Dublin, Ireland 2017: Day 1

After a trip that lasted 25 hours, no I’m not kidding, it took me 25 hours to

make it from San Francisco, CA to Dublin Ireland, not including a 8 hour wait

at the Dublin Airport because the place my director and I rented was not ready

until 2pm, and I had NO PLACE TO GO and NO WIFI once I step out of the airport,

I finally made it to my luxurious apartment in the DUBLIN 2, which is part of the

Dublin’s downtown area. Right now it’s very sunny, with clear blue skies but also very 

cold and windy.Temperatures are about 54 degrees. Everyone is wearing layers, 

consisting of sweaters, light jackets, some people are wearing scarves, and 

some even wearing winter hats and coats. No need for heavy coats yet some people 

are wearing them. So far, I’m doing fine with my pull overs and hoodies. We’ll see.

Our apartment is in a luxury building, with a very ‘modern’ look from the outside, where you need a passcode to open the main door that leads to a

lobby and then to an elevator or stairs that takes you onto the 14 different floors, housing the different apartments. Regardless on what floor you are on,your apartment has two views. One towards the street and one towards the building’s courtyard. We are on the second floor (although the lobby is numbered as “zero” to technically we are in the third floor. From the balcony I can see pubs (because Dublin seems to have more pubs than anything else) and from the living/dining room area we have a view of the courtyard. I imagine that the highery ou are in the building, the better the view from the balcony.

Because of my jet lag I have been very tired and sleepy so in order to keep myself awake as long as possible and deal with time changes (8 hours ahead now) at some point during the early evening, I decided to take a short walk through “my neighborhood” and these are my observations of my first day in Dublin:

Literately around the corner from where I’m staying, I saw the first Mexican restaurant, ‘XICO,’ as is Mexico.” It looks nice and fancy and very serene in comparison to the many other restaurants I saw while walking around the neighborhood. I don’t know if I ever will eat there but at least I found something close in case I’m craving Mexican food (as if I really want to

be in Ireland eating Mexican food. Hahahahahaha.)

On the opposite way from XICO, I found one of my favorite places to buy stuff, TESCO. If you have been to Europe, you know that TESCO is the Walgreen's of the United States, (by the way, so far, no one refers to the USA as AMERICA but rather as NORTH AMERICA, followed by “What part of North America, for such region includes, MEXICO, USA, and CANADA. I already love these people.) Anyway, TESCO is my place to go, where I already bought some olives, cheese, grapes, wine, and brad and had me my first picnic-like dinner at home.

As I walk around the neighborhood, I entered St. Stephen’s Green. Oh, what a glorious park, with so many history, fountains, statues, lakes, and lots and lots of green areas and trees. The place is a 9-acre historical park, so quiet and peaceful that you almost hear people whispering as they walk around. I took the above image using no filters. Yes, it is that beautiful... and guess where I will be going to run every morning. Here some more pics of St. Stephen’s Green:

Leaving the park behind I ended up in what I will assume is a very popular commercial area, with lots of clothes and shoe stores (my husband would be very happy here) and a lot of people walking around, including street musicians and vendors. And guess what I found? More Mexican restaurants, including

TOLTECA, which seems like a quick grab food and go type of eatery, similar to Chipotle’s in the United States.

The food must be good because the place was packed and loud, and seem very inviting. Please note the discrepancy of the name and the logo. The Toltec were Mexican Natives that lived to the north of Mexico City, center of the country and existed BEFORE the Aztecs. The logo you see there is the center of the Aztec Calendar. (Just pointing out the misused of such symbol.)

A third Mexican joint I ran into is this colorful place known as “PABLO PICANTE.” And as the tagline says, it is a burrito bar, very colorful, very lively, and very loud. As I passed by it, I could smell the food being prepared. I won’t lie that for a few seconds (just a few though) I had a strong desire to go in and order a burrito to see what shenanigans they were making. People inside seem to be having a lot of fun there, enjoying their food and listening to “American Rock.”

Continuing my walk, I noticed that I was very near TRINITY COLLEGE but I decided I would go there another time. I just wanted to walk around the neighborhood and see what was out there. And well, I ran into a professional theater, who is producing a play titled, THE CHASTITUDE and the first ‘t” is a cross. I don’t think the play is a comedy, by the photos, everyone in the cast seems incredibly serious... and by the title, I also don’t think this play is something to take the children to. Oh, the name of the theatre: GAEITY THEATER. Here’s a picture of it:

The theater specializes in operatic shows, musicals and occasionally in dramatic works. I guess THE CHASTITUDE isn’t a comedy after all. Okay, that was my quick “walk around the neighborhood” activity. If you have been to Dublin, you will quickly discover that I am, indeed, in the very center of the city... although judging by my calculations, I’m off-center for DUBLIN 1 seems to be the CENTER’s Center of Dublin. I could be wrong. Stay tune to find out.