I go to Ireland every year religiously, usually in early May. I never used to stop in Dublin because we normally headed straight to the countryside, this time however I thought it would be nice to spend some time wandering around the capital of Ireland. Dublin has a good, relaxed feel to it, thanks to a rather delightful mix of street musicians, tourists, locals, students, beggars, weird characters…you name it. It certainly agrees with me. No matter who you are, and what you do, you will not feel out of place there.

In between visiting Trinity College and Little Museum of Dublin, both highly recommended, I managed to snap a few photos of what caught my eye. I am determined to go back and dedicate an entire day to street photography. It has never been my primary interest but it is growing on me.

There is music everywhere in Dublin:

The lady below is known locally as ‘The Tart with the Cart’ 😉

There is an abundance of bars, pubs and other watering holes in Dublin, however the Temple Bar area, being essentially a tourist trap – is so packed with said tourists that we had to give up on it and find a more quiet bar nearer the Halfpenny Bridge. It was a bit like Mathew St in Liverpool. Still cool looking though:

We had to pay a visit to Oscar Wilde. His statue can be found in Merrion Square gardens. We also walked through St Stephens Green, which is something of an oasis in the middle of a busy city. It is especially lovely at this time of a year, when foliage is so intensely green it almost looks photoshopped:

Dublin is renowned for its Georgian architecture and beautiful townhouses, as well as equally famous coloured doors:

For lunchI ended up in a Hare Krishna – vegetarian – pseudo Indian eatery, which was God – awful, but next time I will definitely go somewhere nicer:

What if one get’s tired of the hustle & bustle ? There is only one place to go, and that is Phoenix Park, the largest city park in Europe, populated with fearless deer. Entry is free, but by all means bring some carrots with you to feed this lot:

I thoroughly enjoyed my short visit Dublin and since it’s only a half an hour flight from Liverpool I certainly will be popping in more often, if only for a decent Irish coffee 🙂