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Part One: Ireland

Between September 30, 2016, and October 16, 2016, we took a vacation trip visiting Dublin, Ireland; taking the Viking River Cruise along the Seine River, and spending four days on our own in Paris, France. By and large, we had a marvelous time. There were some hitches, mainly associated with the air travel. This is not intended to be a complaining blog: I will endeavor to put the ups and downs into fair contexts. Having taken one previous Viking River Tour (see Georgie and Greg's Viking River Trip ) and enjoyed it, after some thought, we decided to try another. Paris, with its palaces, museums, and cultural opportunities attracted us. I had decided, after the poor experience we had with United on the prior trip, to book my own air travel. This gave us the chance to do a multi-day layover in Dublin, Ireland, another city we wanted in particular to see. I wanted to avoid United, and avoid the hassles associated with getting into and out of O’Hare airport in Chicago. After some research, I hit on Air Canada, which would fly us out of Milwaukee, to Toronto, to Dublin. Travel from Dublin to Paris and return would be by Air France, since Air Canada did not have that particular route. I sprang for Premium Economy on Air Canada, which I consider a good choice, as will be noted below.

For those who really like pictures, the complete collection of photographs I took is at: https://www.flickr.com/photos/61681349@N00/albums.

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Sept. 30-Oct. 1: The Rocky Road to Dublin.

Our flight out of Milwaukee was scheduled for 5:15PM, so we had a Yellow Cab Cooperative taxi pick us up at 2:00PM, which got us to the airport in good time. In fact, we were there well ahead of Air Canada opening its counter for the flight. Once they did open up, we had no problem checking in. Our “Trusted Traveler” status allowed us to skip a long security line getting to the gate, which was the most use we had of that, since it cuts no mustard outside the US. Getting to the gate, we were displeased to find that our flight was delayed an hour due to “maintenance”. This was a recurring issue. While it’s good that the airlines take care on these things, couldn’t they have been dealt with before the plane is at the gate? The plane did eventually launch about 6:10PM after an hour delay, and the flight itself went smoothly.

I had left plenty of time between connections for just such an occurrence, and was glad I had once we got to Toronto Pearson airport. Short-haul flights like ours arrive and depart from the F-series gates, which are stuck out at the most remote end of the complex. Overseas flights depart from the E concourse, which involves making your way all the way to the center of the airport, going through Canada passport control, and hiking back out to the end of the E gates. (The length of the trek can be estimated by the fact that half-way along the F concourse there is a sign indicating that it is a seven-minute walk to the end--.)

We got to our gate in good time. There was a Tim Horton’s right there, where I got us some drinks and a couple of the famous doughnuts to refresh ourselves. (Doughnuts were pretty good--.) No sooner had we settled in to await boarding for the 11:10 flight, than the announcement of a gate change was given. We gathered up our stuff and hastened over to the new gate. Then, THIS flight was delayed. The maintenance issue on this plane couldn’t be cleared in a reasonable time, so a new plane was brought around, which required two hours to stock and pre-flight. We pushed back from the gate at 1:30AM October 1, and were wheels up for Ireland at 1:45.

The transatlantic flight was run by the Air Canada “Rouge” division, which is specifically a “leisure/vacation” operation. I was interested to see a certain “retro” vibe about the flight, notably in the flight attendant uniforms. These consisted of a gray short-sleeved, above the knee dress with maroon accents, nude pantyhose, and black heeled pumps. The outfit was accessorized by the ubiquitous attendant neckerchief, and a maroon cardigan sweater. Perhaps not coincidentally, all the attendants on both flights with ACR were female, young, good looking, and four out of five, blonde. The plane itself, a Boeing 767, was ultra-modern, to the point of having the common seat-back entertainment system replaced with onboard Wi-Fi that could be used on your own device if you downloaded the app, or on an iPad that you could rent for $10.00 for the duration of the flight. We did neither, falling back on our old standbys of paperback books and Kindle content.

