Destination
Dublin, Ireland
Sleep
Sonder – The Earl
Eat
Doolally | Tang | The Ivy | Vintage Cocktail Club
Shop
Brown Thomas | Siopaella Designer Exchange
See
The Long Room | The National Gallery of Ireland | The Royal Hibernian Academy
It already feels like ages since we were in Dublin. Which I suppose makes sense since it’s been three months since we got home. What a joy to once again have so many adventures to write about that it takes so long to get to some of them. (But also, what a good reason to take notes. There’s so much that had already slipped my mind! It’s all too easy, when we’re busy, to let good memories escape in favour of holding onto practical information – but then again, I guess I do also need to know where I left my keys, so it’s a give and take.) The visit was a pleasant blur of windy walks punctuated by museum and gallery visits. My impression of Dublin as a European capital is, I would say, not yet fully formed. But we visited many places I truly loved, so naturally, I want to share them.
Sleep
Sonder – The Earl
I stayed with Sonder for the first time in London last fall. The booking was a fiasco, but the stay itself proved very pleasant. We made the decision, after that, to give them a second try on our Dublin trip. No regrets. The Earl was just opened when we arrived, impeccably decorated and conveniently located for everything we wanted to do. We loved every detail, and would happily return.
Eat
I say this everywhere we go, it seems – probably because Ian knows how to pick restaurants and I mostly leave it up to him to do that – but we ate so well in Dublin. Everywhere. Narrowing down a list of my favourite restaurants was no easy task, but then, it never really is and somehow, I manage every time.
Doolally – The Lennox Building, 47-51 Richmond St S
I’ve loved Indian cuisine since I first tried chana masala served on a paper plate at Folklorama, an annual cultural festival in Winnipeg. But I’ve never had Indian food quite like at Doolally, where the flavours are fused with European ingredients to create something totally original – and delicious. I would go back for the just buratta pa tta chat… and possibly order a second one this time!
Tang – 23C Dawson Street
This tiny coffee shop and restaurant doesn’t look like much from outside. In fact, it almost looks like there won’t be room to sit down. But it’s always crowded, and with good reason. The dishes they serve are perfection. It’s rare that I would make mention of mushrooms on toast, never mind rave about them, but seriously – at Tang, they were pure perfection, marinated and meaty but light and warm, served with the most delicious sauces on crusty bread. In short, they were heavenly. If I could order them for delivery by mail, I gladly would. But instead, I’ll be back to have them at Tang again next time we visit Dublin.
The Ivy – 13-17 Dawson Street
We dashed to The Ivy at the last minute after another lunch plan fell through. And it turned out to feel meant to be. We fell in love with the decor in the restaurant the minute we entered, the service was impeccable and everything, including the food, was perfectly elegant. While perhaps not the best spot for lunch in a hurry, we loved our meal here and we sorry we hadn’t stopped in sooner.
Vintage Cocktail Club – 15 Crown Alley
Full credit goes to my dear friend Gwen for finding this gem for us to visit. As close to a true speakeasy as you’ll find, Vintage Cocktail Club looks like little more than an unmarked door that opens onto a dimly lit flight of stairs laid with outdated carpet. But at the top of those stairs, you take a charming step back in time, into an opulently room filled with vintage furnishings where cocktails are served from an extensive (and creative) list while jazz plays in the background. It’s cozy, like being at a party with a bunch of people you mostly don’t know in someone else’s home, and I mean that in the best possible way.
Shop
Shopping on holiday is always a bit of an afterthought for me, outside of visits to Paris. It’s not that we don’t shop. We do, but it’s never high on my to-do list and I don’t seek out particular shops deliberately. We found a few good ones on this trip that were worth a mention, of course, as always… but in the spirit of full transparency, I’ll admit that the only place I actually made a purchase in Dublin was at & Other Stories.
Brown Thomas – 88 Grafton Street
I love a good department store. Ian does, too – we met working at one, after all. Brown Thomas is the main department store in Dublin, and all the brands I can’t resist are there; Chanel, Dior, Gucci… the list goes on. We had entirely too much fun browsing, and Ian might have even come home with something in a Gucci box. (While I, surprisingly, restrained myself…)
Siopaella Designer Exchange – 30 Wicklow Street
…though how I managed it after we stumbled upon Siopaella, I don’t know. I’m a sucker for vintage and preloved designer bags, always. And this shop was a veritable paradise of them, full of gently used Chanel just for a start. I wanted to buy everything. The saleswoman and I commiserated when she admitted she feels the same every day at work. It was almost as much fun just to browse, though. It always amazes and intrigues me to see what pieces others choose to give up to make room in their own designer collections.
See
It sounds glib to say that I went to Dublin to go to a library, but it’s true – two libraries, in fact: the Long Room at Trinity College and Marsh’s Library. The second, sadly, was closed for inventory during our trip… which I suppose just means we’ll have to go back one of these days. In the meantime, we found lots of other ways to entertain ourselves, and a couple of galleries I really loved.
The Long Room – Trinity College
Libraries and bookstores have always been my happy place. And the Long Room at Trinity College truly is the library to end all libraries – the smell of old books greets you as you come up the stairs, and how wonderful. The library is, as its name suggests, one long room, stacked two stories high with on either side with shelves upon shelves of books, accessible by ladder or spiral staircase. Visitors can only look, but even looking, just standing among all of that history and knowledge, is an experience I’m so grateful to have enjoyed. (We were, in fact, lucky enough to visit the Long Room with a professor from Trinity College – thank you Linda!) It felt particularly serendipitous when we learned that the Long Room closes for renovation this October, and won’t reopen for several years. We were in the right place at the right time. If you’re in Dublin this year, make sure you visit while you still have the chance.
National Gallery of Ireland – Merrion Square West
I’ve never met a national art gallery I didn’t love, and this one was no exception. Entry is to the permanent collections, made up of Irish and European art, is free. We could walk in to browse the collection, displayed in a magnificent building, whenever it suited us. The gallery proved to be a wonderful refuge from the rain when we happened to be passing by, and the perfect spot to spend a couple of happy hours browsing. We visited repeatedly, never getting bored.
The Royal Hibernian Academy – 15 Ely Place
If your tastes run more towards modern art, The Royal Hibernian Academy, another large, public gallery where entry is free, is a must. It’s been around longer than the National Gallery and serves an entirely different purpose; to support and teach artists. The works on display here, which vary by season, are thought provoking as well as, in some cases, beautiful.
