STL DPB In Dublin, In Jail And In Kathmandu

Published Aug. 27, 2010 at 5:01 a.m.
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We visited Kilmainham Gaol yesterday morning, the most notorious prison in Ireland. It was here that the English confined the leaders of the Irish revolutions (six between 1798 and 1919) and executed many of them. It was an unspeakably cruel place. Our guide gave some of the young members of the group signs reminding us that even children were imprisoned for the crime of being poor. Vagrancy, in this context, meant to be homeless.

On Peter Kelleher's advice, we drove down the coast to the toney village of Dalkey, home of Bono and other wealthy Irish. It felt like a local version of Carmel-by-the-Sea. We climbed to the top of Killiney Hill to see the obelisk, a make-work project for the destitute, and its sweeping view of Dublin Bay and surroundings.

And now for something completely different. Dinner was at Monty's of Kathmandu, a brilliant Nepalese restaurant in the Temple Bar district. It had an all-Nepali staff, fabulous food (the chicken momos were to die for) and the best nan we've had anywhere, including India and Nepal. I gotta have a set of those glasses to remind me of my Buddha nature with every sip of malbec. And then, a few doors from the restaurant, a little more local weirdness.

Today, a stop at Newgrange and then on to Belfast.















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