The plane is a two-class cabin setup, which meant that as Premium Economy passengers, we essentially got the same treatment as Business or First Class. Seats are a bit wider and more comfortable than Economy, although by no means as posh as First Class on some airlines. I got us seats in the front row, specifically so that we wouldn’t have to deal with reclined seat backs in our faces the whole flight. The downside of this location is that there is no under seat stowage, so all carry-ons have to be stashed in the overhead bins during takeoff and landing, although stuff can be retrieved once in flight. Service on the flight was very good, and the food decent. The mushroom ravioli looked attractive but was kind of bland to my taste, although I may have been being affected by the altitude, which sometimes causes your sense of taste to fade. Georgie said the chocolate pear tart dessert was good, but it just tasted sweet to me.

There were no problems in-flight, and we made our way through Ireland Immigration and baggage claim, and were met in the Arrivals hall by Niall G. Ward, who handles pickups for the Baggot Court Townhouse. Niall is a one-man “car service” rather than a taxicab driver, and very good at his job. He is a fount of information as well as having the genuine Irish gift of gab. Although he doesn’t work nights, he was perfectly willing to let me call him to get advice as to where to look for cabs after some of our evening events. Niall gave us a smooth ride into town, and to our hotel.

I found the Baggot Court Townhouse on line. It has a very convenient location, and was definitely comfortable enough, but the pictures on the website are NOT those of the hotel. While it’s true that the location is a Georgian-era townhouse, what’s not admitted on the web is that the building was neglected for years, and, except for some bannisters and floors, gutted and modernized by the current ownership. It’s nice enough, but any vision of living in Georgian surroundings is a misperception. The Baggot Court staff were nice and responsive, and the breakfasts, which can be added to the room for an extra charge, good. (Excellent eggs, sausage, and bacon. Black and white puddings as expected. Obligatory Heinz canned beans are lots blander than canned beans over here.) We were checked in by the manager and settled in. Our room was actually in a rear building, or “mews”. One odd feature was the motion-sensor lighting in the bathroom, which also controls the ceiling fan. It came on when you entered the room, and kept running for five or ten minutes after you left, at which time it shut off. The downside is that, if one tenant has to go to the bathroom at night, there’s no way to keep light leaking and possibly disturbing your partner when you open the door. Fortunately, the fan was quiet enough that it could be ignored when the door was closed.

Baggot Court Townhouse http://www.baggotcourt.com/‎

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Dublin Day 1: Natural History Museum

We had afternoon time left in our day, and set out to find the Natural History Museum, which was a short walk away. The Natural History Museum is a museum-piece itself, being a preserved example of Victorian-era exhibits and exhibition. It is filled to the rafters with wooden-framed glass cases containing taxidermied creatures of every description.

The ground floor deals with the fauna of Ireland, and includes examples of nearly every land animal found in Ireland, ranging from the “Giant Irish Deer” (commonly called “Irish Elk”) to “Irish Slugs” which have a small case of their own. Birds are represented, as well as sea creatures of the surrounding waters, including casts of fish, stuffed sharks, whale skeletons, cephalopods in the classic glass jars, and glass sculptures of jellyfish and anemones. Some of the taxidermies, such as ones representing families of badgers or foxes are really well done, and have stood up well. Others, such as the Basking Shark, which has holes in the hide showing the stuffing, are a bit worse for wear.

The upper floor is a high, galleried, space containing stuffed or skeletal beasts of all regions, bagged and brought back by contributors, some of which have interesting stories of their own. One such is the mounted polar bear, which was shot in the Canadian Arctic by a member of a team searching for the lost Franklin expedition. The museum really is a rare gem, and of particular interest to neo-Victorians or Steampunks. We spent a couple of good hours inspecting this smallish museum, and didn’t see all of it, partly because the upper galleries were closed pending renovation of the structures.

