Last year, Michael found out that his favorite singer/songwriter was planning his first tour around Europe - but not to Paris. Within 30 minutes of checking his tour schedule, we had found cheap flights, bought concert tickets, and had a short weekend planned to Dublin to see Ryan Bingham on Saturday, 31 January, 2015. Our trip to Dublin this past weekend started in the dark, early morning hours of Saturday in a taxi, then a bus, followed by a low-budget flight from Beauvais/Paris Airport (super not in Paris) to Dublin; then another bus ride in Ireland from the airport into Dublin. Despite how awful this all sounds, it was a surprisingly painless trip. When we landed in Dublin, we were beside ourselves with excitement at being back in an Anglophone country. I need to ask for directions? No problem! Do I understand side conversations going on around me? I sure do! Living in Paris, it's easy to forget how much of the time I spend "outside" with my guard up; never sure that if someone comes up to me I'm going to be able to understand them, and if I do, if I'll be able to say something semi-intelligent back. It's exhausting. And this was our first time in over a year enjoying the freedom of being a native speaker. Since we were only in town for two days, we hit the ground running. In order of appearance, we spent a few cooold but sunny days visiting:
Now let's talk about the music. Dublin is a city whose heart beats the sound of a song. Around every corner, and in every bar, there is live music pouring into the streets. I remember this vividly from my first trip to Ireland. The Ryan Bingham concert that started this whole adventure was incredible. The venue was small, and we got there early enough to score front row seats in the balcony. It was one of those experiences where the musician is on stage singing your favorite songs, and filling in the pieces with stories behind them. We had seen him twice when we lived in DC, and are already plotting where we'll go next time he comes through Europe on tour ;) After the concert, we took our music-high selves down to Temple Bar to try our luck at finding some good, classic Irish bar drinking songs. The Quay Bar did not disappoint. We closed it down late on Saturday night, sipping a glass of Jameson and knowing that life and Ireland were well and good that day. You can find more pictures from our trip here.
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AuthorBecause why not get married and move to Paris to really kick off your thirties? Archives
December 2016
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