Dublin is an amazing city. I am sure you are all tired of hearing (or in this case reading) me say that, but it is as true now as it was the first time. It is a god damn cornucopia of.... well just about everything. Yes, I get it, the previous statement is redundant, welcome to the world of chatter..... whatever the hell that is.
Easily one of the most walkable cities I have ever been in, Dublin can host an epic time on a Saturday night (or really any other night) just by letting you explore the city, not spend a red cent, and people watch like you have never people watched before. Always up for a good time no matter what, Dubliners, both natives and tourist alike, seem to lose themselves in the musical, chattery, booze soaked gaitey which has come to exemplify this Celtic city. Every corner you turn, whether it is in the city centre, the famed tourist drinking hotspot Temple Bar, Grafton st area, and the further districts, like say, Rathgar in my case, there are people out and about, going to and from some pub, friend's house, restaraunt etc; laughing, chatting away, singing, sometimes even dancing. It is almost impossible to not get swept up in it. Even the local neighborhood crazies love to get in on the action and play along, babbling to themselves, each other, Harvey the Rabbit, about a myriad of subjects ranging from the upcoming presidential elections, to the weather (everyone's favorite topic), to their own particular item of nuts.
What makes this insanity possible is the fact that Dublin is a fairly safe city, not a lot of violent crime, at least compared to say..... Oakland. So even walking through some of the dodgier areas one feels safe, encompassed by hardships and poverty, but not in any real danger. Sure you get the ocasional, and often newmaking, exception to this safness, but on the whole there seems to be an understand of: "We are all in this economic harship (or boom of the Tiger years) together...". It is pretty amazing.
Easily one of the most walkable cities I have ever been in, Dublin can host an epic time on a Saturday night (or really any other night) just by letting you explore the city, not spend a red cent, and people watch like you have never people watched before. Always up for a good time no matter what, Dubliners, both natives and tourist alike, seem to lose themselves in the musical, chattery, booze soaked gaitey which has come to exemplify this Celtic city. Every corner you turn, whether it is in the city centre, the famed tourist drinking hotspot Temple Bar, Grafton st area, and the further districts, like say, Rathgar in my case, there are people out and about, going to and from some pub, friend's house, restaraunt etc; laughing, chatting away, singing, sometimes even dancing. It is almost impossible to not get swept up in it. Even the local neighborhood crazies love to get in on the action and play along, babbling to themselves, each other, Harvey the Rabbit, about a myriad of subjects ranging from the upcoming presidential elections, to the weather (everyone's favorite topic), to their own particular item of nuts.
What makes this insanity possible is the fact that Dublin is a fairly safe city, not a lot of violent crime, at least compared to say..... Oakland. So even walking through some of the dodgier areas one feels safe, encompassed by hardships and poverty, but not in any real danger. Sure you get the ocasional, and often newmaking, exception to this safness, but on the whole there seems to be an understand of: "We are all in this economic harship (or boom of the Tiger years) together...". It is pretty amazing.
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