Festive Dublin

By chance, we have chosen to visit Dublin on a very lively weekend. So today we decided to go to the two big events that are happening.

The first was "Bloom" a flower and Irish produce show, which takes place annually in Phoenix Park. It's a good name because not only is it appropriate to horticulture, it is also a nod to Dublin's favourite fictional son, Leopold Bloom, who is the main character in James Joyce's Ulysses. We took the tram to Heuston and then walked the half hour to the flower show. It didn't disappoint. There were loads of free food samples, cafés, shops with local produce, and of course the show gardens - about twenty of them. These were delightful, with many different themes, and so much effort and good ideas had gone into them. Water features were very much in vogue. As we were admiring one of them a young man approached James when he spotted his new Kraftwerk t-shirt. "Did you enjoy the gig last night?" he asked. James replied that he did and the man said "It was the best concert I've been to in my life!" 

We decided to take the free shuttle bus back to the tram stop. On the way, singing bus driver Dec (I kid you not) told us some of the history of Phoenix Park and then played us a tune from his latest album, which was quite reminiscent of Elvis Presley.  

Next we had a cup of tea in my beloved Avoca café. The food is so fresh and well-prepared, no visit to Dublin would be complete without a visit there (in my opinion anyway!)

And then we walked along the banks of the River Liffey to the second big event that has been taking place in Dublin this weekend - the Dublin Port Riverfest! This is also an annual event and involves seven Tall Ships that you can board, Thundercat racing (wee speed boats), kayaking and sailing, and of course lots of food and drink stalls. The atmosphere was great and we went on board the Shtandart which is a Russian tall ship. A replica of a 28 gun frigate built by Peter the Great in 1703. It operates as a sail training ship and the friendly crew allowed the public to clamber all over the ship with a refreshingly relaxed attitude to health and safety. It was great fun.

After all this it will come as no surprise that I'm rather tired and am planning a nap on our flight from Dublin back to Glasgow!