The title is pretty self-explanatory. I am going to run through a few places in this limited series for things to do and to eat while in New York City. This also means I can expand this series to other cities in the future, if I want to.
But for now, we will stick to one place to eat and one place to do something fun. People’s definitions of “fun” vary widely. Museums may be your idea of fun, or they could be the death knell of joy. We like to visit regular museums, art & sculpture, and the like, but we also enjoy other types of museums.
I am also aiming to highlight sites that are not frequently mentioned when you think of these cities. The Statue of Liberty, Empire State Building, Times Square, MOMA, etc. Those types of places won’t be featured here. I am looking for things that maybe engage other senses while also being fun.
Enter, The Color Factory.
The Color Factory is a hands-on examination of color. Is it mainly geared towards children? Yes and no. There were several children present when we walked through, and adults were also enjoying the museum.
It is a very photogenic place to visit. There is color, duh, everywhere! We first found this spot on Instagram, and the videos and photos we saw immediately drew us in. That, and looking for something that would get us out of the rain and cold. Win-win!
The world of colors and the sense of taste combine to begin our journey.
After checking our coats, we were treated to a rainbow assortment of fortune cookies. Each cookie had a different color and flavor. It was a fun way to awaken the palate. It was also a nice introduction to what we were about to experience. It was a standard fortune cookie with a flavorful surprise.
Toucan Sam would be all over the next room. We followed our noses to small, colorful vents and sniffed. Literally, breathing in the aromas of colors and the words that correspond to them. It was not a straightforward “you’re smelling cotton candy” or anything similar. The words chosen for each scent allow your mind to create a scent, and then you dive in, nose first, and smell something. Some areas were more pungent than others, but it was still a fun exercise.
After testing the olfactory sense, it was time to rest our feet and let our ears in on the fun. We put on headphones and listened to a prompt. The prompt led us to draw the person across from us and use the colored pencils provided. But it wasn’t a straightforward drawing session. We used the colors as a gateway to the inner workings of our drawing partner. What is their aura? What colors remind you of them? Things like that. It also asked us to stare at them and draw their face without picking up the pencil. That was hard, no lie. I did not do my partner’s face any justice. What I drew was round but also misshapen because I drew a circle too small and then overcorrected and made a bulbous circle. Straight to the bin went that paper!
We then entered a world of sound. And as I typed that, I read it in a Rod Serling Twilight Zone-esque voice. But we did enter a room with multiple percussion instruments, xylophones, and were tasked with playing along. By playing along, I mean using the mallets and making some music.
The next two rooms were explorations of brightness and darkness. Or, that’s what I’m calling it in my thesis for my non-existent paper on the exploration of color and society.
We first made our way through a room that looked like Barbie’s dreamhouse had exploded. It was a party room, and the only thing I thought about after leaving the room was how much of a pain it would be to clean all that confetti up.
The second room was a silent disco. No audible sound, unless you were wearing headphones. Once the headphones were on, the funk was all around, and you could let the music move you through the dimly lit room. It is a fun phenomenon to experience. You see people dancing and wonder what song it is. Then you join in and find out, and once you’re finished, you go back to being out of the loop for the dance party.
The last room took us back to our days visiting Charles Entertainment Cheese. Or, as he is more commonly known, Chuck E. Cheese. It was a ball pit. Take off your shoes and enjoy “swimming” around an inordinate number of monochrome plastic balls. This was just a fun way to end the journey. It was also fun to throw the balls at my partner, who said they smelled “like feet”.
If that’s not love, I don’t know what is.
Now for something to eat.
We were extremely stereotypical and went with the tried-and-true New York bagel. PopUp Bagels was our spot, and they hit the mark with these bad boys. Delicious and flavorful, while not being too heavy. The perfect balance.