National Museum of Ireland Natural History http://www.museum.ie\Natural-History

We got dinner at a place nearby the Townhouse, called “Matt the Thresher,” which is a “gastropub.” In this case, a gastropub is not a classical “pub,” but a rather tony cocktail lounge with a good restaurant. The specialty is fish, and Georgie had a very good fish chowder, and I had the “fish pie,” which was essentially a seafood version of a shepherd’s pie, with mashed potatoes piped over a fish-in-sauce filling, which was also very good. Service was fast and friendly, and we would definitely have gone back there had time permitted.

Matt the Thresher: mattthethresher.ie\

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Dublin Streets, Palace of the Taoseach, government buildings, Merrion Square.

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Dublin, Irish Natural History Museum

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Dublin, Matt the Thresher, Dublin sights.

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Dublin Day 1: Midsummer Night’s Dream

When scheduling our trip, I was pleased to find that the Dublin Theater Festival would be on while we were there. Looking up the information, I was surprised by a couple of things. Number one, unlike most festivals, such as Edinburgh, which have a “fringe” which runs concurrently and typically features small, quirky, or outsider productions, the “Tiger Fringe” runs in the second half of September, and ends when the Theatre Festival proper begins.

Number two, this year’s schedule featured none of the famous Irish playwrights: No Sean O’Casey, no John Millington Synge, not even Shaw or Beckett or Wilde. So much for the hope of seeing The Playboy of the Western World or some such done at the Abbey Theatre--. However, there were some interesting offerings, and for our first night, we had booked tickets for A Midsummer Night’s Dream at the Bord na Gais Theatre.

The Bord na Gais is a large, modern new venue near the River Liffey. The spacious, open lobby with its prominent bar more resembles that of a stylish hotel than a theatre. The box office is tucked off in a corner like an afterthought. The auditorium is stylishly decorated, and has good sightlines and acoustics. This production was co-presented by a troupe known as Filter, with the Lyric Hammersmith theatre in London, and played successfully there, as

well as being well reviewed in its recent tour of Australia. The performance was done modern dress, with a minimal set, and was introduced by a fast-talking front man, who played the role of Peter Quince and also played in the on-stage band (a feature of Filter productions is live, original music--). He excitedly informed us that in tonight’s production, the role of Bottom would be played by well-known actor Brendan Gleeson (“Mad-Eye Moody” in the “Harry Potter” films--). The play began and followed the familiar course until time for Bottom’s entrance, at which time my expectation that the Gleeson thing had been a leg-pull was confirmed. We were told that Gleeson had become stuck in an elevator, would not be able to appear, and the show would be canceled. That is, until a “volunteer” from the audience spoke up asserting that he knew the role and would fill in.

Up on stage, the volunteer proved to be a typical “yob” character, complete with supermarket bags he had supposedly brought with him to the theater. After a bit of comic rigmarole about signing him into the stage actor’s union (and a comprehensive liability waiver), he was fitted with an oversized costume (supposedly made to fit the burly Gleeson?) and the show went on.

The show was heavily slapstick and played for every possible laugh. Oberon, King of the Fairies, appeared wearing a blue superhero costume. His henchman, Puck, looked like a stage hand, complete with tool belt. During the scenes where the four young people are chasing one another around the forest, Oberon and Puck pull up chairs to watch the fun, helping themselves to beer and snacks from the grocery bags, which also provide the ammunition for a climactic food fight later on. The actors not only broke the fourth wall, but the first, second, and third as well, bashing holes in the set when needed. This was probably about as far from the “typical” reverential attitude toward the Bard as one could get and still be discernibly Shakespeare, but it was cleverly done and darned funny. We liked it and were glad we went.

Dublin Theatre Festival: https://dublintheatrefestival.com/

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Midsummer Night’s Dream

Pictures from The Irish Times: Hermia and Lysander; Bottom transfigured; The Big “O”.

