Wednesday 27 February 2008

Seven Days In Dublin Again #2

Just reading the rather excellent Pies and Prejudice by Stuart Maconie and the man from Wigan points out that Dublin's name is extrapolated from the gaelic "dubh" meaning black and 'linh" meaning pool. So Dublin is Ireland's very own Blackpool!! I think generally the name is about the only thing the two places have in common.

As this was our second time we managed to track down decent places to go and hit the target every time.

The Ha'penny Bridge pub , next to the Ha'penny Bridge (no surprise there) , serves an excellent pint of Guinness (to everyone in the pub when I was there) , and managed to screen the Manchester United and Celtic matches simultaneously , and still provide a warm welcome and superb service.

Across the Halfpenny Bridge is The Winding Stair and book shop cum restaurant (Michelin Guide Listed) that scores highly in both departments. Some excellent and unusual books are on sale and the food was absolutely gorgeous, though I get the impression that you do have to book , so make sure you phone if you fancy a meal there.

Also this there seem to be fewer beggars , being split between sad cases who sit holding out a McDonald's cup and the cheery ones selling The Big Issue or plaing some musical instruments. The latter ones actually brighten up the streets and walkways so got some donations from me.

Also checked out Tower records which among the normal stuff had many unusual psychedelic gems and is recommended. They were playing Beefheart and Amon Duul over the PA , not something you hear everyday anywhere!!!

As well as that we visited some museum in Dublin Castle which had a Japanese art display and a green area decorated with snakes in the form of a Celtic design . Well worth a look.
Another thing about Dublin , is the preposterous number of pharmacies everywhere. The Irish don't strike me as being a particularly ill race, far from it. Maybe it's because of the number of pharmacies that they manage to stave off all the possible ailments. Theres one particularly pleasant example in Dalkey (out of the four that I noticed , which is the one below.

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