2019 was a great travel year. Not only did I see my BFF Sandra compete in the grueling Paris – Brest – Paris bike race I also got to go to Dublin for the first time with my good friends Kris and Michael who I met in 2016 when I moved to New York from Tokyo. Kris has worked in the past on broadway shows but also worked extensively with Philip Glass – one of the world’s most innovator composers – so invited me to join her and her husband Michael to a trip to Dublin to attend Philip Glass’ masterpiece Koyaanisqatsi. There was no way I was going to miss this opportunity!
I left for Dublin on October 24 on a flight that was delayed 3 hours. But a coincidence! On the plane was Philip Glass and his partner Saori who I met once before. Anyhow, after a short hello, I was so tired so ended up sleeping all the way to Dublin.
Once I arrived, it was a beautiful day with blue skies, so after checking in the hotel, took a walk around the neighborhood, did some work emails, calls and then headed for dinner to meet Kris and Michael at a restaurant called Catch 22. To get there, I took the tram for the first time, and of course, took the tram that was going the wrong way, got off , got on the right tram and got off at the right station. Thought I could find the restaurant easily but NO! not even with google maps. Fortunately, while wandering around where the restaurant was supposed to be, Kris found me and showed me the way to the hidden restaurant. I had an excellent mackerel which I love and then a fish pie. But all of a sudden got hit hard by jet lag so could not finish it although fish pie is one of my favorite comfort foods. Anyhow, we headed back to our respective hotels for a good nights sleep as an adventure waits us the next day.
Next morning, I got up around 6am as had to meet Kris and Michael at the Ulster Bank Bus Stop to get our bus which will take us on tour to quaint farm towns outside Dublin. We were to meet at the bus stop at 820am. I got there around 750am (took the tram – by now I’m an expert) and thank god I arrived early as there were so many Ulster Bank Bus stops! So walked around but got a text Kris who was across the street with Michael at Starbucks so was able to find each other quickly and also the right bus stop which of course happened to be in front of Ulster Bank.
The tour bus left on time and true to what they say about Irish weather, it started to pouring. But we did have our umbrellas so were ready for an authentic Irish experience.
The first stop was Kilkenny – one of the oldest medieval towns in Ireland where many of the streets are the same roads from medieval times. Given it was pouring rain, we first took a tour of the Kilkenny castle, where the highlight was the hallway with beautiful wood carvings. The grounds though were beautiful too. Then we went for a snack at a hole in the wall sandwich place that got great reviews in yelp and trip advisor. i had a very nice grilled goat cheese sandwich, packaged so that it reminded me of my elementary school days of getting a sandwich in a bag for lunch. We then took a walk and visited the Medieval museum which was fascinating. We were going to go to St Mary’s Cathedral but although google maps said we were 3 min away, we couldn’t find it so headed back to catch the bus to our next destination. I did buy though a very cute trivet from the most adorable store I’ve been to in a long time. If I lived in Ireland, I would have decorated my Irish home with decor from their store – unfortunately I cannot remember the name of the place… Next stop on our bus tour -Wicklow mountains to get a picture and view. Its actually where a lot of Hollywood movies like Braveheart have been filmed. On the way passed Hollywood (Mr Hollywood who found Hollywood came from here). Our next stop was the highlight of our trip where we learned about and saw sheepdog herding. These border collies were amazing and tough as the sheep will kick them. But I was impressed most of all with their intelligence. The dog we saw herd sheep was named Maggie. Leave it to the female dog to be the star and best herder! After watching the dogs and learning about sheepdog herding, we then took the bus to our final stop – Glendalough, a beautiful area of Ireland. What a beautiful place! We took a nice walk through the area including a very old grave yard as a monastery used to be there I believe from the medieval times. I have to say the gloomy/rainy skies added to the ambience.
By the time we got back to Dublin the skies were dark but the rain eased. We found a place for fish and chips so had that for dinner. Since our hotels were located at different locations, we said our good nights. I headed down the main drag of the Temple Bar area and then found the infamous bar! Walked in to see if I could buy the famous whiskey (place was FILLED with Japanese tourist) but the bartender was very nice and told me that I should buy it at the airport as it was cheaper. And I did! It was a present for Billy, my nephew, who said it was one of the best whiskies he has had. Got back on the tram and crashed at the hotel, but really liked the ambience of the Temple Bar district.
The next day we were going to explore Dublin. I started the day with a hearty Irish breakfast, then walked to Kris and Michael’s hotel to meet up. First thing we did was to have lunch at this fabulous restaurant called The Pig’s Ear. Best meal I’ve had so far in Dublin. We then went to the Library of Trinity College and saw the Book of Kells which was on my bucket list. The Book of Kells is a literary masterpiece created around 800 AD. Amazing that we were able to see it and it was in amazing condition!
After thoroughly enjoying the Library we walked to the National Museum of Archeology which was located in a beautiful building! After learning about history and archaeology of Ireland, we then went back to our hotels for a rest before we met up for dinner at Wilde – a fab restaurant located in the Westbury hotel. It was pretty chi-chi with a NYC crowd vibe.
Next day, before the main event, we decided to meet early and take the train to see the Irish Sea. At least that was the idea. BUT what we did not know was that the Dublin marathon was happening on that day so it seems the entire population of Ireland descended on Dublin. So the trains weren’t running and it seems neither were the buses. After trying to figure out what other options we had, I decided to call an uber which was the best thing ever! Our driver was very nice and dropped us off at Bray which is a town on the Irish Sea. We walked along the coast and touched the sea. Fortunately, it was sunny although cold. To get back, fortunately, we found a bus that can take us to Dublin so took that and headed back.
Once back in Dublin, we dropped Michael off to the hotel and then Kris and I did some shopping and had a Guinness. We then headed back to the hotel and agreed to meet for an early dinner before head to what we came to Ireland for which was the Philip Glass concert.
The concert hall was beautiful and had a beautiful chandelier. BUT unfortunately Philip was feeling well so had to cancel. However the orchestra still played and for the first time I heard
Koyaanisqatsi live. And it was wonderful despite some anomalies – like a person in the audience having a seizure!
And just like that, the long weekend in Ireland ended. I’m very fortunate to have very generous friends who allowed me to join them for this special long weekend in Dublin.