So yeah, Dun Laoghaire. "Jewel of the West." Actually, I just made that up. I haven't heard of any real nickname for the place, so that'll do.
WARNING: You probably noticed the horrible new template I'm using. It's called "Simple" and looks like shit. However, every other template cuts out the rightmost vertical third of each picture to make the post look more 'artsy.' This results in only a fraction of each photograph being shown, making them look weird at best and completely mangling them at worst. So, I decided to make the blog look terrible. At least now you get to see each photograph the way it should be. Sorry.
Dun Laoghaire is to the south of Dublin, unless I'm mixing that up with Malahide. I imagined Dun Laoghaire is vastly different from the boring fishing village with pretty rocks I was expecting. Quaint streets are tinged with gentrified modernity, and beautiful people abound. In fact the place bears a strong resemblance to Martha's Vineyard.
"What's Martha's Vineyard?" asked Monica.
Oh, that's right. I forgot you were from the Midwest, and had never even seen the ocean before. Hah, I kid, I did not mean to bring that up.
How quaint <3
There were babies EVERYWHERE. Way to fight the stereotype, Irish people.
There was even a wedding going on! Monica muttered something about "respect" and "ethics," but my responsibility lies solely with you, dear reader! I leave you informed, because you deserve it.
The really nerdy accountant Dad was kicking around a ball with his toddler. Suddenly, he does a rainbow flick, catching and juggling it on his feet. Ahh, Europe. Everybody is a soccer pro.
Wow, somebody must really suck at piloting boats. Probably a woman captain. Haha, I am only kidding mom! No, haha, seeeeeriously! Oh, and your care package hasn't arrived yet! Must be that darn postal service! Always losing those packages you send me!
We came out of the park and got down to what Dun Laoghaire is (or should be) known for: the seaside. Here's one particular quirk about Dun Laoghaire: it's gorgeous, but, unfortunately, will make you hate yourself if you don't happen to have a wide-angle lens for your camera. It's that particular kind of beauty that makes you feel cheated if you can't capture it all in a single masterful shot. It's kind of like when you're eating potato chips a bit too quickly, and a tiny crumb (two ridges wide, if you're eating Ruffles) tumbles off your lip and onto the ground. You are pissed. You feel like you were duped out of the full experience, and it was ALL YOUR FAULT. I hope this wasn't something that only happened to me. SO, seaside, yeah!
I'll leave these uncaptioned for the most part, because the temptation of mentioning my being what amounts to a photographic Michelangelo is almost too hard to resist.
What's that?
It's a man playing accordion! It fit the place really well, made it feel Venetian. Or maybe Florentine? I'm thinking of the place that is slowly sinking into the water.
Monica's map said the tower we were going to was pretty far away, which meant I was bitching constantly. "Look at that tower over there," I'd say, "it's soooooooo much closer! We should go there!"
And what do you know, it turns out that was the one we were supposed to go to anyway!
Here we found what was called the "40-foot-drop." Why was it called that? Because it's a drop into the water that is almost precisely forty feet. Cool!
Is he gonna do it?
He's not gonna do it.
WOOOOOO!
More scenery
Aaaaaaaand here's the tower.
The James Joyce Museum was located at the tower's base, apparently. Unfortunately, it was closed for the weekend. Doesn't really matter, because we got there at 6 or so anyway.
I was scared of walking back at night and being caught by robbers, so we headed back to the Dart station after that, stopping to let me take photographs.
Did I pull the smile off well? Because sitting there was hella painful.
Heh, right. Like anyone would actually scuba dive in Ireland.
Wait, what? What?
ARE YOU CRAZY?! DO YOU KNOW HOW COLD THAT WATER MUST BE
BOOM
Dun Laoghaire Wheel of Fortune! Let's see where we've visited!
And the reward for Creepiest Statue Depicting the Cross goes to:
You're welcome!
On the way back I also snapped this photo, which I really liked, so I'm putting it last.
We got back to Dublin, and went out drinking with Jeanine, Monica's profoundly Machiavellian roommate.
I get discounts here.
Yay! What's that, Jeanine? The service is not good enough? The drinks are not strong enough? You desire preferential treatment? You are going to act on this desire? How in the world do you plan to do that?
Oh, Jeanine. You minx. (photo courtesy of Monica, who grabbed my camera and caught her in the act. One of her 'acts')
The Luas had stopped running when we were done, so I ended up staying on a naked mattress in their freezing living room. The next morning I opened the door to leave.
What's this?
My goodness! A canine companion! What a happy ending to this blog!
No comments:
Post a Comment