Happy New Year

It’s New Year’s Day and I’m sitting in the dining room of the Four Seasons Hotel nursing a pint of Smithwicks Irish Ale. As I’m staring at the guests in the adjoining bar, I’m wondering why we’re here.

“Who does this?” I say to myself as I’m shaking my head. Apparently a lot of people as the restaurant was packed. Sleeping rooms have not been turning over as quickly management expected, but then again, it’s New Year’s Day in Dublin. Given their intake of adults beverages last night, guests probably need a bit more time to check out.

But it makes no difference to me; I’m in no rush. I want to soak in everything about this moment. My mental “to do” list hasn’t changed much since we first talked of visiting. See the sites in Dublin, visit the Irish countryside and coastline, kiss the Blarney Stone and have a shot of Jameson with Irishman named Declan or Sheamus. All still seemed possible in the next 72 hours.

The words of my friend are muted by all the activity going around us; the movement of chairs and furniture as the dining room tries to accommodate awaiting guests; laughter from the children playing around the Christmas trees in the lobby; the smell of the fish and chips with mushy peas in a lidded jar that just arrived at our table.

After a quick tour of our room and adding buying a bottle of bubble bath to my “to do” list, we headed back down stairs. We were whisked away by the hotel’s porter to the closest stop for the site-seeing tours. As dusk fell, we were able to catch the last tour of the day, but not the night tour. The difference being 20 euros.

The sites of the city were fascinating at the night. It’s as if some of Dublin’s secrets that could to not be revealed in daylight were being whispered at nightfall. I was able to capture the soul of the city by the full moon.

Dublin is much more compact than I anticipated and I quickly feel at home in the city. On our last night, I found myself in a restaurant in Temple Bar sipping a pint of O’Hara, waiting for my lamb shank and cabbage to arrive. As I stared at the patrons, a smile came to my face as the answer to my question came to me.

We all are in Dublin for the same reason; we come for the history, the shamrocks, the castles, the vistas, the lrish accent, but what we find is a city that welcomes you with open arms and friendly smiles. It’s the intangibles that make you want to come back time and time again. That and the beer. Yes, we also come for the beer.