lunch at the Cliff Townhouse was one of the best meals I ate while there. Old style service, in a off-street classic building. If you go to Dublin go there!

I could babble on and on about this trip. The inhalation of the Irish culture and its people is something I long to sniff on a regular basis.

If you are looking for me…. I am at the Elephant and Castle eating the best cheese burger ever, if you miss me there, then you will find me in the lounge at the Westbury, being ‘at the lounge at The Westbury’.