Thoughts on a Few Days in Dublin

I've only been in Dublin for a few days now, and have recovered mostly from jet lag to write down a few things I've noticed about this lovely place. Mostly it's little unexpected things- those things that as a newcomer you think are rather novel, but once you've been here for a while it's just totally normal and unremarkable.

Sports are obviously huge here, but sportswear seems to be more popular for everyday wear than elsewhere in the world, I'm sure influenced by soccer/rugby-playing culture and role models. Wven after what I thought was the biggest surge of running suits and track pants in the '90's and 2000's, people still wear full track suits which also match their shoes. Thank goodness a lot of different fashion is happening throughout the city. Currently tie-dyed tee-shirts are big again, and cuffed pants.

Ireland has a lot of tropical plants! It must be the temperate climate and lots of moisture that makes them happy. I did not expect to see palm trees, giant calla lilies, and lots of giant hibiscus-like flower bushes here. But there they are, growing in the park or happily in people's front gardens.


Credit cards have changed here; now most foreign credit cards (without a chip and PIN) will not be accepted for transactions. This is okay if paying for cash (which is still a much more common transaction type than in the States) but a little tricky when you have to budget ATM withdraws.

Shopping malls are still kind of big here in Dublin. I've been getting used to outdoor plazas in Denver, or avoiding shopping malls entirely, but many of the better grocery stores are in a shopping mall here so they're a bit unavoidable. On the plus side, Indian food and curries are huge here, as in Britain, which they are not in Denver, so I will have my fill before I return home.

And finally, two words I've heard spoken here which I've not heard before: naff (lame or stupid), and lodgement (deposit of funds).