THE TRAVELLING KID: DUBLIN!

Here is why our pals thought we were a little bit nuts to take our son to Dublin:

a.It was February.  Didn’t we know that it was going to be cold and rainy?

b.Jacob was only 10 months old.  What the heck were we planning on doing?

c.Did we know that ‘they’ drive like maniacs on the ‘wrong’ side of the road and that there is virtually no signage of any sort?

d.It’s very expensive now.  It will cost you a fortune!

Well.  Our pals had a point. 

But we went.  It was wonderful.  We had fun.  End of story.   And a great story it ‘twas in the land of limericks and leprechauns and luck.  Hope you enjoy it.

Although I never did spot a leprechaun, we indeed were touched by the luck ‘o the Irish.  The people, the sites and the friendly faces made this trip one of our favorite jaunts ever.  It was February and it did rain.  So what?  It rains in Ireland all the time anyway…so why not February?  All the better to enjoy a steaming bowl of Irish Stew in a small roadside inn in the countryside!  And so what that Jacob was only 10 months old?  He loved every minute and so did we.  All in all it was, as the Irish say:  Craic!  (which is pronounced, ‘crack’ and means fun and good times)  As they say in Dublin:  ‘The Craic was mighty!’  Not only was the Craic mighty…the euro was a bit mighty too.  But despite the strong euro, the trip was affordable because we were there in the off-season.  We also found the traffic in Dublin to be mighty as well.  The streets of Dublin are basically impossible to navigate in a car, but we found this small city incredibly easy to explore on foot.  So…stroller and baby carrier in hand…we enjoyed every last cobblestone. 

First of all, we had a GREAT base of operations.  We stayed at the CLARENCE HOTEL, which was built by Bono and The Edge of U2 fame. (www.theclarence.ie)  Despite it’s rock ‘n roll heritage, the hotel provided us with good old-fashioned Irish hospitality.  We opened the door to our room and found a crib and a neatly folded tiny tee shirt with Jacob’s name on it.  The staff was astounding…from Josh at the front desk to Jerome the bellman…the hotel bent over backwards to make us feel comfy and at home.  Located on the lovely River Liffey in the Temple Bar area of town, the Clarence put us in the heart of the city where everything is just a

short walk away.  Temple Bar is also home to a LOT of pubs and for us this turned out, oddly enough, to be a good thing.  Our ‘family’ hours kept us from encountering the drunken ruckus often associated with this part of town.  We hung out in the afternoons and early evenings and listened to some of the BEST music we’ve ever heard…acoustic REAL DEAL Irish pub music…lively, friendly and perfect for a 10 month old and his travelling parents. 

Our favorite pub was Oliver St. John Gogarty’s…I mean even the name is SOOO cool and Irish.  This historic place is named after a famous poet and writer and their web site invites you to ‘enjoy the craic, traditional Irish music, and great food in this award-winning Dublin pub or visit our excellent restaurant on the second floor’.  We did both.   I suggest you do the same. (http://gogartys.ie)

Just walking about with no agenda is a great thing to do in Dublin…strolling along you may encounter a friendly postman or a flower filled park like we did.  Merrion Square and St. Stephen’s Green in the center of town offer great green expanses and ducks to feed and playgrounds to play in and for those who love carriage rides,

you are in luck.  Just nearby you’ll find GRAFTON STREET , a pedestrian only heaven for strollering about and/or letting kids run about.  Grafton Street has tons of shops and restaurants and is a people-watching mecca.   Keep wandering and you’ll run into Trinity College and depending on the age of your travelling kid you may want to pay a visit to the Trinity College Library and check out The Book of Kells, an extraordinarily illustrated religious text.  It is simply beautiful and the exhibits showing how they made the Book of Kells -  from making the parchment to the pigments - is actually interesting for older kids.  Jacob just thought the shiny gold stuff was interesting.  The giant, fabulous bookstalls are a must see for book freaks like me and Jacob was also mildly interested as the room is like nothing you’ve ever seen before.  You also should pay a visit to the gift shop.  It may sound strange to list a gift shop as a destination, but this one is overflowing with great things for kids…toys and coloring books with knights and Celtic symbols and books of Irish Fairy Tales and dragons and castles and leprechauns and other magnificent mystical beings.  

Now…ye need to know that mystical beings aren’t just for kids in Ireland.  We took a couple of ‘field trips’ out of Dublin and I swear I saw a fairy or two.  We did heed the advice of friends and did not attempt the drive ourselves.  We found a WONDERFUL car service run by a very nice man named Alan Merrigan.  He and his friend have been chauffeurs for rock stars and politicians alike and we were lucky enough to have their wisdom and guidance for our whole trip in a safe car with a car seat.  Not only that, but it was cheaper than renting a car with insurance and parking in Dublin.  I suggest you call him. 

(email: ams@indigo.ie / mobile: (011 353) 097-2543965 / Tel/Fax (011 353) 1-2855634)

Our first trip was to NEWGRANGE (http://www.knowth.com/newgrange.htm)

an Irish Passage tomb built 5,000 years ago.  This enormous grass covered mound covers a single tomb consisting of a long, long passage and a chamber. 

What is extraordinary about this ANCIENT place is that every winter solstice sunrise, a shaft of sunlight pierces the darkness through the roof box over the entrance and illuminates the chamber.  This elusive event lasts only 17 minutes at dawn from December 19-23.  Mystical for sure. 

Our next adventure was to

POWERSCOURT GARDENS in County Wicklow. (www.powerscourt.ie) From its Lake, to its Japanese gardens, to its fountains …the gardens are a lovely place to wander about. Jake loved feeding the ducks and marveled at a suit of armor and the giant stone horse statues.   It was a great field trip.  Our driver also took us to have Irish Stew at a roadside inn and then drove us through the stunning mountains of Wicklow to the ruins of Glendalough , a monastery with a famous stone tower and fabulous cemetery. 

Some local schoolboys were running and giggling mischievously among the headstones and I had my first glimpse of Jacob 10 years in the future. Speaking of the future there are tons of things for kids to do in Ireland and so we plan a return trip. The next time we go we will go spend more time in County Wicklow and try to go to Glenroe Open Farm (email: mail@glenroefarm.com) where kids can meet and greet farm animals and learn about farm life.  There is also a playground.  Sounds like fun.

Ireland IS fun.  The people are fun, the music fun.  As you can see, despite our skeptical pals…travelling to Ireland with a 10 month old in freezing February in a bustling city more famous for pubs than it’s charm turned out to be a grand adventure for our travelling family.  We wouldn’t have had it any other way. 

Maybe next time, I’ll even get to see a leprechaun. 

That WOULD be fun.

1. See Google map below for Dublin Live!