Christmas Eve and Christmas in Dublin

Do you know what's open in Dublin on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day? Almost literally nothing! But I knew that going in, so that was completely okay...and it was perfect to take a walk past some of Dublin's literary landmarks. For instance, the house where Bram Stoker lived! (His birthplace is nearby too, but we didn't walk by that.) I didn't know Stoker was Irish, and I was sad not to go to the super-touristy Bram Stoker castle that is also in Dublin. Unfortunately, it's closed through mid-2020, so that's a goal for another trip. 

We briefly paused the literary walk to go to the National Museum of Ireland to see the bog bodies. Admission was free, which was a nice bonus. A bog body is someone who has been mummified in peat, and they can retain their skin, organs, and even hair. One of the bog bodies, the Cashel man, dates back to 2000 BC. Since the bog bodies are usually naked and died in a violent way, scientists think they were human sacrifices. Merry Macabre Christmas, everyone!

Look at this one's red hair! Gives me the shivers. 

There are a lot of other exhibits to enjoy in the museum, from Bronze Age gold to Viking artifacts, but I was in a hurry to go to the Oscar Wilde statue, so we just enjoyed the beautifully tiled floors and the sky-blue rotunda and moved on. 

I haven't read James Joyce's "Ulysses," but I still enjoyed coming across the plaques here and there around the city that commemorate Leopold Bloom's stops around Dublin. I also enjoyed this cheese shop. 

For lunch, we ate at a pub called "The Hairy Lemon," named after a stubbled 1950s dog catcher with a lemon-shaped head. (Is anything in Dublin not quaint?) It's in a 19th century house, and the bar manager was delightful, regaling us with tales of accidentally offending a table full of priests and sharing how generations of Dubliners come to the same pub Christmas Eve after Christmas Eve, making a long-standing family tradition. 

I had a Guinness beef pie with a puff pastry, and Taylor had lamb stew. 

In hindsight, I wish I'd eaten here, just to see what it was like. 

Another tradition (I assume) is buying flowers to take to your host on Christmas Eve, as there were flower markets set up all around and every other person was carrying a bouquet. 

A street made for Instagram. 

They had to have named this store on purpose, right? They know this is a funny name? The My Little Pony donut was also tempting, but I had to save room for Christmas Eve dinner. 

Next stop on the literary walk--Oscar Wilde's house! The house is located on Merrion Square, the most important Georgian architecture in Ireland. Wilde was born and grew up there, and across the street is a statue commemorating him. 

Wilde is smiling from one angle and frowning from the other, to capture the joy and sorrow of his life; the pregnant woman is his wife, on a base on his quotes, and the torso is of Dionysus, the god of wine and theater. The statue is so brightly colored because it's made of different kinds of stone, including jade for his dinner jacket and blue granite for his trousers. The boulder he's resting on is from the nearby Wicklow Mountains (where we visited the day before). The statue wasn't unveiled until 1997, a sad commentary on how long it took Ireland to accept one of its most famous and brilliant sons. 

Amazing, W.B. Yeats also lived on Merrion Square--can you imagine that concentration of genius all in one place? 

I was very into the doors in this part of town in general--they're painted all sorts of lovely shades, from lavender to lemon yellow to sky blue. 

Back in the hotel, we got a special delivery of macarons, oranges, and mince pies to leave outside the door for Santa and his reindoor. Being no fool, and thinking Santa could stand to lose a few, I ate them myself. 

Then it was off to dinner, at the Shelbourne's swank Saddle Club restaurant. The hotel was finally peaceful, as it is completely closed to non-guests until December 26. Taylor looks so happy about to eat those oysters, but a mere 12 hours later he'd be in the throes of food poisoning (again--I keep telling him to stop eating shellfish). I started with a whipped goat cheese, followed by a butternut squash and sage risotto with toasted pepitas. Taylor had a wagyu steak and foie gras, and to finish we had a delightful strawberry pavlova and Christmas pudding with creme anglaise. 

And no sooner did we go to sleep than it was time to wake up and eat again! A festive Christmas lunch, this time. I had a potato salad, leek and potato soup, and turkey and ham with trimmings, while Taylor had duck and more shellfish (his doom approaching ever closer). 

For dessert, another pavlova and a sherry trifle...I'd never had trifle before, and I'm not sure how I feel about it. It was kind of like jellied liquor with whipped cream on top? 

The outside of the Shelbourne and the Horseshoe Bar inside. 

Trinity College at night...did you know Oscar Wilde, Bram Stoker, and Jonathan Swift all went to Trinity College? 

Also, there are a FEW things open in Dublin on Christmas Day...namely, Chinese restaurants. It was packed but we managed to get a table and I had delicious dumplings and spicy dan dan noodles. Then, Taylor started sweating and we went back to the hotel so I could taunt him about eating shellfish. 

Me in front of the Shelbourne Christmas tree! And our room key, because I found the quote on it ominous. 

Next up, random eats and ramblings in London!