How nice it is to be able to wander around a city without much fear of being robbed, mugged or subjected to threats of bombing. I felt liberated when I was wandering around Dublin after Nairobi.
I actually like Dublin's city centre. It is not over developed and there is a certain amount of local charm. I dropped into St Stephen's Green shopping centre specifically to check out the place since visiting it in the late 1980's. The high vaulted glass ceiling is still there and so are a myriad of small shops. I bought a hat there to stop the biting cold from giving me a headache. The lady who manned the shop could not be nicer; it's a family business she told me and offered all sorts of comments to help me made up my mind.
I love street art. This pub with garish painting is actually rather sweet in a naive sort of way. The Czech Inn is in the Old Town sand it sells Czech beers. I imagine it to be the beer of choice for stag nights and hen parties.
There are a lot of chrome and glass buildings, testament to Ireland's "Celtic Tiger" period of the 1990s. Then of course the bottom fell out of the Irish economy; today there are hardly any construction projects in sight. But I love the red brick buildings in the city centre.
The Rotunda at City Hall is impressive. The dome is spacious and lofty, supported by 12 composite columns, which, rising from the floor, form a circular walk. The ceiling of the dome is decorated with stucco ornaments in the Mosaic taste, divided into small hexagonal compartments and in the centre is a large window that lights most of the building. It was towards the end of the day and only a few visitors were capturing the panoramic view with their mobile phones.
Just outside the hotel is this sculpture: four men lying down holding up a small globe. I wondered about its meaning but failed to grasp any. Ballsbridge is a handsome area with elegant Georgian terraces, manicured lawns and well-cared-for flower beds. On a good day, it is a very pleasant walk from the hotel to the office.
I had this simple dish for lunch in a basement cafe near St Stephen's Green. The soda bread was delicious and it made a change from Thai and Indian food that I got used to in the evening after a 14-hour day.
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| Dublin city centre |
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| St Stephen's Green Shopping Centre, Dublin |
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| Pubs and more pubs |
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| Dublin City Council |
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| Dublin city centre, resplendent in soft red bricks |
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| Dublin City Hall |
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| Sculpture, Ballsbridge |
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| River Dodder, Ballsbridge |
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| Smoke fish and soda bread |
