Gunternation

The weekend of April 18 & 19 brought lots of sun to Dublin. The bright days beckoned us to leave the apartment. Saturday we headed into City Centre to S. Great Georges Street. Georges Street is home to many popular restaurants–Havana, Cafe Bar Deli, Brasserie 66, Odessa. We lunched at a pleasant Japanese place called Yamamori. After a sushi fix, we strolled through the shopping arcade and visited an instrument shop to buy a music stand and guitar stand for Bill. [Note: was recently chastised (friendlily, mostly) for saying store instead of shop.] We wound up in the green and lay upon the grass. We then visited the Asian market to stock up on dumplings, and a surprising and happy find–Paprika Pringles (our favorite)!

On Sunday afternoon we took a picnic to our neighborhood park, St. Anne’s. The sun was warm, but the breeze was cool, so we had keep rotating to stay comfortable.

The next Saturday, April 25, started out rainy, but turned nice by late afternoon. We visited the park again for a some duck watching, and also saw a heron.

We so enjoy having St. Anne’s right next door.

On Sunday we attended church at the central location on Gardiner Street. The North and Central congregations met in the main auditorium. It’s not quite finished, but it was exciting to get a glimpse of what is to come when all three congregations combine for the monthly celebration Sundays. Afterwords we brunched at The Mermaid Cafe on Dame Street. I had Eggs Norwegian–Eggs Benedict with smoked salmon instead of ham. Bill also had poached eggs with fish, smoked haddock. For dessert we had pecan pie, which was unlike the pecan pie we know, but instead a lovely pecan tart served with maple ice cream.

The tulips in St. Stephen’s Green were perfect for Easter this year.

The pints were also quite nice.

Chris in Stephen’s Green.

Driving through the Sally Gap in the Wicklow Mountains on Saturday.

Eating breakfast Sunday morning after dropping David and Ramona at their B&B for a small rest. That’s the mini-brunch.

We’ve been looking forward to this all week: a day rambling in and around St. Stephen’s Green. After a lazy rashers-and-eggs morning we set out around one. We decided to be fully European and not drive to our usual parking lot by the DART station but walk instead. We walked the path from Pearse station that Sharon normally takes to work and stopped at her regular Spar for Cornettos. We’d never had one before and they are very moreish. We decided, sadly, that they are even better than a Drumstick. Really, you have to try one.

We walked through the Green on our way to the next destination, Camden Street. Sharon wanted to explore this street and its shops and restaurants more closely (it’s near her office). We shopped in a cool international market and stopped for bread and hummus in a Persian restaurant. We then wandered down to a couple Indian markets Sharon frequents and also explored a neat paper shop.

In need of a rest and pastoral environs we walked back to the Green, found a sunny spot and lay in the grass. This is what every good Dubliner does on sunny days. We also munched on some cheese, crackers and strawberries we had picked up on Camden St. We spent about an hour there and left only because we wanted to get to Avoca before the closed to buy some scones. Honestly, we didn’t want to leave it was so relaxing. We were glad we did, though, because the scones from Avoca are our favorite and the ones we bought are particularly good. We split one on the way to a bookstore on Dawson St. Sharon wanted to introduce me to. Unfortunately it closes earlier on Saturdays and we didn’t make it in time. We did explore another bookstore a bit and looked at the tequila selection in the Celtic Whiskey Shop.

For dinner we went to Wagamama for very tasty gyoza, edamame and noodles. On our way back to Pearse station we stopped again at the Cornetto shop (Spar). Yes, it was a two Cornetto day, and a two Cornetto day is a really, really good day.

The tulips are blooming. Although we had highs in the 40s this week, Spring is laying claim to St.Stephen’s Green. Here are some photos from Wednesday evening.

My new job will be downtown, near St. Stephen’s Green Park.

The green was established as a park in 1664, with renovations in the 1800s creating the current layout. I’ll enjoy grabbing a sandwich and walking in the park on sunny days. I may even run into Bono tending sheep. As recipients of Dublin’s Freedom of the City award, the members of U2 have the right to graze their sheep on several public greens in the city.

Even in the rain the park is lovely. These pictures are from our first visit to Dublin in October 2006. The daffodils are currently blooming in the park. I’m sure it will be beautiful throughout the spring.

I’ll be about two blocks South of the park, near the National Concert Hall. My office is about a 20-25 minute walk from the DART, so I’ll be participating in the train crush and speed walk with hundreds of other urban workers. Better than sitting on Mopac? I hope so!

We set March 18 as my start date, allowing six weeks for my work permit to be processed. Looks like it may take the full six weeks. I have to wait until Tuesday the 18th because March 17 is a national holiday, of course!

After a few days of hibernation at the hotel, we’ve started establishing our life in Dublin. We’ve acquired mobiles, visited pubs, become Skype junkies, bought a beard trimmer and hair dryer, and found an apartment. We should sign a lease on Friday and be able to move in. The apartment is in Raheny, a suburb close to the coast. We’re going to look at a car tomorrow.

Here are a few pics from the last several days:

Bill enjoying a pub snack.

Sharon sporting a halo of messy hair in St. Stephens Green.

Students pouring out of Trinity University.