Friday, June 10, 2016

My Dublin bucket list

My irish Dublin bucket list, largely inspired by French Foodie ( See her's http://www.frenchfoodieindublin.com/2015/12/my-dublin-bucket-list.html )

  • Kayaking on the royal/grand canal.
  • Cycle along the royal canal. (grand canal too).
  • Swimming at the 40 foot.
  • Visit St. Valentine in Whitefriar Street Church.
  • Visit the Teeling Whiskey distillery.
  • See the Final of the Hurling GAA championship in Croke Park, if possible featuring Limerick - Might have to wait a long time for that one.
  • Go to a show in the Abbey Theatre.
  • See the deers in the Phoenix Park.
  • Cycle in Phoenix Park.
  • Cycle in Clontarf.
  • Visit Jeanie Johnston tall ship and famine museum.
  • Visit the National Gallery of Ireland. - the restaurant is very decent, but so far I have not been to the gallery itself.
  • Visit the Dublin Writers Museum.
  • Visit the Áras an Uachtaráin.
  • Sail in Dublin Bay.
  • Visit the Irish National War Memorial Gardens.
  • Go see Roller Derby in Tallaght (National Basketball Arena)
  • Go to the National Aquatic Centre.
  • Yoga in Ranelagh / Yoga in the Park or Yoga by the sea (Sandymount ).
  • Go to the Gravediggers pub.
  • Hill walk up to the Hell Fire Club.
  • Walk the Dodder all the way to Lansdowne road.
  • Have a bite in the following restaurants:
    • Super Miss Sue
    • Anything suggested by French Foodie

And my completed ones:
  • I saw the Book of Kells: the long hall of the library was way more awesome than the book itself - you can only see one page.
  • Visit the Guinness Storehouse: Good one, especially for the very special treat of savoring a pint of Guinness while enjoying a 360 view of Dublin.
  • Visit the Little Museum of Dublin: So much to see in this tiny space, a little capharnaüm-esque. I wish the museum was somehow bigger, and there were more signs telling the story of each artifact - maybe in audio format. The guides are excellent and full of stories... don't just go there to watch the items, the stories are what makes the whole experience exhilarating.
  • Boating in Dublin Bay - cruise from Dun Laoghaire to Howth.
  • Eat a Dublin coddle: not sure I got what so fantastic about them, nice dish, I will probably get it the next time I see it on a menu. Pity, it is so rare to find a place which serves them in Dublin. Maybe an additional excuse to go to the gravedigger.
  • Go to Johnnie Fox's: fun
  • Visit the Old Jameson Distillery: Quite disappointed to be honest, I enjoyed more the Bushmills tour.
  • See a GAA match in Croke Park: seen a few hurling and Football, most notably on the St Patrick.
  • See a rugby match in Lansdowne road:
  • France and Ireland: It was friendly, and France won .... woot
  • European Cup: ASM vs Leinster, and Clermont Won.... woot
  • European Cup Final: ASM vs Toulon :( we shall not talk about Alesia...
  • Visit the National Botanic Gardens: Excellent, especially for kids, there is also a lovely one in Wicklow.
  • Visit the Dublin Zoo: Brilliant... will return soon, and more often, my favorites: the sea lions, the otters and the red panda.
  • Visit the Glasnevin cemetery : the fascinating story of the place itself and then people stories, do the guided tour, learn how enemies ended up buried feet from each other. There is a documentary worth watching: "One Million Dubliners" directed by Aoife Kelleher.
  • Visit the Irish museum of Modern Art: good one, the ground are excellent for kids running, and there is a tea room for mammy to relax.
  • Visit the National Museum of Ireland: If only to see some of the Eileen Gray stuff, or the military area, do take the trip to see the Asgard ship.
  • Go to Forbidden Fruit.
  • Go see the miniature model train in Marlay park.
  • Visit and Buy a book in those brilliant bookshops:
  • Hodges Figgis
  • The winding Stair
  • Have tea and tart in the Queen of Tarts.
  • Visit the Archeology part of the National Museum - an amazing collection.
  • Visit the dead animal museum - more interesting than i thought, but not buggy friendly.
  • Visit Dublin Castle.
  • Take a stroll along the great south walk wall, (poolbeg lighthouse walk).
  • Take a stroll along the north bull wall (Clontarf).
  • Have a drink in those pubs - highly recommended
  • Izakaya
  • Stag's Head
  • Against the grain
  • Anseo
  • The Bernard shaw
  • Have a bite in the following restaurants:
  • Yamamori

Tuesday, June 07, 2016

The dodder ....

And this is how we started exploring the dodder ....

Where you can see a Rhino in the river
Rhino



A Weir
weir



Two Pals looking for grub.
Fishing



Chilling under trees
chilling water







Under the trees

Brickmania

Lego Smurf castle ??   Eva.... massive build Swimming in bricks ?