Happy New Year! Festivities at the Guinness Storehouse

Happy New Year 2011!  We decided to celebrate last night at a Dublin landmark -- the Guinness Storehouse.  This was the first time the Storehouse hosted revelers for New Years Eve so we felt lucky to be here for the occasion.  Our taxi pulled up and spotlights shone into the foggy sky letting everyone know where to find the city's premier party.

 We wound our way past the cloakroom and up through the various levels of the museum to get to the party.

 

 

 We decided to start at the top and work our way down.  The Gravity Bar boasts panoramic views of Dublin.

 We enjoyed two perfectly pulled pints while drinking in the scene.

 

Event planners in Dublin seem to have a fascination with food served in bowls.  I've been to three different parties in Dublin over the past few months (mainly at the new Convention Center) where the food is brought around hors d'oeuvres style by roaming waiters and waitresses.  I've never seen this anywhere else we've lived or visited.  The food was delicious (we tried the vegetarian curry couscous and Beef and Guinness Stew) but I still think it's more efficient to serve the food buffet style rather than having to stalk the waiters as they come out of the kitchen in the hopes of nabbing something to eat.  

 

 

There was a variety of music on offer throughout the evening including The Joshua Tree, a (you guessed it) U2 cover band and Republic of Loose.

 

We really liked the vibe up in the Gravity Bar and returned there to ring in the New Year.  Here a DJ was playing what the programme described as 'funky chill-out music'.  

 

 We were even able to nab a couple of the desserts (again delivered by waiters and waitresses on the 5th floor) and ferry them up to the Gravity Bar.

 The venue and festivities definitely set the stage nicely to celebrate the New Year.  Well done!

Dublin New Year Festival - Solas at Dublin Castle

Dublin is hosting it's first annual New Years Festival this year and we were excited to check out the various events.  Last night at Dublin Castle, we attended Solas which was touted to be an 'illuminated choreographed spectacular'

 Performers on stilts all dressed in white paraded into the Dubh Linn Gardens and surrounded the crowd.

The Dublin Gospel Choir took the stage and belted out a number of pop tunes with a spiritual edge.  It was a fun performance but not exactly what I'd call an 'illuminated spectacular'.  Now, if the choir had rappelled in from the castle turrets, that would have been spectacular :-)

 

Next up, a troupe of Djembe drummers took the stages and entertained the audience with some enchanting rhythms.  A dueling drum, tap dance number stole the show.

 The castle really was illuminated beautifully and we tried to get pictures from a number of different angles and with different camera settings but it was challenging to capture.

 

 

 The last set of performers were FlameOz and they really did steal the show by dancing and throwing fire around the stage choreographed to a didgeridoo beat.  I was definitely wowed!

Here's what it looked like in Fireworks mode on my camera -- you can get a sense of how fast they were moving.

Kudos to Dublin for a fun festival event.  We're looking forward to ringing in 2011 at the Guinness Storehouse tonight.

Commute Chronicles - Dublin - Sensible Parking

I saw this Dublin Street Parking Services truck on a recent walk to work.  "Promoting Sensible Parking" is their motto.  Watch out if you fail to park sensibly...  You just know the back of this truck is loaded up with clamps.

Commute Chronicles - Dublin - The Dreaded Clamp

We encountered this poor chap on the way home from work recently.  In Ireland, they don't simply give you a ticket for a parking violation...you get the clamp.  I don't quite understand how this is helpful because if someone is parked in a no-parking zone, they can't move their car with the clamp on it and thus potentially block traffic or inconvenience those around.  It's a mystery to me...  I guess it does ensure that the owner pays up as a condition for releasing the car.  Maybe a smart move after all?