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Dublin Day 2: St. Stephen’s Green, Dublin Castle, Chester Beatty Museum

On Sunday morning, we walked out and meandered through St. Stephen’s Green, which is a large and beautiful park in the center of Dublin’s south side. It includes lawns, gardens, forests, fountains, ponds and streams, and many statues and monuments. It is also home to the tamest swans I have ever seen. We were able to walk up to within feet of one calmly grooming itself along a footpath.

From there, we went on to the Grafton Street shopping district. Grafton Street itself has been made a pedestrian mall. Along the street are international stores such as H&M and Marks and Spencer we’ve seen in other European cities, but also some interesting local brands. Actually, some of the more interesting stores featuring Irish tweeds and woolens, were to be found along the north side of St. Stephen’s Green. There are also interesting byways off or near Grafton Street, such as Castle Market or St. George’s Mall, and the Powerscourt Townhouse, a former mansion turned into a tony shopping mall.

We got to Dublin Castle in time to take the 11:00AM guided tour, which includes the foundations of the old castle as well as the Chapel Royal and the State Rooms. Dublin Castle was mainly an administrative center, and hasn’t been a serious fortification for many decades even before Irish independence. Nevertheless, a couple of formidable round towers remain, although not open to the public.

The tour begins with the basements of an administrative wing, where author of Dracula Bram Stoker once worked as a clerk. Foundations of a long-gone part of the castle have been exposed, including the base of the tower that once stored gunpowder. What could have been mistaken for a very damp basement problem is actually the subterranean remains of the River Poddle, which ran into the Liffey at the “black pool” or “dubh linn”, which gave the city its name.

The gothic Chapel Royal makes up an opposing wing of the complex. It was built for the use of the British Viceroys, and is decorated with the coats of arms of those that have held that office. The small pipe organ, with its gilt-decorated pipes, is one of the most elaborate instruments of its type I have seen.

In between are the State Rooms, palatial spaces used for official functions and entertaining. These compare favorably in style and decoration with many stately homes, and the walls contain many interesting portraits of former Lords Lieutenant and others. Not all is light, however, as you are reminded of the official functions the castle formerly served: in use as a military hospital during World War I, wounded leader of the 1916 Easter Rising, James Connolly was held there before being executed for treason at Kilmainham Gaol. The room where he was kept is now a memorial.

Dublin Castle: http://www.dublincastle.ie/

Adjacent to the castle is the Chester Beatty Library. This building was built to house the collections of mining magnate Arthur Chester Beatty (later Sir Arthur), who donated his fabulous collection of illustrated manuscripts, books, scrolls, and other artworks to the Irish state.

A methodical collector who employed a staff of trained experts, Beatty succeeded in amassing one of the most important collections of its type in the world. The Library is one of the major sources for scholarship on the Old and New Testaments, and holds many priceless and unique works.

We of course had to visit and were amazed at the incredible beauty and intricate decoration of the Biblical and Koranic books on display, as well as those representing every other major culture and religion. The library also has an attractive Zen-styled roof garden, which gives a good view of the castle environs.

The Beatty Library building houses the Silk Road cafeteria, a well-regarded Middle Eastern restaurant. We got a light lunch there before tackling the exhibits and found it very good. We also refreshed ourselves with afternoon tea there after finishing the exhibitions.

Chester Beatty Library : http://www.cbl.ie/

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Dublin Castle

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St. Stephen’s Green

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Chester Beatty Library, Molly Malone, Dublin Streets, St. George’s Market.

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Dublin Day 2: The Brazen Head

Sunday night, we went to The Brazen Head, overlooking the River Liffey, which bills itself as “Ireland’s Oldest Pub.” (Nevertheless, the Guinness Book of World Records lists Sean’s Bar in Athlone as the oldest in Ireland, and possibly the world--.) The Brazen Head hosts nightly evenings of “Food, Folklore and Fairies,” which gets the attendees a “traditional” Irish meal, entertainment by a shanachie, or Irish storyteller, and some live folk music. The pub is a large complex with both indoor and outdoor bars, a number of barrooms on the ground floor, and function space on the two floors above. When we got there, the outdoor space was packed due to the mild weather, and the inside busy as well. The third floor room for the gathering was not open yet, so we found a corner and updated our notes while watching and listening to the merry chatter.

