Thursday, August 28, 2008

A Bit of Culture in Dun Laoghaire


Last weekend was another busy one, with most of it spent at the annual Festival of World Cultures in a quaint seaside suburb called Dun Laoighaire on Dublin's South Coast.
It's become rather popular in Dublin, mostly for it wide variety of food stalls selling delicacies from all over the world, as well as free outdoor concerts overlooking the sea.

For this reason, it is of course preferable to have a nice, sunny summer's days to wander the stalls and watch the concert. We weren't so lucky, and from the moment I set off out of my front door to the late afternoon, it really rained. Then there was the mud.

Fortunately it cleared in time for some great concerts and an impromptu Brazilian jam session by the sea....definately one of the highlights.

We caught an amazing West African family band on Saturday night, then headed home for some sleep before returning on Sunday.

The weather cleared up on Sunday and I experienced bright, warm sun for the first time in awhile. 23 degrees and it was even described as 'boiling'- funny how quickly we adjust!
One of the best bands of the weekend played on Sunday night at a local loft pub- Balkan Beat Box. Definately the most original band I have heard in a long time, they were really fantastic.

All in all the weekend was really great. I tried a variety of foods, the strangest being Polish 'pate'... not really pate at all, but pork lard mixed with onions and spread thickly on bread. Hmmm....fat on bread. This is only one of many festivals to come in Dublin. The International Theatre Festival and Fringe Festival are coming up soon. I'm hoping to catch a bit of Oscar Wilde-a compulsory Irish experience.

I will post photos soon.

Hasta la vista

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