Halloween in Dublin

Anyone who really knows me will tell you that I watch a lot of movies. Not only do I watch them, but I have a tendency to memorize them as well. I'll admit it can be a little bit ridiculous at times, especially for those who have no idea what I am talking about most of the time. This love of movies sometimes gets incorporated into my travels as I start to see similarities between new people/places and the fictional characters I know from my constant movie watching.
A few weeks ago I went to London for the first time. When I got to the Liverpool Street Train Station I felt like I had landed in the world of Harry Potter (Yes, I am a big Harry Potter fan).
Well, if London was Harry Potter then Dublin, to me, was without a doubt Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (the original movie)! The small cobblestone streets, distinctive Georgian houses, and of course the factory in the middle of the town. The only difference was that in this case, it wasn’t a chocolate factory. It was the Guinness beer factory.

Just as in Wonka’s factory, Guinness has high walls surrounding most of the perimeter giving the impression that whatever is going on inside is not to be seen by the outside public. Of course, you don’t need a golden ticket to get a tour of the Guinness factory. After getting inside, I was hoping find some kind of beer factory worker equivalent to an Oompa Loompa or maybe a beer river, but no luck.

Before I got to Dublin many of my friends who had visited the city before told me that if there was one thing I needed to see while I was there it was this factory...and they were right. The place is very impressive, with seven floors not only devoted to the history of its beer, but also to the city of Dublin. I’m not a big beer drinker, but the free pint of extra cold Guinness at the seventh floor bar with its 360 degree views of the city was the highlight of the tour. Definitely the best glass of beer I’ve ever had.

I was in Dublin over the weekend to celebrate my cousin Gianni’s birthday. I was invited to tag along with a group of his friends and I had a great time. When the bill came at the end of our dinner I was expecting to split Gianni's portion with the other people at the table. Apparently, in Italy when a person celebrates their birthday they take all their friends out for dinner and pay for it. I had never heard of that before and I was surprised when I saw my cousin get up to pay the bill. I guess I'll have to be prepared when my birthday rolls around this year!

His birthday is on Halloween, but in Italy Halloween isn’t really a big deal. Ireland on the other hand, celebrates Halloween the just like the US. When we went out early in the day and my cousin and all his friends saw all the costumes, they got excited and wanted to dress up for the night as well. We didn’t really have time to do anything elaborate, so we ended up going to a costume shop and bought 9 identical wigs and mustaches. The description on the package was “70’s TV personality.” We were basically all dressed as Will Ferrell’s character Ron Burgundy from Anchorman. We definitely turned some heads as we walked down the street that night.

Overall, I had a great time in Dublin despite the cold and rainy weather. I kind of expected that, and so it didn’t bother me that much. I’d love to go back to Ireland if I get the chance while I’m out here.

I’ll be heading to Germany next week to watch some gymnastics, breakdancing, and visit a bunch of different cities.

Some other interesting notes from Dublin:
-There is a park in the middle (Phoenix Park) of Dublin that is twice the size of Central Park in NYC. It’s enormous.
-It was weird to see a Starbucks again while I was in Dublin. Italy is very protective of its coffee and Starbucks is not allowed in the country. I haven’t seen that circular green sign in a while up until this past weekend.
-The Subway (sandwich shop) in Dublin sells a bacon sandwich for 1Euro. Bread and Bacon...that’s it. I don’t remember ever seeing that on the menu in the US.
-There is an impressive list of writers who have direct connections to Dublin . The list includes James Joyce, Jonathan Swift, Oscar Wilde, Samuel Beckett, and Bram Stoker just to name a few.