The third floor large room was a pleasant place, decorated with historical photographs. All the available seats were taken, so it was a good crowd. The woman storyteller, Helena Byrne, (one of several storytellers that work there) was good, with effective style and voice. She spoke between courses, beginning with history of the potato, the “potato famine,” and the effects on Irish demographics, economics and culture, which was very informative. I had been aware that, before the blight, the potato had been Ireland’s main crop, but not that the potato was so bountiful that it essentially fueled a population explosion that could not be sustained by any other cultivars. I also hadn’t known that, in the aftermath of the “Great Hunger,” Irish inheritance practices changed to favor primogeniture, so that eldest children inherited all, with nothing going to younger sons or daughters. Thus, even after the famine ended, the Irish diaspora continued due to the large number of young people with no prospects seeking fortune abroad.

In the “fairies” portion, I was charmed to hear her tell what she called “The Tale of Two Humps,” a version of which I had read in my youth.

Two musicians came in and gave us good versions of Irish standards such as “Jock Stewart,” “Whiskey in the Jar,” “Finnegan’s Wake,” and “Wild Mountain Thyme.” We were invited to sing along, so I did. The woman sitting next to me, visiting from Australia, asked me how on earth I knew the songs: I smiled and told her that I came from Milwaukee, which hosts the world’s largest Irish music festival.

The food was good. From the menu choices, we had beef stew with Guinness, and “traditional apple pie,” which is more like a kuchen than an American pie. It was open topped, with the bottom being a cakey layer rather than the pie crust we are familiar with. Along with the meal, I had a “McGargle’s Ale,” largely because I found the name amusing. It was a decent mild ale and quite good.

The Brazen Head: brazenhead.com\

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Chez Max, and The Brazen Head

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Walking in Dublin

Most of the guides will tell you that Dublin is a “very walkable city,” and in the main, that’s true with a few caveats. The city is not large as major cities go, and most of the points of interest are clustered on the south side of the river within a mile or so radius. The city streets mostly have genuine sidewalks or footpaths, unlike some in Germany, and there are few areas of cobblestones or bad footing. That being said, however, pavements can be old and uncertain. Georgie was thrown by a loose paving block a couple of blocks from our hotel and fell, fortunately suffering nothing worse than a bruise. An old city, orientation can be confusing, as streets are seldom parallel and change names within a few blocks. In theory, streets are designated in the European style, with signboards attached above the ground floor at the corners of buildings. In practice, however, new buildings or remodeled buildings don’t have them, and old buildings have had them fall off or get painted over, so that coming to an entirely unmarked intersection isn’t all that uncommon. A map is a must.

And then there’s traffic. Frankly, on streets with any traffic at all, it’s worth your life to try to cross anywhere than at a controlled crossing, and even that requires care. Ireland drives on the left (i.e., “wrong side” for us Americans) which is a hazard in itself. Then add to that that the pedestrian crossing signals don’t obviously coordinate with the vehicle signals. In the US, red for traffic usually means red for pedestrians, and green/green also. In Ireland, you can be looking across a street where the traffic is stopped for a red light, and see that you still have a red signal to not cross. Frequently this means that traffic parallel to you, or from some other source, is expected to come whipping around your corner at lethal speed. When the pedestrian signal is green, you have a few seconds when in theory all the traffic through your space is at a halt and you can scamper across. Since Dublin motorists tend to drive with both Irish panache and the typical urban driver’s contempt for pedestrians, caution is strongly advised.

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Christ Church Cathedral, archeological markers showing  recovery of artifacts and footprint of a Viking steading.

