Looking at Lucan

Before I start this post officially, I must warn you I've had a hell of a time
with it's layout. There are spaces where there ought not to be. I
couldn't get the spell check to work. So, I'm sure it's littered with errors.
I' am very disappointed with how it turned out, especially because I was
really excited to post this entry. But I worked on it for a long time and
while I cannot seem to get it fixed, I can't justify spending the time to
redo it entirely. Besides, I seem to be saying 'fuck' or 'ugh!' every
forty-five seconds while working on it, which is a sign to me that it's
time to let it go!! I'm anxious to get it posted so all of you can see
where we're living. It may be a mess, but I think it still accomplishes
that goal. I am SO READY to move onto something else!
Here it is, in all it's imperfection. Enjoy!

Hello, from our town to yours! I haven't posted anything Ireland related in a bit.
Two weeks ago was a pretty quiet week and last week I had a cleaning day
followed by three days of errands and shopping. So, I didn't have my camera
out much. I'm back in full swing now and have some things for you to see!


Several of you have asked if I would post some pictures of the town we live in and
our more immediate surroundings. And who would I be to disappoint "my fans"?
Between the two of us, we managed to get a few photos of the town that will show
you highlights. Lucan is not very big...we might be able to show you the whole thing!!


This is our apartment building. It's within a small complex called The
Orchards that has four buildings in all. Our three windows are right above
that light bluish-green BMW, on the top floor. They face the parking lot,
but we mostly look out over the courtyard; It's pretty and green all year.

Here, they call what we refer to as the first floor the ground floor.
The second floor is called the first floor, and the third is called the second.
(Did you get all that?) This is good to know when you're on an elevator or
giving someone directions to the apartment. Dennis had told us about that,
but it's easy to forget. We were in Dublin a few weekends ago and stopped to
use the bathrooms...The sign said they were on the second floor...
Three flights later, I found them!

David took this picture from our
balcony one day after it rained.
Can you see the rainbow? So
pretty! (He is so observant.)

The building you see at the
bottom, left of the picture is
one of the buildings from our
complex. It faces the street
which runs through the
Lucan Village. We live in a
really central location,
which is nice. I can cover the
whole town by foot and walk
very easily to the bus stop.






If you cross the street as you leave our complex, walk down a bit
and make a left, you'll be on this street. Below are a few close ups
of the things you'd see as you walk down it towards the point where
we were standing when we took the picture. I walk this street just
about everyday and D does several times a week.


Here is one of the three bookmakers, or betting places, in Lucan.
Very popular spots!! I'm still amazed that this little town can
support three of these. And they really do get plenty of traffic.

This is the
grocery
store
closest to
us, only a
five minute
walk away.
It seems
we're there
alot




Continuing down that same street
is this little flower shop...and then a
couple of pubs, one of which is
pictured below. The other is
Kennys...You can the side of it
in the distance of this picture.
It's a cute place, decent food.
We have dinner in their lounge
side about once a week. There
are almost always a couple of
men standing outside of
Kenny's smoking and talking.



























At the end of that street is a bank,
followed by a bookmaker, which is
what you see here. It's interesting
to see people go from the
pub where they watch the match
or the races, to the atm at the bank,
to the bookmaker. That's one way
to spend the afternoon!

This park
is in the
center of
town. It's
parallel
to the
street I just
showed you.
Between
the two is
a river.



Most cities
have a cab
shop where
you can go
in anytime
and get a
taxi. Of
course,
you can
call them
too.




David took this; It's the steeple on the Methodist Church in town.
It's a pretty building...All gray with a big black and gold clock.














Pool or billiard halls are called Snooker Clubs here. David
tells me the tables are bigger and the balls are smaller
than what is standard in the states. If you walked a bit down
the street from here, you'd see a butcher, another barber and
breakfast place...


The Italian Embassy is directly across the street from our place.
(Sorry, I couldn't resist a directional!) This place drives me crazy
because it's surrounded by a huge ass wall that you can't see over
or around. It's this huge mystery, and my curiosity has me wanting to see
it so badly!! Apparently, there is an Italian festival in Lucan one
weekend a year, and they open up the gate and let people in
during that time. These gates, which are around the corner and to the
right from the bookmakers (shown above) are the only way to see into
the area, and you still can't see anything besides trees and bushes.
I must see what's behind that wall before we move home!


This photo and the next were taken on my way to SuperQuinn (the big
grocery store). I just thought it was pretty and representative of what
we see here.





















Here is the
Presbyterian
Church in Lucan...
D took a
photo of it.
Kitty corner
from it is our
favorite pub,
Courtney's....

And this is
Courtney's!
If you look
down the
street,
can you
see that
last building...
The brown
one with
the white
windows?


Our apartment complex is just a little further down on that same side
of the street. Across from there is the Italian Embassy.
To give you an idea of where you are here, Courtney's is facing that
park area I showed you before. So, that little street with the grocery
store, the two bookmakers, the flower shop and the pubs is across
from here, as well. Also, when you're looking at this picture, do you
see the street that turns left, where the stop light and the Guiness
Time sign is? If you walk up that street, there's a cute B&B,
some apartments, the motorway, and just beyond that is the larger
grocery store. It takes about 10 minutes to walk to, maybe 15.
Anyway, if you're looking at Courney's from this angle, the building
just on the other side of it is...


...The Garda (police) station.
Looking in the opposite direction, you would see...


...this part of town. It's not normally this desolate, but we took it
Saturday morning before the town was awake. This street is home
to the chipper (fried food), a cute store called Frameworks where I
buy cards, a launderette where you can leave your laundry to be
washed, dry cleaned, ironed, etc. Then, there's a real estate place,
a barber shop, The Village Cafe, and a few other places. Sometimes
I pick up the bus after this row of businesses on the left hand side.
It drops me off in front of The Village Cafe.

I took
this
picture
so you
could
see
the
license
plates
here.




The white ones are Ireland, and the yellow one ahead is from Northern
Ireland and the UK. If you look at the white one you can see it
has three sections. The first is the year of the car. The second represents
the county, which is Dublin in this case. The third is the registration number.


If you turn left out of our apartment, the first thing you come to is
this pub... Ball Alley. I just think it's cute, and the people there
are so friendly. Rumor has it Ball Alley is home of the best pint
of Guiness in Dublin. If you keep going down this street, it takes
you to a postal center, McDonalds, a petro station, and the
path we walk and run on. The motorway is really close to here, as well.


When I was taking the picture of Ball Alley from across the street,
there were a few spirited Irishmen having a smoke out the side door
that seemed eager to get in front of the camera. I thought their jovial
nature earned them a spot on the blog. So, here they are!!

I love the doors here!
There are so many
different colors, with
red ones being the
most popular by far.
Here are a couple
we passed in Lucan
the other morning.

There's a story
behind all the painted
doors in Dublin...

The story goes that 'George Moore lived next to Oliver St John
Gogarty in Ely Place off Stephens White. Both were famous
writers and both rather eccentric. All the doors of Ely Place were
then painted white. Moore painted his door green
so that the drunken Gogarty would not come knocking on it,
thinking it to be his own door. Gogarty then painted his door
red so that the drunken Moore would not come knocking on his
door! So started the fashion.' I don't know if that's true,
but it's a cute story. I choose to believe it!!


This is a copy of a poster called The Doors of Dublin that I pulled off
a website. (This is a popular post card, as well.) Their pictures are a little
better than mine!! These doors are everywhere though, and they're beautiful
and so full of character. Just like the Irish people and the country.
Stay tuned for more....