Walking around Dublin

I mean, I also taxied around Dublin, because I was staying in a residential neighborhood near the zoo and botanical garden, and not downtown in the city center. For Gainesville comparison, it would be like staying over in the NE by the airport, but all the bars and shopping are over in Butler Plaza. I did like it, though, trust me, I’m not complaining and I would absolutely stay at that B&B again! It was adorable, quiet, my room was so tiny and cozy and I felt safe and homey, and the people who worked there were lovely.

Oh, duh, I started to say why I was taking a taxi instead of the bus. The bus cost $2.60 (sorry I can’t figure out the Euro symbol on this Chromebook) and the busses only take cash unless you buy a bus pass, and the cash has to be exact change. You know what? It’s more expensive but imma take a taxi, be picked up exactly where I want to be picked up, be dropped off exactly where I want to be dropped off, and have a good one-on-one chat with a local in the process.

Things I talked with my different taxi drivers about: Shipwrecks, and going to both the Shackleton Museum (currently closed for renovations) and the Titanic Museum (up in Belfast). Dogs as pets. How we love our dogs. Dogs vs cats as pets. How awesome are dogs. Growing up in Dublin. Changes seen to Dublin as it’s grown over the last 40 years (ok, THAT conversation totally felt like having one with someone about seeing the changes in Gainesville over the last 40 years). What it was like to grow up in Dublin. What it was like to grow up in different neighborhoods in Dublin. Things I’m planning on seeing. Things I’m planning on skipping. Things I should see if I want to see something gorgeous but not touristy. Things I should see instead of something I thought might not be touristy but is. Feelings about living in a place you love even though there are systemic problems. And the very last cab I had, the driver was a woman, and because I was still crying about feeling guilty about having such a good day the day before (when really I should be a depressed, grieving widow), we talked about her son’s recent death, coping, and the difference between moving on and moving forward. There was only one cab ride where the driver didn’t seem to want to talk to me (it became apparent listening into the three phone calls he got while I was in the cab that English(ish) wasn’t his native language) and I used that time to take a little video of driving around.

Did I mention the little craft store I found on my way to the Botanic Gardens? Three Sisters Craft (oh! They have a website! Uh… it doesn’t look like it’s been updated in a while, but they have one….). Of course I had to go in, and of course it was wonderful. Felt like a craft store at home, and I was able to talk both knitting, yarn, and ceramics with them because the two women (and the man who was in there talking with them when I came in) were also Makers. Unfortunately it was the very first place I stopped, and I knew I was going to walk around both the Botanic Garden and Cemetery so I didn’t want to buy too much. I got a little ceramic dish and a few cards, and I truly wish I’d bought two or three of the little needle-felted robins to give as gifts when I get home. But, again, carrying things. I thought about going back there, but didn’t have the time when I thought they’d be open. I wonder if I contacted them through their website, if I could get a few of the robins shipped….? I’ll have to look into that.

Other random things I learned while walking around Dublin:
– there are pavement plaques in some of the sidewalks in Dublin that show off Viking era items from archaeological digs. I’m sure that somewhere online there’s a database or reference but my search terms must be off because I can’t find anything off the top of my head other than other people posting pictures saying “hey, what’s this?”.
– there is no “walk on the right side/left side” of the sidewalk. It is a free-for-all game of chicken and nobody gets out of anybody’s way. Now, I knew this a little bit, because Hawk had told me that the Irish have a thing about having to constantly be in the way and not noticing that they are in the way and/or that you might be in the way. So I just started moving in between people walking together, or scootching through crowds without saying “excuse me” and you know what….? NOBODY CARED. Nobody shot me a dirty look, nobody gave me that exasperated “oh excuse me” when they really meant I should excuse myself. It was odd but also kind of fun/funny.
– driving is not for the weak-minded. You could not pay me enough to rent a car and drive in Ireland. I will continue to take cabs, thankyouverymuch.
– shops close at 5:00. Pubs open at 5:00. This suits me.

Oh! Oh! Speaking of shops! I was walking from one park to another park (park post coming soon… I meant to do it first, but got onto this instead) and it was a street with a bunch of little shops on it. I was just sort of walking past them, one eye on my phone for Google Maps and one eye on the doorway of the shops so I could dodge people coming out… when the sight of YARN caught my eye in a window. How fast did I get in that shop?! I was looking at the yarn, pondering how much I might need to get a sweater out of it, when I looked at the REST of the shop. Almost entirely sweaters! I looked at the prices. Not unreasonable for handknits, not unreasonable at all. Was it cheating to buy one? Because I kind of felt like… you can’t be a knitter and NOT buy one, it’s like laying out an oat cake for the Fairy Folk. Buying a handknit Irish sweater from a yarn shop in Ireland, knit in Ireland from Irish yarn, that there is celebrating and thanking the Knitting Gods. I checked with a couple friends to be like “this isn’t cheating, right?” and they reassured me it was not… and that’s good because I found one I’m in fucking love with. In fact, let me put this post on hold and go run take some quality pictures of it in the mirror upstairs.

IT’S GOT POCKETS.

I’m ridiculously happy with this sweater, y’all. It’s in a color I would have used. It’s with some of my favorite cables. It’s asymmetrical which I never thought I would like but because it’s the zipper and not the hem, I love it. It’s got a lovely charm for a zipper pull, and I adore trinity knots. It’s ridiculously cozy. It zips up so high that I don’t need a scarf for a lot (although I did buy a scarf I really wanted in the Christ Church gift shop, did I show that off yet?). When Jenn and I take those outdoor tours out of Galway in a couple of days, and I wear my hat, scarf, and this coat, I’m going to be SO WARM. You know, I wasn’t cold when I bought it – I was smart, wearing layers, a hat, fingerless gloves, I was fine. But I also didn’t want to carry this in a bag when I still had two parks to go to, so I opted to wear it out thinking I’d rather be too warm than carrying too much. But I put it on and it felt like home.

You can see a lot of my other random, no place else to put them, pictures of the B&B and Dublin in general, here.