If you are a gamer, then you know what a “speedrun” is. For this unitiated, it is when you attempt to complete a game in as little time as possible. Lately, the word “speedrun” has bled into the real world. For example, there was an attempt to complete the largest party of people completing a BART “Speedrun.” If you didn’t know, BART stands for Bay Area Rapid Transit. It is the public transit system used throughout the San Francisco Bay Area. With that in mind, back to our journey.
My partner’s birthday is in April, and we bounced around numerous ideas of what we should do to celebrate. She usually goes to a baseball game since the beginning of the season coincides with her birthday. We looked up the Giants’ schedule and saw that they would not be at home. BUT I saw that they would be playing the Yankees at Yankee Stadium. It just so happened that neither of us had been to that stadium, and it became a no-brainer for us to schedule a trip out to New York and watch her favorite team. **Writer’s note: I will go more in-depth on this stadium visit in a later post**
Then we started thinking about what else we could do while we were there. Both of us really enjoy musicals, so we began to see which one we could see. The theatre gods must have heard that we were looking because, in my search, I came across a new musical starring one of her favorite performers, Idina Menzel. I knew nothing about the show Redwood that she was starring in, but I know that my partner has a favorite tree, and it just so happens to be the redwood. It could not have been more serendipitous.
I will review these shows, just so you know. I have some choice words for a couple of them. One in particular just really bored the crap out of me. But that will come later!
We let the idea of going to New York and seeing a Broadway show marinate in our minds for a while. Then one afternoon, we started thinking: what if we saw more than one show? We began to examine dates and times, as well as what was available. We had it down to seeing one show on Thursday night, the night we arrived. One show on Friday night. Then a matinee and an evening show on Saturday. Lastly, after baseball on Sunday, we would see a final evening show.
Five shows in four days.
A Broadway Speedrun.
What could go wrong?
Only one thing, in fact, went wrong, but it turned out to be kismet.
Our flight into LaGuardia was diverted to Baltimore due to a mechanical issue, which resulted in a new arrival time. That new arrival time was just maybe minutes before our first show was supposed to start. Maybe Happy Ending was supposed to be stop number one on our Broadway Speedrun. “Sounds to me like someone has a case of the sposdas.”
I was super duper grumpy. This was a show that I wanted to see. Darren Criss is a phenomenal performer, and I was excited to see him live. My partner kept messaging me in our silent Uber that we could still make it to the show and probably arrive about 30 minutes after it opened. I knew it was a one-act show, and it would be a tight fit. We both looked up to see if we could check our luggage at the theatre’s coat check to save ourselves time. No dice. I was resigned to not going out or doing anything because I was so despondent. My partner, not so much, and it is why I love her.
Within minutes of our arrival at the hotel, she was looking up what other shows were available and starting later than the usual 7 o’clock. She found one, and its title fit our situation quite perfectly.
Show #1
Just In Time.
We knew nothing about this show, except that it was about Bobby Darin, when we arrived at the box office and purchased our tickets. This is where the kismet occurred. This show was, without a doubt, one of the best shows I have ever seen. Jonathan Groff is sensational. The energy he exudes is palpable. The music fills the space and your bones, and the dancing is infectious.
I will start by saying that you can’t walk up to this show’s box office today and hope to get a ticket. We happened upon this show as it was still in previews. Now, it is a hot ticket, and we know why. The Circle in the Square theatre sits just below, literally, the Gershwin. Jonathan Groff welcomed us all to the “Basement of Wicked,” as that is the show that goes on above you. He also thanked the dozens of people who watched Mindhunter who were in attendance, to which I cheered because I loved that show.
Then the show begins in earnest, and we embark on a journey through the life of Bobby Darin. Gracie Lawrence delivered soulful and fantastic vocals as Connie Francis. She was a real surprise and amazing to watch. Just in Time is one of those shows where the cast walks the aisles and between the audience who are seated on the floor of the theatre. Jonathan got so close to us that he grabbed a man on the aisle, two seats over, and twirled him around at his seat. He’s also known to be a prolific spitter, and it was on full display.
