In Dublin´s fair city where the girls are so pretty...
Hope you are all ok. I am fine and back in Madrid after a good weekend in Dublin, apart from the fact that (and I point this out to everyone I meet) it was a lot more expensive than I had expected it was going to be. A pint of Guiness for 5€ and generally eating out was overpriced, but maybe we just chose the wrong places...That said I thought it would be a really great place to spend a long period of time, a month or so. In many ways Madrid is very similar in that apart from a few monuments and museums there is little to do but sit back and soak up the craic (Once again the Irish confirmed their wonderful reputation for friemdliness and hospitality), and a few beverages.
I thought that some of the buildings were impressive, but refused to pay 7€ to go and see a library in Trinity College and unfortunately the Castle was closed for the EU presidency. We did however go to the Guiness brewery, which took rather longer to find than you would think for such a large place. And course, what you need after 3 hours searching for a Guiness brewery is... a pint of Guiness, at the more than reasonable price of 13€!!! Well that's not strictly true the 13€ is the entrance fee to the museum, but seeing as the museum was, to put it mildly, dissappointing that has to be the most expensive pint of beer I've ever bought.
But for all the complaining (you'll be pleased that I haven't mentioned the weather!) I would still recommend it as a place to go for a few days, but I think next time I'll go for longer, rent a car and see more of the island.
Back in Madrid, we are still feeling the effects of 311. There was the state funeral yesterday to which various dignatries were invited. And posters have gone up where the regional government expresses its gratitude for the solidarity of the people of Madrid, plus there will be a new government soon, but more on that later.
posted by SG @ 2:27 p. m.
