Good morning all,
Our Sunday this past weekend was a little eventful. I thought I’d wait a day or two before sharing – needed a little time to process.
Our day started off uneventfully: made some breakfast, Michael picked up his sister from the airport (well that bit was eventful!), and we headed off to church.
{Just a few pictures from the City Centre to spruce up this post}
While I stopped for coffee, Michael parked about 30 feet beyond where we normally park, slightly further down a street in a tough neighborhood a few blocks from church. We’ve never had a problem, but we’re always careful to lock the car and hide any valuables out of sight.
We came out of church to find someone had smashed the back window of our station wagon and grabbed my sister-in-law’s carry-on bag (think Mac laptop, digital camera, passports, money, makeup, her entire LIFE) that they had buried strategically under her other luggage.
Long story short, we phoned the cops, they recovered her bag (with passport, bible and makeup, but not much else) in the flats (think projects) around the corner, and they’ll check the CCTV footage from the area tomorrow to see if they can find the thieves and/or the rest of her belongings.
{That’s the Millennium Spire downtown}
Overall, a long day and we’re working on figuring out what’s covered and how to get it all replaced. Not a great day, but it could have happened in a tough neighborhood anywhere. Such is life.
But while I mentioned it on my facebook, I kind of cringed when I clicked the post button. I hate saying bad things about Dublin. And I hate to give anyone a bad impression of Dublin. Because I love Dublin. Bar the occasional bad day, I really like this place. And I like that it’s a little gritty, a little edgy. Not the biggest fan of the odd time when gritty meets our personal belongings, but I like that it’s not all peachy and pretty and perfect all the time. I’m finding that’s a hard distinction to make when you’re trying to convince friends or family to come visit.
{Enormous chocolate eggs at Carluccio’s. Made my day.}
So now I’m finding myself a little perplexed. I like to be honest about Dublin, because I think real Dublin is one of the neatest places to live and visit. But how honest is too honest?
Lighter tomorrow, I promise, friends. In the meantime, I’d love to hear your thoughts?
12 Comments
You’re still well on the right side of too honest! I saw the Facebook comments, felt very sorry for you guys & Leah, and didn’t for a moment think you were unfairly representing Dublin!
I think we do get very defensive here if we feel someone is criticising us, and we don’t really understand our own rules on that, but I think that if you are describing events that happened, without passing too much judgement, you are probably OK!!
Well, one time when we were in Chicago, a mother duck and her ducklings were crossing the big motorway/highway/freeway (what do you call them things over there?!!) that we were driving on and let’s just say it was beyond traumatic.
Mat and I couldn’t speak for a while, we felt so sick! We didn’t go over any of them, but other cars had.
So, my point in telling seriously one of the most upsetting stories of my life, is that a bad thing happened when we were in America but we still love America!
Feel so bad that you experienced that but don’t worry about how you’re representin’! Ireland has many other wonderful faults to keep tourists away! Hahahaha!
Oh beck, that is a terrible story! So sad!! But you’re right, every place has its crummy parts – funny how I’m so defensive of Ireland! Who would have thought?!
P.S. How do I get a fancy photo of me on my little profile there?!
I asked superman Andy..I’ve no idea but it would be way better than those sad faceless people!
So sorry to hear about your car, Emily. It’s a rotten thing to experience.
I think all cities have their off-days – I spent Sunday hiding in my flat as I live close to Smithfield market and I wasn’t going out there. There’s nothing wrong with documenting the bad as well as the good!
Oh Catherine, what a scary scene on Sunday in your area! The RTE footage was terrifying. At one point on Sunday I did say to someone well, at least we weren’t there : / Hope it’s calmed down a bit!
dont feel bad about telling the truth. all cities have their bad bits. and if anything its worth warning people of certain streets that might not be as safe as the rest of the city.
one year the day before St Patricks day. i stopped some American Cheerleaders from wandering, flash cameras out, into the yard of a known bad block of flats. a fair few of my friends have been mugged in front of these flats.
Aw that is shitty… unfortunately Dublin is not always a safe place, and people really need to be extra careful with their belongings in the city centre. A lof of that sort of crime is down to the drugs problem really. The city is crippled with it. I have travelled a fair bit and in some dodgy places, but the only place I have ever been robbed is in Dublin. By Romanian gypsies
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