This is an intimate and fantastic show and should not be missed while Jonathan Groff is on the marquee.
Show #2
Our second show took us in a wildly imaginative and fantastical direction. A touch of the macabre and a heavy dose of humor and wit, mixed in with some supremely talented vocalists, give you Death Becomes Her.
I grew up watching the 1992 film of the same name. It’s campy, yet also funny and dramatic, mainly due to the talent on screen. On a recent rewatch, it is also surprisingly sexy. I mean, Isabella Rossellini is barely hiding her chest and body behind sequins and beads and a sarong. How did this one sneak by my parents? In the words of Dean Pelton: “This better not awaken anything in me.“
Back to the show at hand!
The writers, both for the music and the book, took the existing material and updated it for a modern audience while maintaining the essence of the cult classic film. Michelle Williams starts off the show, and her vocals set the tone. She is a natural on stage and commands the audience’s attention. Must have been all those years standing next to Beyoncé finally paying off. Kidding!
Megan Hilty and Jennifer Simard are equally fantastic. They have undeniable chemistry and wickedly brilliant comedic timing. They took the film characters and made them their own. Amping up the camp, comedy, and sexiness. Christopher Sieber shines as Ernest Menville, “Surgeon to the Stars!” In totality, the show is excellent. The costumes, the makeup, the effects, the music! All of it comes together in a show that is supremely entertaining from start to finish.
I have found myself listening to the Original Cast Recording quite a lot. They are catchy tunes!
Show #3
After seeing two sensational shows on back-to-back nights, we were riding high going into our matinee on Saturday.
I have always been fascinated by Greek mythology. I, for some reason, took Classics classes while I was in college, as there has always been something about the Gods and ancient Greek (and Roman) society that has piqued my interest. This has since extended to modern times, as I have devoured the Percy Jackson series of books. Hadestown seemed like a no-brainer. It is a prestigious show with Tony Awards out the wazoo and has a rabid fanbase.
I was not a fan.
I found the show immensely boring. On this day, the Hades of Hadestown was distracting, and overall, I found the show to be incredibly pretentious. The folk music is not for me. I will admit that plainly. So if you like folk music, this could be right up your alley. It’s not mine.
I truly felt like leaving during intermission, but I have never left a show or movie without returning, unless it was absolutely necessary. We stuck it out. I did not care for the characters or their plight. Also, you mean to tell me that Orpheus had all that time to come up with a song to save the day, and the only lyrics he could come up with were “La la la la la” on repeat??? I understand that it is supposed to be poetic, but it also comes off as half-assed and pretentious for the sake of art. Yes, look, he came up with a melody, and the words don’t need to be profound because it’s what’s in his heart that counts. I get that, but it fell so flat for me.
When the cast came out for the curtain call, we clapped politely and then left. This show has a fan base like Hamilton; it’s not for me.
Show #4
We hit a low note. Pun intended. Our next show was the one that we designed our entire trip around.
Redwood.
A quick aside here before I review the show. I used to work for a catering company in Los Angeles. One New Year’s Eve, I was given the paperwork to head out and deliver to a part of The Valley. I won’t actually say which city I went to out of respect for the celebrity’s privacy. Her name was at the top of the delivery sheet. Idina Menzel.
I arrived at her house with all the food and began bringing it inside. Her family was in the kitchen, guiding me, and I was telling them about the various foods I had laid out. Then, in walks Idina herself. Or maybe she answered the door, and I played it cool, but telling the story this way is much more engaging. As I was finishing up, she told me to wait right there. I did. She comes back and asks her family and friends if this looked real to them as well. She’s holding a 100-dollar bill. She hands it to me and says, “This is from my kids’ Christmas money. If it turns out to not be real, you come back and find me.” She laughs, and I tell her that she doesn’t need to take from her child’s stash. She brushes it off, saying that they won’t know and that she’ll replace it later. So, I let it go.
The money was real, by the way.
