Dutch Gold and Other Cheap Beer

A lot has happened since I last blogged...I have now moved from Derek's apartment into my very own DCU apartment with my fabulous room mate Kayleigh.   Everyone in the program has been amazing and so far having a blast.  

Kayleigh and Nina

 For part of our orientation we were supposed to go on a scavenger hunt around Dublin, but my group decided to stop in Temple Bar for a pint instead.  Here is a video of some of the live music they had there. 

Later that night we went out with some of the group to a bar called Fitzsimons.   It did prove to be an interesting first night in Dublin for many of the people from the program....Kayleigh....

A Stroll in Dublin

     

The Ha'Penny Bridge crosses the River Liffey.  It gets it name from that in 1816 it was built under the condition that William Walsh could charge half a penny for pedestrians to cross it. For a time the toll was raised to a "penny ha'penny" which equals a penny and a half.  Currently there is no toll for crossing with about 27,00 people crossing it everyday.

Under the Ha'Penny Bridge

Graffiti put on the side of the quays (pronounced keys) that says Let Them Eat Cheese.  This was put up the night before the protest march on the 27th of November against the government economic policies.  The statement gets at a policy the government enacted two weeks earlier that was going to give free cheese to those in need.  

Corner of O'Connell Street Bridge

James Connolly was a famous Socialist leader.  He was later executed by a British firing squad for his leadership role in the 1916 Easter Rising 

These are pictures are of a memorial of the potato famine of 1845-1852.  During these times it was said that Ireland's population fell between twenty and twenty-five percent.  About one million died and about another million emigrating to other countries.  The potato famine is directly related to the diaspora of the Irish people around the world today along with the residual Nationalist movement against the British.  The potato famine also has direct ties to the loss of the Irish language in Ireland where partly due to the emigration of the Irish people with the other half being due to government language policies enacted by the British.

This is a picture of the Luas (pronounced Louis) in Dublin.    The word means speed in Gaelige (Irish) language. 

Buskers at Temple Bar

Buskers Night Club in Temple Bar

Saturday night Derek and I decided it was high time that I went to my first dance club in Dublin.   Strangely enough, they played many top 40 songs, but also played ones like 9-5 by Dolly Parton (which particularly made me feel at home) and Shout by the Isley Brothers.    I also found out how expensive it is to drink in Dublin.  Beers are moderately priced at about 5 euros, but a shot of Smirnoff is anywhere between 5-6 euros which equals about 7 dollars and then the coke is an additional 3 euros.   So in total one vodka and coke can cost you about 10-12 dollars depending on the venue.   It looks like I'll either be carrying a flask with me or drinking at home first.    

Hard Rock Cafe Dublin

Temple Bar is notorious for drunken Irish males looking for female tourists.   The name Temple Bar seems that it is a specific bar, but it is actually an area of Dublin named after Sir William Temple of 1609.  It boasts a lively night life and during the day has many street performers.  

The Porterhouse Central

On Thursday night we decided to go out to a bar that had been recommended to us for me to find a beer I would really like.   The Porterhouse Central boasts that it is the largest genuine brewery in Ireland with many beers on tap and other bottled from around the world.   It is a great relief to me that I now know where to find a Sam Adams if I want one.  The bar is unbelievably cozy with many different floors and nooks and crannies.  This is definitely one of my favorite places I have been to while here.   Although, one of the strangest things I have found here was while I was in the bathroom I found that you could use a flat iron for two euros

  

National Museum of Ireland

National Gallery of Ireland

Carvaggio

Cupid

Peasant Wedding 

A Trip to Kilbarrack

The International Comedy Club and The Mezz

Within my first day of landing in Ireland I realized that many things are different, but not unmanageable.  However, in some of the older housing in Ireland you have to turn the water on to heat up at least thirty minutes before you want to use it (this is called the immersion).   This includes hot water for cooking, showering, washing your face etc.  So, Derek decided to help me understand this through a fellow American that has lived in Ireland for eighteen years.  The comedian is named Des Bishop and is quite popular here in Ireland.   

www.youtube.com/watch?v=52bna-tn_dY 

This should explain exactly what it is for all the non-Irish people.   

Aidan Bishop

We decided to head to the International Comedy Club where Des Bishop and his young brother Aidan Bishop are the MC's.

Des Bishop

During the show, there were four different acts with the main act being Maeve Higgans.  Apparently she is quite famous here with her own comedy show on TV, but she was absolutely horrible.  She's from Cork and has a very strange and difficult accent to understand.   I thought it was only me that couldn't understand her, but I overheard other girls from Ireland talking about how they needed a translator to be able to understand her.

In the last comedy act it was obvious that the comedian wanted to interact with the crowd as much as possible.   He had just asked if there were any Australians and had joked with them a bit.  That is when Derek turns to me and says do not respond to anything if it applies to you!   Right about that time he asks if there are any Americans in the crowd which I respond with a loud and proud woooooooooooooo from the corner.   Derek is already dying that I responded to him, but I continue to answer his questions.  His first is how long are you here for and I respond with for five months.  He then asks me what are you doing here and my already tipsy self responds with a finger pointing Derek with someone else shouting "HIM" I knew at that point that the comedian didn't expect to have such blunt honesty, so he left us alone and didn't ask us any other questions.  

After we left the comedy club we stopped at one last place called The Mezz for a few drinks before we headed home.  

The Globe and Kehoe's 9

Yesterday I was feeling a bit cooped up, so we decided to venture out and go walking down some of the streets of Dublin.  I'm pretty sure I'm still suffering 

from some jet lag because I tend to get sleepy at the weirdest times and then wide awake in the middle of the night.   We went around some of the shopping streets and to look for Trevon (my little cousin) a birthday gift.  I picked up a few postcards to send to people while Derek found a paddy cap.  I told him that I just expect to see him tomorrow with a tweed vest, his paddy cap, and a cane.    I think some how in the back of my mind I expect the Irish men to still dress like this while the sheep pass by on the streets.   I can assure you that this is not true in Dublin.   

With it still being around the holiday season, the streets of Dublin are packed with people.   We passed by Arnotts Department Store that is one of the shopping landmarks on Dublin's north side.   

The city is still decorated for Christmas with some of the decorations still being in Irish.   One of the picture is of the street lights that literally means Christmas happy to you with it being Nollaig Shona Duit in Irish.  

We also went to two bars last night-- The Globe and Kehoe's 9.    The Globe had a Bob Dylan tribute band there that was playing which was nice.  

My First of Pint of Guinness in Ireland

Afterwards we ventured over to 9 South Anne Street to go to Kehoe's.   Derek made sure we went to this one because before I came over I had mentioned that I had wanted to go to all of the Kehoe's.   Little did I know that the number nine was only the street number with me thinking it was a chain of bars.   The bar was quite nice and cozy on the inside and was enjoying the "craic", but all of a sudden I heard the strangest comment coming from some very young kids.   They were all in unison doing the Pauly D "oh yeahhhh" which I found a bit shocking since I thought the Jersey Shore lingo wouldn't quite make it this far. 

On the way home, we decided to stop by Burger King for some "soakage."   One of the nice boys sitting beside us decided to christen the term on me since it was obvious that all of us had been drinking.

Close to home, we passed by the infamous Molly Malone where Derek and I decided to take a few pictures with her.   Legend has it that she was a a fishmonger by day and a prostitute by night hence the low cut dress.  There is also a famous song about her. 




http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vdxLxnhGnvo 






In fact, the song is quite famous and popular here today and is sung at the Dublin Gaelic football game as one of their anthems