St. Paddy's in Dublin

Cannot believe it has been over two months since I posted anything. Yes, I'm terrible. My goal for the week is to catch up.

But before I get ahead of myself, I'm sure you are falling over yourselves with curiosity about our St Patrick's Day in Ireland. We decided that we would check out the craic in Dublin this year with our German friends, Frau Doktor and Grossermann. On Saturday we headed to Bray, a seaside suburb about 40 minutes south of Dub. Bray is the movie capital of the country - there is a huge movie studio there, and many of the movies that are filmed here are somehow involved with that studio. Bray was a very popular seaside resort many years ago, but to be honest, it has seen better days! It has a lovely promenade on the seafront, but otherwise has a carnival feel.

Saturday was absolutely pouring rain - drenching. So we headed to a local pub run by a former rugby player to watch, what else, rugby. Ireland lost to England, not a good way to start the weekend. In the evening, we headed into Dub for one of the St. Paddy's Day events, a French production with beautiful balloons - similar to what you would see in a parade, but with lights. It was very pretty, but we were completely drenched - the sogging rain had continued through the evening.

We decided to warm up at Porterhouse, a Dublin brew pub that happens to have an establishment in Bray. I had an amazing stout made with chocolate - delicious! Much merriment ensued.

Luckily, Sunday's weather was much better. The plan for the day was a walk to Greystones, the next town south from Bray. We first headed up Bray Head for fantastic sea views, then made our way along the hills and cliffs to Greystones (the next village along the the seashore and an approximately 5 mile walk), arriving in time for lunch. We enjoyed a particularly delicious lunch at a little cafe that served only vegetarian food. Slim and I had a terrific Thai, coconut, curry lentil soup - lovely. Greystones is lovely, smaller than Bray, more character. Then back to Bray on the train, a little nap then dinner at a local dive - yummy and with lots of local character - lots!

Monday was St. Patrick's Day, and the activity of the day the parade in Dublin. We hoped on the commuter train, but due to festivities, we couldn't go all the way into the city. The rest was on foot. We had about an hour before the parade when we arrived at the route. We had planned to make our way to the start of the route, but the spectators were 10 deep already, so decided that we should just find our place.

The most entertaining thing about the parade was, by far, the other spectators. There were few Irish around us, as this is quite the international event. As in Waterford, the costumes were a hoot. So unbelievably cheesy - huge green felt hats with fake orange beards hanging off the bottom. If non-Irish were wearing these things, they'd be seen as horribly offensive. But it is mostly Irish wearing them, and they all seem to love the spectacle.

Two "acts" stand out in my memory. One was the marching band from Shoreline, Washington. The other was the giant St. Patrick on a Harley-Davidson. Too funny!

As the last of the revellers passed by, we headed back to the train. After the crammed full train, we fought our way out of Bray, where the local parade was just finishing up. It was a late evening into Waterford, but a great St. Paddy's Weekend.