Flash forward to the present, and here we were front and center for the Broadway return of Idina Menzel. Was I secretly hoping that she would recognize me? Yes. But that was six years ago. I have a beard now.
The Nederlander Theatre, where Redwood was playing, was where Idina made her Broadway debut in Rent nearly 20 years ago. At times, the way the universe unfolds is quite amazing.
The show itself starts out rough. The opening song thrusts us into the life of our protagonist in a quasi spoken-sung song, filling us in on why she is where she is. From there, the show improves, but it is marred by some dialogue that is cloyingly sentimental and eye-rollingly bad. The show is, really, a vehicle for Idina to sing her heart out. And she does just that. She is the reason the show exists (or existed).
The other standout, musically, is Zachary Noah Piser. He has, for us, the song of the show. When he sings “Still,” it hits us like a ton of bricks. Even though I cry every time I hear it, it remains the only song from the show that I come back to. It’s a simple message that he sings – everybody dies, but not everybody lives – but his voice is so powerful and impactful that it transcends the triteness of the words.
Another aspect of the show that we found exceptionally well done is the set design. The production team used screens to create the forest and other environments, and then placed a central redwood around which the actors would climb and be centered. It made a truly ethereal environment. It is a shame that the rest of the show does not fully gel. After the announcement of the 2025 Tony Awards and Redwood receiving zero nominations, the writing was on the wall. The show closed its run early.
Still, we were glad to have seen Idina Menzel live on stage.
Show #5
The final act of our Broadway Speedrun took us to the land of Shakespeare. AKA William Shakespeare, Bill Shakespeare, or Billy Shakes.
There is a vocal minority that has some sort of beef with the Jukebox Musical. We are not a part of that group. Who cares?! If it is done well, that is all that matters.
It was time for & Juliet.
Before the show truly began, performers took to the stage and interacted with the audience. This was more than the cursory wave to the balcony. They were actually engaged with those in the front few rows. They were setting the stage, yes, yes, I know, for how the show would break the fourth wall and immerse the audience in the performance.
The show begins, almost where the original play of Romeo & Juliet ends, except it asks us, “What would happen if Juliet didn’t follow a man and instead forged her own path?” Anne Hathaway, wife of William Shakespeare, implores her husband to rewrite the play so that it is not so tragic and actually gives Juliet some agency in her life. This is where Anne takes over, and our story begins.
The show uses that outline and infuses it with pop songs written and co-written by Max Martin to propel our characters through a world where people are accepted for who they are and embraced for their differences. It’s lovely. We are treated to songs by Robyn, *NSYNC, Katy Perry, Justin Timberlake, The Weeknd, and many more.
I truly loved every aspect of this show. It’s funny, it has heart, and it is supremely entertaining from start to the confetti-raining finish.
Our final show ended, and we began our walk back to our hotel. The high from the finale of & Juliet had waned, and we were exhausted. Five shows in four days, on top of all of the other things we did (which will be documented later), had taken its toll on us. If we hadn’t gone to a baseball game on Sunday, we could have made it to six shows in four days.
With the World Series in full swing and my Dodgers participating again this year, I figured it was time to add another stadium visit to my series.
Enter, Nationals Park.
I am going to start this piece by saying that Washington, D.C., should not have this team. This team was stolen from the good people of Montreal. This relocation to the Nation’s Capital is on par with moving the SuperSonics to Oklahoma City and becoming the Thunder, the Baltimore Colts to Indianapolis, and the Raiders leaving Oakland for Las Vegas. While we’re at it, FJF and the Athletics as well, for good measure.
Was anyone in the D.C. metro area really clamoring for a baseball team? The Orioles still exist. I went there in 1999 with my dad and remember seeing Cal Ripken Jr. and Mike Mussina. I remember that because they had an animated moose on the scoreboard when he was pitching.
Relocation blows for professional North American sports.
Back to actual baseball!
My work had me staying at a hotel near the National Mall. If you have never been to the National Mall, it is a must-see. Numerous monuments and museums nearby can satisfy any intellectual itch you may have. You can avoid the White House, though.
