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The parade was so good! But I'm getting ahead of myself...
Went out to Black Rock on Saturday morning as planned for the market. Caught the train down, it was a pretty quick trip but I got to see the sea and some more parts of greater Dublin. It was another really cold day, and the train carriage was warm and smelled somehow of pies and soup - very cosy.
Black Rock seemed quite a quiet seaside town. I was a bit early for the market when I arrived and so had a walk around the high street and the park. It was great to smell the sea. Also stopped for a coffee at Insomnia Coffee Company, it's the local Gloria Jeans equivalent but the coffee is stronger and the name appealed to me.
Have to say the market wasn't all it was cracked up to be. There were a few bric a brac stalls, but none of them great and a lot of them just had stock dumped in such a way that you couldn't actually enter the stall to have a closer look at any of it. There were a lot of second-hand book stalls, but I didn't see anything I wanted. To be fair, it was a drab day and it may be that some of the stall holders didn't show up, because it was quite quiet. Anyway, bottom line is that I was back in Dublin 2 hours after leaving it.
Got absolutely drenched that afternoon! The skies just opened and I got wet through to my t-shirt in spite of my umbrella, boots and raincoat. Spent a fair bit of time in the shops on Grafton St and in St Stephen's Green Centre just to keep undercover, and it was great to be in with all the milling crowds. Loads of buskers out, and some of them were fantastic.
Have had a great time just being in Dublin for the past few days, there has been such a spirit of friendship and fun and it has been great. Haven't necessarily done anything of note some days, and yet have still had a ball.
Yesterday, of course, was of note. St Patrick's Day in Ireland's capital is something else! Really amazing. Great parade which leaves Mardi Gras for dust, and then again that spirit of party and good times and friendship. Loads of music and dancing and laughter and Guiness and whiskey.
The parade went from 12-2, but you had to get to the barrier at 10am if you wanted a good spot (which I did). The crowds were huge, and I didn't spend much time with my back or legs straight, but it was fantastic being in there with so many people from so many places. The parade was an energetic affair (appropriate, as this year's them was energy) and consisted on many different community groups as well as a heap of American marching bands (a bit less interesting, but good on them for having a go anyway).
I spent the evening at the Temple Bar (ie: the actual pub called the Temple Bar which is in the pre-existing Temple Bar district just south of the river) and wound up having a great old time with a group of Irish, English, French, Italian and American people and me (and someone from the Shire, can you believe?). Reckon I'm going to be singing those ditties for weeks to come.
I've uploaded photos from the parade today, as well as the photos I had from my trip to Co Cork, so will add those albums now. Seriously, check out the parade pictures as it was fantastic (also please note that it's not out of any artistic sensibility that most of the pictures are at funny angles, it's more a case of that having been the angle I was "standing" while I was pressed up against the dangerously tilting barrier!).
Today is my last full day in Ireland and I've loved it here so much that I've actually lost some of my enthusiasm for going to Morocco as it will mean leaving here when, frankly, I could just stay on the quays or in the pubs for the rest of my trip and not want for anything else. I'm sure I'll get my enthusiasm back, though, just watch me!
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