It wasn’t just rain. It was the ice cold rain and wind that seems to be so common here especially near the water. We ended up having a great seafood meal. We did get to see the seals some, but the beautiful views that I witnessed earlier in the week were covered by the fog.
Sunday, however, was exactly the opposite. It was absolutely beautiful! It was a perfect day to explore the Festival of World Cultures. The whole event was huge and was spread out all over the city of Dun Laoghaire.
By the way, Laoghaire is pronounced ‘Leary’. When my husband asked his Irish coworkers why it is pronounced this way the response was, “Welcome to Ireland.”
Pretty much every culture was represented at the festival through crafts and food. There were several concerts, lots of street performances and even a swimming race in the bay. That water had to be so cold!
The last time we were here, we stayed in a really small village with just a few pubs. We really didn’t go out on a weekend night since we were only here a week. I’m not sure if it was the festival, the great weather or simply the Irish, but the partying was nuts. My guess is that it was a combo of all three.
Where we are in Brazil is very different when it comes to party and drinking culture. Brazilians like their beer for sure, but it appears to be consumed in a more laid back manner. Most of the people we’ve talked to don’t really have an understanding of the U.S. binge drinking, college culture. They are really shocked to see it when they experience it for the first time.
Well, I do believe Ireland takes the prize for partying. I’ve honestly never seen anything like it. People were literally falling over at 9:30 at night. It was pretty unbelievable.
It was a lot different than just the standard ‘hanging out in a pub with a Guinness’ culture that we experienced on our last trip.
I’m not making judgments on anything or anyone here, just stating my observations. It was definitely a wild weekend for some.
Here are a few pictures from the festival.
Concert area near the water
Spanish food tent serving a ton of seafood paella. It was probably one of the most popular booths and the spread was definitely the most interesting.
Sand art
2 comments:
I'm kind of surprised by the fact that Brazilians are laid back about their drinking. Chileans are NOT. They're pretty hardcore. Partying from super young ages here has become a huge problem.
I've met a few Irish in my life and I can't say that they proved your heavy drinking point wrong :P
I am not really sure about all of the trends here. It just seems that most people like to sit around outside and drink beer. I even witness late teens and early 20s in this atmosphere. It is a lot more laid back than what it was like in the US.
I'm sure it might be different at the club scene in the bigger cities like Rio.
Most Irish I know can put it away, that is for sure. :)
Post a Comment