Looking at my route to the stadium, I had a couple of options. I could take the metro, a cab, a rideshare, or scoot there. I was not confident riding a scooter around D.C. drivers, so I opted to take the metro. I do love trains.
After purchasing my transit pass, I found the correct line and began my journey in earnest. There were transit police stationed at the stop, guiding guests to the ballpark. The Phillies were in town, so numerous people were wearing Harper and Turner jerseys from both teams. If you are unaware, Bryce Harper played for the Nationals (even won an MVP in 2015) and then left them to play for the Phillies in 2019. The Nationals would win the 2019 World Series without him. Trea Turner overlapped with Harper, but he won a World Series and was then traded to my Dodgers a few years later. Trea would rejoin Harper after the 2022 season in Philadelphia, where the two have been since. There were a few boos and jeers mixed with claps and cheers for both players throughout the game.
First impressions were that it is a nice stadium, albeit a little bland. The views from the stadium are nice, but it doesn’t feel particularly unique.
I took a walk around the whole place and found my favorite thing: bobbleheads. They have a little museum of Nationals bobbleheads throughout the years. I liked it. It’s a cute feature for the park.
If there’s one thing I have heard my entire life as a baseball fan, it’s that Dodgers fans show up late. People will make jokes about the traffic (which is true!) and how people will always show up late to games. After attending this one Nats game, I don’t want to hear any more about my team’s fans showing up late. I won’t stand for it!
The above photo was taken during the National Anthem. There are many empty seats yet to be filled. Now, granted, the Nats were bad this year. OK, bad might be too nice. They were awful. They would finish the season at 66-96 and last in their division. At this point in the season, they were 49-72 while the Phillies were 69-52. So, the sparsely populated game could be excused to some degree. Then I was told that this is commonplace for D.C. fans.
My partner used to live in The District and told me that Nats fans are notorious for this.
Here I am at First Pitch with nearly the entire section to myself. People would trickle in as the game went on, but I found it alarming that I was the only person in my row and one of three in my section. I guess I am spoiled by having a team that fields a decent product. This is another case of an owner not doing enough to field a competitive team.
But back to the game at hand!
It was a fun back-and-forth affair with the Nats eventually holding on for the win. The highlight of the game was the Racing Presidents. I have mentioned before how much I love mascots, and this ballpark experience had a different kind of mascot race. They trot out past Presidents of the United States of America (not the band), and they race along the perimeter of the field.
The participants are: George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Thomas Jefferson, and Theodore Roosevelt. I was able to snag a photo of Teddy during my initial walk around the stadium (see above). During this race, Martha Washington appeared like it was a WWE event, swung a folding chair at the other President’s face, knocking them out, and finished hand in hand with her husband. The stadium erupted in cheers, and so did I.
It was an overall decent experience. It’s an easy stadium to get to, so I could see myself coming back in the future. The real headache came as everyone was leaving, and the line to enter the metro station was so backed up and overcrowded that I wasn’t sure I’d ever make it through.
After ringing in the New Year, it was time to spend our final day in Dublin. Visiting this next place had been on our list since we planned our trip.
The next stop on our trip was to Guinness.
We made the early morning pilgrimage to the brewery, and even our cab driver was surprised to be taking us there before nine in the morning. Maybe he thought we were a couple of lushes, but he surmised that we would be some of the only ones on the tour that early.
He wasn’t entirely wrong.
The queue was virtually nonexistent. We also arrived too early for our entry time, so we walked up and down the street, taking in the sheer massiveness of the space. This is the brewery for Guinness. I expected it to be big, but I was still blown away by the scale. It’s awe-inspiring.
When it was finally our time to enter, we were not prepared for what we were walking into. It’s a gorgeous building that mimics a Guinness pint. A friendly guide welcomed us in with a little spiel about the space and informed us that it was a self-guided experience. They then told us you could expect to spend, on average, 90 minutes exploring the museum.
