The barman at Oil Cans was had been the doorman when Chris and I met and had our first date. He actually remembered us, or at least claimed he did. It was very nice. He chatted with us quite a bit and made us feel very welcome. While they had made some changes inside, overall it was much the same as when we met.
The above and next few pictures are from Merrien Square Park, a few minutes walk from our original lodging (now very upscale apartments). We spent a lot of our courtship in this park, overlooked by the languid eye of Oscar Wilde.
From Merrien Square we walked through Trinity College, famous home of the Book of Kells, and where I had stayed 14 years before on my first trip to Ireland.
The entry gate to Trinity, which is locked every night, and will only be opened if you ring the night watchman. Trinity opens up to Temple Bar, a famous part of Dublin's nightlife. We found it had changed dramatically in the past 12 years--and that the tourists were mainly middle aged rather than in their 20s as when we were there. I imagine much of this is due to the economy and how expensive Ireland is under the Euro. So after wandering by a few of our old haunts, we went and had a curry at a small but good Indian restaurant. Then we walked in to a few old pubs, and then headed back to our hotel. There we got a couple drinks in the bar and sat chatting in the comfortable lobby. It was a wonderful night, and a good night for us to get "away."
