The taxi turned right into a skinny bumpy lane, passed a pub and pulled up at the corner. I was here. A man in a top hat colorfully painted on the upper floors of the white walls loomed over me and around the corner the outlines of another was sketched. Two names below the man read ‘Stephens’ and ‘Ulysses’. Fresh off an overnight flight, it was time for bed at the Blooms Hotel in Temple Bar Dublin. I was checked in and shown to the lobby couch, rooms would not be ready until 3:00 pm. I expressed my fatigue and before too long a ready room appeared. I pulled the heavy curtains shut blocking out the light absorbing the quiet and slept.
I woke in time for dinner and headed outside into the misty night. The streets are a maze of alleyways. Music filtering out of bars and buskers crooning. I peeked in the windows of cozy restaurants, menus filled with promises of delicious irish stews. The Boxty House‘s warm wood-paneled fireside character and healthful ingredients invited me to step inside. The Boxty is a traditional Irish potato pancake also known as ‘poor-house bread’. Instead I chose a platter full of freshness from the ocean; salmon, oysters, crab and mackerel. The gluten-free basil apple crisp ensured I would be back for more.
I popped into the Vat the adjacent hotel bar and ordered my complimentary whiskey. Irish songs, a lively crowd and fiddles had me swaying. Before too long I was asked to join a group down the block to John Gogarty’s Irish pub for more tunes and jig dancing. It was here in Temple Bar I was introduced to the characters from James Joyce’s Ulysses. Temple Bar is alive with Irish culture and glimpses into the past.
Sleep deeply at the Blooms Hotel and dream the dreams of lively music, lively drink, lively artists, musicians and wordsmiths.