We spent four hours there. Whoops! Sorry, not sorry. We threw off the average!
There’s a 2010 documentary about Banksy called Exit Through the Gift Shop. Guinness makes you exit AND enter through the gift shop. More on that at the end of our visit.
Above is the 9,000-year lease for the brewery — yes, you read that right. 9,000 years. We are on a 14-month lease, and that can, at times, feel like a long time. It’s got nothing on 9,000 years!
After crossing over the lease, you enter a space that is both modern and timeless. Modern in its presentation and timeless in its offerings to guests. The tour starts with the ingredients in a classic pint of Guinness.
We walked through room after room, showcasing the various ingredients and methods used to brew the Irish stout. At times, it felt like we were walking through a spaceship that housed different rooms, each preserving ingredients for humanity’s future. It’s a bit grandiose, I know, but the tour’s layout is so inviting, informative, and downright cool.
I really wanted to run my hands through the grain like Maximus does at the beginning and end of Gladiator.
This is just a cool water feature highlighting that Guinness is made up of 95% water. Yes, you read that correctly. 95% of that rich and creamy goodness is water.
The tour then progresses through the brewing process and invites us into the inner workings of being a brewmaster. Not too much, because there are still trade secrets along the way, but we are given a window into the world of creating Guinness.
As the brewery has aged, it has modernized its process a bit while remaining true to its original identity. There is a focus on sustainability and on embracing science to pave the way forward for the brand. It’s easy to forget that brewing beer is a science (hell, my oldest sister wanted to be a brewmaster when she went to college, and she majored in chemistry. Now she’s a CRNA [Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist], so she’s still helping “sedate” people, but in a more medically appropriate way.) Science evolves, opening doors to newer methods of practice.
Guinness looks to embrace that.
After making our way through the brewery process, it was time to finally enjoy a taste. We entered a room with a few dozen other guests, and a brief talk was given about the space, and that only guests of legal drinking age in Ireland were allowed to partake. Still, some people tried to sneak their younger kids a sip, feigning ignorance, but they were quickly met with a firm “No.”
I mean, if you’re going to sneak a kid a drink, do it the way I did and my sister’s before me: Hypothetically, pay a person hanging out front of a liquor store to buy you a couple of handles of liquor or a case of beer, and let the purchaser use the leftover cash to buy themselves something. This is all hypothetical, of course.
Our entry treated us to a, literally, little Guinness, and boy, was it delicious. I resisted the urge to pound the small shot of liquid, wanting to savor it. I knew that there would be an opportunity for more tastings, but this first initial morsel was a welcome delight.
After finishing our little Guinness, we entered the world of Guinness adverts. On display were various ad campaigns, slogans, and characters that Guinness has used over the years. It was a real treat to wander through the brand’s history and see how it has evolved over the years.
After taking a trip down memory lane for Guinness adverts, it was time for us to really whet our whistles. For our tour, we added on an experience at the Guinness Storehouse, where you could have your photo laser-etched onto the foam of a pint. We had no idea what the results would be like, but we were amazed at how unique and fun the experience turned out to be.
It’s our faces! On pints of Guinness! The sad part came when we had to drink our faces away. It had to happen, but my face tasted deliciously.
After this pint was finished, we made our way up to the top of the brewery to yet another bar. This one was different from the others that populate the building in that it came with quite a view. I’m going to interject here and say that we did, in fact, stop and eat midway through, so we were not just pounding back beers on an empty stomach. We strategically ate midway through at one of the restaurants in-house and then drank more beer. This wasn’t our first rodeo at a brewery.
I mean, look at that. A perfect pint. I had only learned about “Splitting The G” a few days prior, and my attempt was folly. If you are unfamiliar, “Splitting The G” refers to taking the first sip of Guinness and drinking just enough to leave your drink level somewhere in between the gap of the “G” in Guinness. I am terrible at it; my partner got closer than I did, which means we just need to practice — of course, in moderation.
