Today was "Buddy Day," and, in order to mix up the group a bit more than usual, each of us had to find a partner we hadn't traveled with, and spend the rest of the day together. Peter and I paired up, and decided we would go try to find the sea. This may seem like a strange thing to do, so I've included a handy-dandy map to give you an idea of what it meant. The walk there was about five miles.
We hadn't really planned a route of how we would get to the ocean. Instead, we got to the banks of the Rive Liffey, and strolled along it, towards the sea. The sky was grey and it started to rain, which was a nice weather to explore in.
Along our walk, we came upon this haunting work of art. It is the Famine Memorial, and is made up of seven freestanding bronze sculptures. Built by Norma Smurfit, it was given to the city of Dublin in 1997, to commemorate those forced away from their homes by the famine.
This work of art was simply amazing. With the rain hitting the statues, they appeared to be crying, and walking among their agonized forms was a humbling experience. I have seen many memorials before, but I think this may be one for the most effective. One of the figures that struck me the most was that of a woman with a shawl. Each figure had flowers placed by them, but hers was tied to her wrist so that it appeared that she was holding this desiccated bouquet. The effect was surreal- this starving, desperate woman clinging on to handfuls of flowers. While this may not have been anticipated by the artist, it certainly made a statement.
This work of art was simply amazing. With the rain hitting the statues, they appeared to be crying, and walking among their agonized forms was a humbling experience. I have seen many memorials before, but I think this may be one for the most effective. One of the figures that struck me the most was that of a woman with a shawl. Each figure had flowers placed by them, but hers was tied to her wrist so that it appeared that she was holding this desiccated bouquet. The effect was surreal- this starving, desperate woman clinging on to handfuls of flowers. While this may not have been anticipated by the artist, it certainly made a statement.
After this statue, we continued on along the riverside, and progressively watched the edge of the city unfold. Commercial streets became residential streets, residential streets became industrial streets, industrial streets became sidewalks, sidewalks became paths, paths became parks, and suddenly we were at the beach. We walked all the way to the water- quite a trek with the low tide, but worth the victory of sticking our shoes in the Dublin Bay. Along the way, we admired a quantity of sea shells (mostly clams and razors) and beautiful patterns in the sand.
The two of us took a lot of photos, so here is the trip, in photos, starting at the Iffey and ending at the beach. My camera ran of of batteries, so several of these were taken by Peter.
I recommend going through these in order, and, as usual, hovering over them to know what's going on!
The two of us took a lot of photos, so here is the trip, in photos, starting at the Iffey and ending at the beach. My camera ran of of batteries, so several of these were taken by Peter.
I recommend going through these in order, and, as usual, hovering over them to know what's going on!
And here is the result- mandatory success selfie #2, this time with the sea!
This was definitely a fun afternoon. Being able to just walk and see where we got to was great, and we saw some sides (or edges, really) of Dublin I had never imagined. It was like passing through multiple towns in one day.
The fact that we could just walk down to the sea was really surreal for me. Living so far from any body of water, it seemed crazy to be able to, in less than three hours, go from the center of a city to the sea...
On our way back, we had to admit that the 9 or so miles were taking a toll, and stopped to eat at an asian buffet. The food was delicious, and the restaurant was warm and dry which was almost as good.
Feeling happy and satisfied with the food and the adventure, we set off for the hotel again, to hear about what our classmates had done and blog about the trip to the sea.
This was definitely a fun afternoon. Being able to just walk and see where we got to was great, and we saw some sides (or edges, really) of Dublin I had never imagined. It was like passing through multiple towns in one day.
The fact that we could just walk down to the sea was really surreal for me. Living so far from any body of water, it seemed crazy to be able to, in less than three hours, go from the center of a city to the sea...
On our way back, we had to admit that the 9 or so miles were taking a toll, and stopped to eat at an asian buffet. The food was delicious, and the restaurant was warm and dry which was almost as good.
Feeling happy and satisfied with the food and the adventure, we set off for the hotel again, to hear about what our classmates had done and blog about the trip to the sea.
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