Travel Tuesday: The National Gallery, Dublin

Looking up, a splendid sky 

Last July I went to Ireland for the first time. Well, at least I went to Dublin. 

I don't know if the Irish say "Oh, Dublin isn't really Ireland," the way the French say "Oh, Paris isn't really France." 

(Or Americans say "Oh, New York isn't really the USA." I think this list could go on and on.)

The Wintergarden café, conveniently located at the museum entrance

I spent 3 days there with my husband and Paris daughter Charlotte, then one day alone, as they set off to travel around what some people may think is "the real Ireland" -- and I had to get back to work.

Dublin was a fortuitous travel choice for us in July, since the weather was, truly, just so much lovelier than in the South of France at the same time! Sun, temperatures in the low-to-mid-70s, no need for jackets or rain gear...

(All of this is not a joke, as anyone who was in France for the "summer" of 2014 knows.)

A leisurely caffeine session before hitting the galleries

The weather was, in fact, so beautiful that we didn't do much of anything "indoorsy" those first three days. Strolling around Dublin and lounging in its parks took up most of our time.

But once the rest of my family was off driving on the left, I honed in on some of the indoor sites.

I highly recommend The National Gallery, although its Wintergarden Café was so striking that I have to admit I spent about half of my time there.

Well said, George

The National Gallery houses a deliciously compact collection of major European works -- although the museum is under construction and perhaps the total collection is not that compact.

I especially enjoyed discovering the many Irish artists that I had never heard of: 

Mary Swanzy, Paul Henry, and William Leech are just a few that I wrote down for further exploration...one of these days...