It’s our first day waking up in Dublin. We arrived yesterday afternoon, checked in to our hotel, and spent the rest of the day in a part of town called “Temple Bar.” The main item on today’s agenda is a foodie tour. Those are always fun. But first – an Irish breakfast!
After getting ourselves cleaned up, we went to check out our hotel’s breakfast room. It’s a comfortable little room with 8-10 small tables. A cute little lady who reminded me of my grandma invited us in. The breakfast room, we would learn, was her domain.
Irish Breakfast
She brought us coffee and prepared to write down our order. There might have been menus, but I don’t remember them. What I remember is being quizzed by the little lady about what we wanted for breakfast. She had quite a few things to offer. But between the different names for Irish food and her Irish brogue, I wasn’t always sure what was being offered.
She’d ask if we wanted such-and-such. If we said “no thank you,” she’d give us each a look. “Are you kids sick? Well if you’re not, you’re gonna be if you don’t eat a good breakfast.” That’s what she was thinking, I’m pretty sure.
She finished taking our order, then disappeared into the kitchen. She came back with a basket of goodies, (including scones!), then started in with more questions. Apparently she had forgotten to mention a few things. She was like, “Look you two… it’s included. You’ve already paid for it, so go for it!”
Needless to say, we both had big breakfasts that morning. I, for one, had no regrets. Everything was really good. Tomorrow morning, when she starts offering us all kinds of things to eat, I’m just going to keep saying “Aye! Aye! Aye! Thank you, Ma’am!”
Of course we had to end up having a big breakfast on a “foodie tour” day. The tour would start at noon, so we had some time to recuperate. We decided to go early and take a walk around town to work up an appetite.
Central Dublin Layout
Central Dublin is easy to navigate. The River Liffey runs east-west through the middle of town. A shopping district centered around O’Connell Street lies on the north side of the river, just across from Temple Bar. If you can find the river, you can figure out your location by noting which of the many bridges you’re close to. If you can’t find the river to begin with, then no more whiskey for you, laddy. Nae even a sip!
Dublin Castle and Trinity College are near Temple Bar, and behind them are St. Stephen’s Green and another shopping district along Grafton Street. As we’d find out later, just about every street around these areas is fun and interesting to walk down.
Our plan was to take a taxi from the hotel to the Ha’Penny Bridge, then walk from there to the Spire. The Ha’Penny Bridge is a pedestrian bridge originally built in 1816. The builder had a ferry service, but the ferries were getting old and rotten. He made a deal with the city – he’d build a bridge, and for the next 100 years, he’d have the right to charge people a half-penny to use it. We crossed on the updated version.
O’Connell street is like Dublin’s “Main Street.” A few blocks north of the river on O’Connell Street, there’s a monument that’s hard to miss. It’s a needle-like structure that goes straight up in the air, tapering to a point 390 feet above ground. It’s called the Spire. When you see it, you will without a doubt, say “Whoa!” (Or maybe something even more expressive).
Nelson’s Pillar
A monument called Nelson’s Pillar stood for many years at this spot on O’Connell Street. It was built in 1806 to honor Admiral Horatio Nelson. Given the history of the relationship between England and Ireland, one might expect trouble to come to a statue of an English Admiral in the heart of Dublin.
The area we walked to from the Ha’Penny Bridge, right next to the Spire, has seen its share of trouble. During the Easter Rising of 1916, this area was a war zone. Surprisingly, the monument survived. In fact, it lasted all the way to 1966, when someone planted a bomb half-way up inside the tower. Reports I read suggested that few Dubliners were teary-eyed at the loss.
The Spire
In 2002, Dubliners built the Spire as part of a renewal of the area around O’Connell Street. It’s a huge vertical needle made of polished steel. The diameter at the base is about 10 feet, and just 6 inches at the top. It goes straight up for 390 feet.
Given the Spire’s rigid, upwardly-pointed nature, it’s not surprising to learn that the locals have quite a few amusing nick-names for it. My personal favorite is “The Stiffy by the Liffey.” ‘Twas a clever lad who thought of that one, aye? (Or perhaps it was a lass!)
To be continued…
