Days 20-21: Still Kicking

Made it to Dublin alright yesterday, but I've been feeling pretty worn down. I don't know if it's been the lack of sleep, the cold weather or just needing to take a few days to relax. I didn't have any specific destinations or plans for Dublin, so I've mostly just been wandering around exploring things as I find them. My tour starts tomorrow, so I figure if there's anything really important to do in Dublin the tour will cover it.

I haven't really come across anything too interesting in the area - either looking for things online or by foot.  I went to the art gallery yesterday and the museum of decorative arts and history.  I've also spent a lot of time just aimlessly walking around the commercial area, the most interesting of which was Grafton Street.

There are some interesting differences with employment in England and Scotland, but they seem even more apparent here.  Probably largely due to all the economy issues Ireland is having, there are a lot of beggars around, as well as both buskers and human signs.  I noticed that second group in Scotland a lot too - people who spend all day standing in the same spot on these pedestrian streets with a sign pointing out some shop down an alley.  Perhaps it's just due to the the premium on real estate which leads to shops being in back alleys or hidden plazas that require extra advertising to make people aware of them, but I can't see anybody choosing a job like that for any reason but desperation.  The buskers are also an interesting group.  I find they break down into the talented (generally musicians) that might be busking in any case, and people who are just looking for any way to make money but who have no real artistic talent to sell.  In Dublin, the regulars I've seen in this group include a few human statues (the good ones can be impressive, but these are just people wearing makeup and painted clothes and aren't impressive at all), a guy who spent the entire day making giant bubbles, two middle aged men in leprechaun suits (at least they're clever.  I've seen more than one tourist go to get a picture taken with them and then feel obligated to leave some money), and my favourite - this guy:

I don't know where he draws his inspiration from, but as you can see he's a guy dressed in a tiger costume that dances very poorly, but with a lot of energy to a wide variety of music he has playing. I don't know if he does it out of necessity or for fun, but at least he looks like he's enjoying himself.

The other thing I've noticed so far is a huge increase in the amount of religious icons, but wasn't a huge surprise considering it's Ireland. In general I don't have too much interest in churches and cathedrals (other than perhaps some of the gothic cathedrals), but I made a point to swing by St. Patrick's Cathedral. There are many St. Patrick's around the world, but this one is the largest church in Ireland, and has historical significance with St. Patrick.

Just to round out the pictures, here's the cheery Famine Monument, which sits next to the Famine Museum (which is on a tall ship). I realize that it's an important part of Irish history, but I just wasn't in the mood for a museum on famine.

Finally, to end on a nicer note, here's a terribly shy guy I found in a park that required me sitting motionless for about 10 minutes to get a decent picture.