Ireland

Have you ever read Gulliver’s Travels?

It just so happens that I've been inside St. Patrick's Cathedral, in Dublin; which is home to the late Johnathan Swift, who became ‘Dean Swift,’ and who also happens to be the author of the famous Gulliver’s Travels. I tell you this, because you may view me as a sort of Gulliver, who embarked on a voyage from the Americas and washed up in Ireland one fateful morning (In actuality, I flew into the Dublin airport, several years ago for vacation). The good news is, Ireland is not quite Lilliput; for, I was never anchored down and interrogated by the locals when I arrived (and if you don’t know what I’m talking about, you can buy Gulliver’s travels at any bookstore; and even at the Cathedral in Dublin). The truth is, I had quite a swell time in Dublin and I learned a thing or two during my rather short stay, so read on.

I am sure you've heard that Ireland gets plenty of rain. Well, let me reconfirm this for you. Whilst we sojourned, it would, indeed, drizzle, and then stop, and then drizzle again — all day long! Periodically, the sun would break through the clouds and shine down just long enough to dry the roads. So, when someone tells you that Ireland is green — you best believe it! With all that rain and then all that sunshine — you’ll most definitely never see green anywhere in the world quite like you'll have seen it here. In fact, the green beams its way through the plane window (whilst you’re landing) and into the fuselage like some sort of neon clover leaf. Bring your rain jacket!

So if you’re not ‘feeling’ green from the flight over the Atlantic — at least you’re seeing it just about everywhere you walk. But, truthfully there is a heck of a lot more to Ireland than just the vegetation.

I am sure you’ve heard all about the Guinness brewhouse? It may just be the first place you go in order to check off all the things on your to-do list in Dublin. But, if seven floors and a panoramic view of the city — with a pint of Guinness — isn’t enough for you (and you still happen to be thirsty), try the oldest pub in Dublin: the Brazen Head. I walked into that pub with a friend when there was no more room at the Temple bar (which is another pretty popular pub, next to the River Liffey). The Guinness here was terrific too, and it was less busy and just as good as any.

The great thing is all these pubs are within walking distance of each other. It’s also true that you can pretty much walk to all the major attractions in Dublin, so you needn’t worry about parking — which is also a pretty good rule of thumb for any of the mature cities of Europe. So, with that being the case, when you walk around Dublin Castle (which happens to be just next door: with plenty of art and architecture to keep you busy), and then afterwards, should you carry on and look for Trinity College (don’t forget a tour of the book of Kells) a little further east — you may have seen enough of Dublin to make Gulliver himself proud. You can even find the statue of another famous author, James Joyce on Earl St (just north and across the river from Trinity).

The other great thing about Dublin is that some people are just fantastic. Here I will expand the story to include the slight misfortune of having left one of my two passports behind at our accommodation on the outskirts of the city, just before my flight. However, when I became aware of its absence, (after I had already checked in through the security gate at the airport for departure; unfortunate as that was), I placed a hurried phone call to the innkeeper, who (after a quick search of my room), assured me that she had located the passport in a cabinet and that it was now in her possession. With this being the case, she vowed to immediately send it via airmail to the address of my next destination.

Sure enough, not a full week went by and I received it, just as she had promised. I phoned to let her know that it arrived and that I was very much obliged and I would send her payment as a form of thank you. But, she insisted that I should do no such thing, and so count my ‘lucky charms’ to this day.