rv's techblog: some kind of blog

Quick update on the pubs I've been to since I moved to Dublin. If this doesn't serve as a reference to others, at least it helps me remember them. There's something about the pubs in Dublin that affect memory, can't remember what it is tho..

The Stag's Head is a little hard to find, you gotta go through this alley halfway through Dame St, on the north side of it. The pub's logo is on the sidewalk, so keep watching your step. Very cool vibe, both on the ground floor and in the lounge upstairs.

I went to the The Brazen Head with my managers and a friend from the office. The oldest pub around these parts, on Lower Bridge St. Has graffiti on the walls for longer than my country's been a republic - and tourists to go with it. Nice traditional pub, smallish and very friendly.

The Sine is a cool pub with kind of a night club vibe - but too small to be a full night club IMO. Younger, trendy crowd. Impressively good tunes on all the times I've been there. A couple of Thursday's ago I left the place around midnight after about one hour of great reggae blasting through the speakers.

The Porter House is a fairly decent place, has a huge variety of beers from all over the world, including the ones made by their own brewery. Nice setting where you can see the band playing right above your head on the first floor. The bands, however, are usually bad.

Devitt's is a more traditional, family place on Camden St. The lounge upstairs is particularly good, with people bringing their instruments and joining in for loads of Irish tunes. Highly recommended for a good Irish experience.

The Cobblestone is right on the North side of the Smithfield Market. Well known for very good gigs, which happen on a daily basis. Very cool place.

This Saturday I started a one-man pub crawl here in Dublin. One-man not as a rule, anyone is welcome to join in, but in the absence/unavailability of friends, one stands alone. With a pint.

I started at the Foggy Dew, a place just outside Dame St. next to the Irish National Bank. I had been there before a couple of times with friends, so it seemed like a good place to start. Very good music, not packed beyond motion, but crowded with people in their mid twenties, thirties. Had a pint while watching the different kinds of people walking around, finished it while watching a rugby match on the tv. Overall a pretty good place.

Next I went down to Temple Bar St., walked around a bit checking out pubs and turned out at the end of Fleet St., on Westmoreland. Was turning around when I heard a lot of folks singing from a pub a few meters from where I was. Didn't think twice, walked towards it.

The place is called O'Sullivan's pub. Smaller than the Foggy, about 6x15m, I couldn't resist to everyone singing along to a guy and his acoustic on stage, playing old Irish songs. Very funny and welcoming, unlike anything I'd seen on the other side of the pond. I walked over to the bar and ordered a pint of Guinness, all of the sudden, the whole pub (I kid you not) starts singing along. The crowd was a bit older than me, consistently 30ish, but the fact that I looked like a kid didn't stop a couple of people from chatting with me. Very cool.

I walked out of the pub a bit buzzed and decided to call it a night. Far from a proper Irish crawl, but then again I'm a light weight drinker.

Looking forward to the next one.