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Dublin Day Three: Book of Kells, National Gallery

Monday morning, we made our way to the Trinity College campus and found the building that houses the Book of Kells. There was already a substantial line, but once the building opened it moved quite quickly. There is an extensive exhibit hall before getting to the Book of Kells itself, which we skimmed through, so that we managed to get to the Book between groups and Georgie in particular could get a good, long, close squint at it. Two page spreads from two of the volumes (it has four) were on display. It really is amazing in the fine detail of the work. We noticed two things that pictures don’t tell you, one being that real vellum is slightly shiny, more like varnished magazine stock than paper, and the second being that the gum that is a component of the inks gives it a slightly three-dimensional character—if you could touch it, it would have texture. Being able to perceive that was very cool. The Long Room is every bibliophile’s dream of a library, with bay after bay of tall shelves, and an elegant spiral staircase going up to the second level of many tall shelves. Pre-Dewey Decimal System, the bays are numbered, and the shelves in each bay lettered, with “A” at the bottom, which seemed interestingly counter-intuitive to me.

The College has one of the best gift shops we came across, of course with a lot of Book of Kells flavored items, but a good selection of nice generally Irish themed gifts as well. We found a nice necktie and a pillbox to replace one Georgie had lost.

The Trinity College campus looks like a more spacious version of an Oxbridge compound, but rather than the golden brown stone of so many English college buildings, all the Trinity buildings are of cool gray stone.

Trinity College: https://www.tcd.ie/

On the way to our next stop, we looked into the AVOCA shop on Suffolk Street. Interesting store, sort of a slightly expanded Pendleton, but with a “food court”. They had a lot of tempting looking items. We bought a pain au chocolate to keep us going and it was very good.

Avoca: http://www.avoca.com\

Next, we went to the National Gallery of Ireland, which houses the national art collection. The building itself is a cubical hunk of brutalist concrete, very minimalist inside and out. Unfortunately, half of the galleries were closed that day for one thing or another, but we did get to see the collection of European painting, which was a nice general collection beginning with a Vermeer, up through an early Van Gogh, and ending with Picasso and his contemporaries. Interestingly enough, I didn’t see a single Irish painter, perhaps those would have been in one of the other galleries?

Irish National Gallery: http://www.nationalgallery.ie\

After that, we did some more shopping, checking out retro/resale shops in St. George’s Mall and Castle Market, which had some very cool, and some very trashy vendors. Like any city, people strive to come up with clever store names, and we made note of “A Store Is Born,” and “Blazing Salads.”

Beginning to wind down, we headed toward home and stopped in for dinner at Chez Max, a cool-looking bistro on Baggot Court. Yes, we had French food in Ireland. Oddly enough, there were half-a-dozen French-themed restaurants within a few blocks of our hotel, but nothing specifically Irish. We were a bit startled when the host insisted on seating us on the “terrace” on a cool evening. We went through the basement-level main room, then up a long stairs to what must have been the roof of a garage area, which was fully fitted out with additional restaurant space, bar, tent-like roof, and ferocious radiant heating . After finding a place that, ironically, wasn’t too hot to sit, we settled in.

We tried the foie gras for starter, which was some of the best we’ve ever had. For main course, I had the Maigret de Canard (duck breast), and Georgie had the Boeuf Bourguignon, both of which were excellent. For dessert, we split a chocolate mousse, which was parfait layered dark and white chocolate. The dark had good flavor but more of a pudding texture. The white had more the almost grainy texture we look for in a mousse, but of course tasted like white chocolate, which is to say, not much. Together the combination was not bad. Service was good and attentive. Some unintentional entertainment was provided by the nearby table, where the host was trying to simultaneously prove that he could identify wine by blind-tasting and flirt with the attractive waitress, and failing humorously at both.

Chez Max: http://www.chezmax.ie/baggot/

After dinner we rolled back to the hotel and settled in for one of our few unstructured nights, making notes, and copying photos from the camera to my laptop before making a relatively early night of it.