5 Days in Dublin

After a lovely week with my brother in Edinburgh it was time for a bit of solo travel to Ireland. It is the one place overseas I had been before as in my early 20’s I went on a grand adventure with my 2 roommates to Ireland and toured much of the Island.

Dublin came at the very end of that trip and I honestly couldn’t remember a thing about visiting there. So when pondering where to go for some solo adventure time nearish to Scotland, Dublin was in the forefront of my thoughts.  I honestly wasn’t sure why I was feeling called to go to Dublin, but trusted whatever was telling me to.

So I booked an AirBnb there to have a home base in an area I had a feeling I’d like. Honestly, I didn’t plan much as I really wanted to be present for the Edinburgh part of the trip and knew that whatever happened in Dublin would be grand.

Cause, well…life with a camera in hand…you find beauty wherever you go.

My first day in Dublin set the tone for the rest of the trip. I wandered around the Temple Bar area and around every turn I’d see murals and street art which other than selfies is pretty much my favourite thing to capture through the lens. So much so that when I’d turn another corner and see MORE art, more murals at one point I found myself feeling a little emotional. Beauty overwhelm you could say!

So each day I headed out for a different area of town to see what street art and other bits of beauty I could find and find it I did. It’s a vibrant urban city in just my favourite ways. Not only that, but as you probably know, earlier this year Ireland was the first country in the world to legalize same sex marriage by popular vote. Even these months later you could feel the energy of the YES vote and especially see it in the street art and literally on the walls of buildings. It definitely stole my heart. I live in a country where this has been law for a decade which I deeply value, but a country voting it in feels SO powerful.

I spent most of my days walking with my camera until my feet were sore. What I loved the most about each of these wanderings is that I didn’t have to plan out anything but the general area I wanted to go to. The art just found me. I’d peek down side streets and alleys or just find it there right in front of me. It’s that feeling of seeking it out and finding it that felt really wonderful too…it’s not about getting it perfect, it’s about the adventure.

Day 1 was the Temple Bar area where you’ll find the most murals and street art in the city and probably the most likely to be the same art next time I’m there for the most part.

I headed over to Gratham Street which is the fancier shopping area of town. I’m glad I checked it out and loved the small streets around that area but it was probably the most busy touristy part of Dublin and I confess I found myself more at ease as soon as I left.

I also found the St Patricks Park that I was staying near which was such a sweet place to settle into the energy of just sitting and savouring the moment. In Paris I stayed near the Luxembourg Gardens and it seems as though the ‘park around the corner’ has become a favourite part of my travels and invites in that energy of slowing down.

Day 2 I explored Camden Street which had my favourite art which I found out later were all mainly by the artist Maser. All of the murals with the big bold statements were his and what I really love about his work is the heart in it, the love and the messages of empowerment it shares. You can find his Instagram here if you’re interested.

I also was finally able to check out the Tivoli Car Park which is a big parking lot full of graffiti and murals fairly near where I was staying. It was closed the first day and I was SO eager to get in there and check it out. I think it’s the street art that probably changes the most often. It sounds like they have an event and redo it every year.

I also headed over to the St. Stephen’s Green and Iveagh Gargens (the later was SO lovely and quiet and had me swooning and feeling that aliveness and living in the moment).  It was the perfect place to put my camera down and take some selfies!

Day 3 I headed over to a different area of town past the Guinness Brewery and checked out the Museum of Modern Art which I LOVED and spend a large portion of the day there. I checked out a number of art and photography galleries while I was there too but this was most definitely my favourite. Both in Ireland and Scotland the National Galleries are free (or by donation) which absolutely rocks and I checked out some of those too as well as the Modern Gallery.

Day 4 I got up SUPER early and headed out with both my big lens (the heavy one that I’d been resisting carrying around this week but also knew I wanted to capture the city in it) and my Polaroid camera. There were also a number of murals I had been wanting to get a shot of without a car in front of it.

In the afternoon I went on my 1 and only tour of the trip which was a blast. It was an electric bike tour with a wonderful company Lazy Bike Tours (awesome name, right). Getting to see a city by bike is a favourite way to travel but this city made me nervous in terms of cycling so I wanted to be sure to go with a tour (oh, plus the driving on the other side of the road thing)!

Day 5: Alas, on Day 5 I packed up and headed out, first stopping at my favourite breakfast place in Dublin called Queen of Tarts (where they had divine gluten free bread) before heading to the airport and wandering the Temple Bar mural lined streets once more before hopping on the bus to the airport and heading home across the ocean.

I came home with a full heart from this part of the trip too, feeling so grateful for all the vibrant beauty that I got to come across in Dublin. I’m glad I listened to that travel-intuition even though I had no clue what I’d find.

There truly is beauty everywhere, awaiting us to seek it out.

Both home and afar.