Walking through the bar’s space was truly a treat. The weather had finally cooperated for the first time on our entire trip, and the sun was bright and shining. The top-floor bar offers a fantastic 360-degree view of Dublin and, on this day, beyond the city limits too. I don’t think we could’ve asked for better weather.
After spending nearly four hours inside, it was time to leave. We only realized how long we had been there once we reached the top and saw the sun starting to set. We made our way through the gift shop and purchased a few items that we couldn’t live without. It was mainly a pin and shirt for me, and some magnets as well, but the real treat was in the glassware my partner ordered beforehand.
She went ahead and bought us personalized pint glasses etched with our last names. It is a lovely keepsake for us to remember our visit to Dublin.
Oh man, I did not realize how tired I looked in this photo until it was staring me in the face on my computer screen. Well, that is what happens when you spend over four hours at a brewery tour and eat and drink your way through the experience. It was a lovely day for a Guinness and an excellent way to spend our final day in Dublin.
Who knows where the spirit of adventure will take us next!
At the end of my last post, I said that this next one would be “EPIC.” That is true. In the most literal sense, it was an EPIC day.
This is because we went to EPIC: The Irish Emigration Museum.
The rain was still relatively constant, and getting ourselves out of the wetness and into some dry spots was crucial. We had heard some terrific things about this museum. Family members had been there before and highly recommended it to us; additionally, it was voted “Europe’s Leading Tourist Attraction” at the World Travel Awards in 2019, 2020, and 2021.
Aside from the giant letters out front, the building is rather unassuming. This is because the space the museum occupies was once a warehouse, and it is all underground. Yes, the exhibits are all underground in a space that was once vaults for shipping and customs.
Right as we walked in, we knew we were in for a treat. The curators and creators have crafted a space that is interactive and inviting while also being extremely informative. It is, for lack of a better word, epic.
This museum is about the emigration experience of the Irish people. It takes you through centuries of history and data in a way that is both highly educational but not overbearing. What I mean by this is that they could have easily slapped a bunch of slides, paintings, and models together with an ass load of words providing descriptions. But they didn’t do that.
There is a perfectly balanced usage of models, artwork, and historical documents/accounts that is presented to guests. At no point did I ever feel bogged down by the info I was reading. There is an honest flow and rhythm to the museum that keeps you moving while also keeping you engaged in the room you are in.
This room showcases the various modes of transportation used by the Irish to emigrate to other countries. Seeing the progression through history from wooden ships to jet-engine airplanes highlights just how long the Irish have been traveling around the world.
This is not to say that other people from around the world have not been doing the exact same thing, because they have. The Irish are often regarded as the quintessential example of emigration. There are Irish people everywhere (especially on March 17th, hahah), and this museum highlights their experience.
Walking through the museum, we were presented with a lot of history. Some of it is not easily swallowed because our collective pasts are full of triumphs and tribulations. In the early days, the Irish were forced out of their homeland by, you guessed it, the English, as well as famine and war. It was not always a peaceful emigration or an emigration by choice. A significant portion of the museum’s first few rooms focuses on the collective experience of those who left the country. These people ranged from farmers to families to convicts.
According to my AncestryDNA test, I have 0% Irish ancestry. I am mostly English, German, and various Scandinavian countries. So, since I am not Irish, that leaves me to either be “The Good” or “The Bad.” Let me know in the comments which one you think I am! (Please don’t. I don’t want to moderate all of those potential comments.)
The second half of the museum highlights and pays tribute to the Irish descendants and emigrants who made a name for themselves in various fields around the world. I was drawn more to the film and literature aspects of the exhibit, but there were also plenty of politicians, scientists, and other academically focused individuals featured.
