The goal for day one was to drink Guinness, see The Book of Kells and try not to fall asleep. Mission accomplished.
After spending the 2011 new year in France, I’ve been trying to get back, even if just a week. My friend, Bryan and I left on Thursday night from JFK and arrived in Dublin around 5:30 am Friday morning (still 12:30 am in NY, time to drink some Guinness, right?). We sleepily stumbled off the plane, got some cash, stowed a bag and soon were off to the city center of Dublin. We were dropped right next to Trinity College, Ireland’s oldest University, founded in 1592. The walled campus is beautiful and quiet, providing a nice contrast from the surrounding bustling streets of Dublin. Here are a few shots.
After some walking, we found Bewley’s Cafe, for a full traditional Irish breakfast. Jet lag was officially setting in at this point, but we had to power through. We stuffed our faces and then it was back to Trinity College to see The Book of Kells. After our dose of culture, we headed out into the city to find some Guinness. We hit up a few nice pubs, including Temple Bar, which is apparently the most famous in the area.
I don’t know this guy…he just seemed excited that I was taking a shot in front of Temple Bar so he thought he’d join me
After a few pints of Guinness is the best time to try some new photographic techniques, right? I borrowed a 10 stop ND filter from a friend for this trip in anticipation of trying out some long daytime exposures. I’m still working on figuring out some of the best techniques. Here’s a first try on the Grand Canal in Dublin (I have some better ones I’m getting in Paris).
It was chilly on the canal bridge and beginning to rain, jet lag had set in 3 times over and we were just getting our fourth wind. We ducked into Gallaghers Boxty House back in the Temple area for a hearty traditional lunch of bangers and mash and a Murphy’s stout before heading back to the airport. All in all the “12 hour layover” experiment was a success. In the future when traveling I may try this technique more. It’s a little tiring, but can give you a great snapshot of a city in a very short amount of time.
Ok, I knew you were going to Dublin, I didn’t realize it was a layover. Holy cow. So, basically, you partied the (NY) night away 🙂
haha, pretty much. We didn’t start drinking Guinness until around 10:30 am though, even though my body was ready to when we landed…since it was about midnight NY time 🙂