There is an entire room dedicated to the Irish authors and those of Irish descent. I was drawn to the works of Cormac McCarthy, whose book, No Country for Old Men, I read while I was living in Australia, and Bram Stoker’s Dracula. If you click on the second image with me in it, you can see that I am pulling the book off the shelf. This act triggers a recording of a passage from the book. It was enjoyable to walk around and see just how many Irish authors, as well as authors of Irish descent, exist in the world.
After making our way through the entire museum, it was time to go to another museum. If I had told my teenage self that I was going to be walking around Dublin, going from museum to museum, and not just getting pissed drunk because it was Ireland, and that’s what some people do when they visit, he probably would have called me a loser. Thankfully, I am not a teenager, and I know the value of museums and historical buildings.
Also, I doubt teenage me would have enjoyed just drinking anyway. I didn’t party. I rented two movies every Friday from Blockbuster. One for Friday night and one for Saturday night. But my social life from ’99 to ’05 is not on trial here!
Escaping the rain once again, we found ourselves at the National Gallery of Ireland. There were numerous paintings in this place. Some we enjoyed, but for the most part, it was full of things that did not interest us.
I’m going to be honest. Portraits of battles or self-portraits from the 16th century, or similar works, do not interest me. The museum housed many paintings of this type. That is not to say that it is not a beautiful space. Because it is! I think by this time of day, after spending all of those hours on our feet, we were tired and wanted a break from engaging our brains. We had already taken in a lot of info at EPIC, and then to go to another museum was a bit bullish on our part.
My favourite pieces were the ones shown above. The one on the left is a gorgeous infinite loop of wood that truly looks as if it is melting and bending in the hallway.
The painting on the right was part of a rotating exhibit that showcased portraits by young artists. I also really loved the artist’s description of their work. If the image is too small to read the description, here it is:
‘This is a portrait of my youngest brother on our holidays. I wanted to immortalise this moment of him in the pool with the rainbows dancing on his skin, to capture his joy and youthfulness. I enjoyed painting this portrait because I was constantly reminded of all the fun he has on our family holidays and all the fun we have together. It’s my favourite picture of him because it really shows who he is, a boy who has fun everywhere especially tumtha (immersed) underwater.’
Directly across the street is a well-known sculpture of Oscar Wilde. Even at night, it is a well-lit spot to visit. Even if the park is closed, you can quasi-scale the fence to get a solid photo of the sculpture. Which I may or may not have had to do…
After dragging our bodies across town, it was time to do a little bit more walking! This time it would be to dinner. It would be a walk with purpose. With it being New Year’s Eve, there were heaps of people out and about. No amount of rain could keep the people out of the streets, pubs, and restaurants tonight.
We walked by the famous Temple Bar and, like everyone else, we took a photo. We did not, however, try to go inside. The place was bustling, and the people inside looked a bit like sardines in a tin can. Not our scene. We ended up at a spot down the street called The Quays Bar. We didn’t have a booking, but we lucked out and were able to get a place. The service was excellent. The food was exquisite. It was a really lovely way to end our evening.
While we were eating, we decided we wouldn’t make it until midnight. That’s not in our wheelhouse anymore. We would rather sleep than stay up late to watch fireworks. As luck would have it, there would be some fireworks later that night. Just not actual fireworks.
That night, while we were watching Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, I had an epiphany. *Spoilers if you haven’t seen this movie before* At the end, when Indy is reaching for the Holy Grail, his father is holding onto him but losing his grip. He continually calls him Junior to try to get him to pay attention. Indy is fixated on the Grail. It is only when his dad calls him by his preferred name, Indiana, that he listens. Indy uses the hand that was grasping for the Grail and grabs a firmer hold of his dad, who then lifts him to safety.
It’s a poignant moment because the entire film, Henry (Dad) has been calling Indy “Junior,” and in this moment of clarity and acceptance, he sees his son for who he truly is. It was in that moment that I thought about my life with my partner and our dog, whom I had named Indiana (because we found out that Indy took his name from his beloved childhood dog of the same name). I knew that there was no one else I would rather be with, and I asked her to marry me.
