It was a wet and miserable day that I decided to head off to see the IMMA in Dublin. The plan was to meet up with a dear friend and spend the day enjoying some "Modern Art", yes, well firstly I sprinted to the bus in the rain with a very disappointing and frankly possessed brolly which later saw the bin. Once on board I found myself a comfortable seat, which I sat down and began to 'steam', yes its always amazed me why bus drivers keep the heating at a ridiculously high temperature even in summer, if it rains. Everyone is hot from running to escape the rain only to get steamed on the bus. Incoming call, my dear friend, just informs me she is also on the way and also got drenched in the rain running to the dart. Well, step one journey is underway.
We meet in pennies, because she lost a heel running from the dart to abbey street and now needs to by new shoes. So its still raining and we jump on the Luas and head off to the IMMA. At last we get there, and the entrance looks good and the building beautiful and old and has a large courtyard in the middle. We catch a glimpse of cafe tables in one corner of the courtyard were two ladies are sitting in the rain it is a little odd but anyway we decide that maybe we will just head in and skip a dodgy museum coffee.
A little stark inside, as you would, i guess expect from a modern art museum. We continued up the stairs at reception. Now, I have been to many art museums around the world, I confess not many 'Modern' Art museums but a few, including the Guggenheim in New York which I quite enjoyed. But the oddness that met us at the top of those stairs was quite outside my artistic senses I have to say. Video images of an asian lady lying in a dank and dirty looking room in, I was confused whether it was a hospital or a back alley butchers. Anyway she had metal pins sticking out of her thigh which I heard some woman beside me explain to her young, maybe 7 year old son (yes a little odd for a play date) was to do with electronic pulses or something to that effect to heal the leg....as it seems this lady in the images was after having surgery to have her leg lengthened. Now from this point on for at least this section of the exhibition the same artist (who is very famous in Asia) concentrates on this subject.....Odd is all I can say and slightly creepy the way in which it was portrayed. The rest of the museum did little to stimulate my senses other than to cause them confusion, a little bit of disgust and a pinch of the pure strange. Some canvases looked like someone had brown paint left over and decided to smudge it all over a canvas, there were no images drawn, no texture in the paint, half the canvas was not covered and there did not seem that much paint on the brush to begin with, I was absolutely bewildered and my dear friend seemed bewildered also. I mean what is the aim of some modern art?? Don't get me wrong I enjoy some modern art, but I mean call me picky but, can't anyone scribble paint all over a canvas?
So, this free trip was less than interesting for me, I am sure there are many people into this kind of art and good for them. My brain needs some help enjoying art perhaps I need to see something in it, maybe some beautiful colours, maybe some images or something that looks like you can see shapes and let your mind wander.....I don't know I was not for me though.
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
Friday, August 5, 2011
Coffee
Coffee, first thing I think of when I wake up in the morning. Yes well, a cup of instant is by no means the coffee connoisseurs dream but the taste of Coffee is the aim and the quickest way to it also. Mind you I have found a few instant jars that do the job just fine, far as I am concerned. Nescafe espresso is quite doable as is Nescafe parisian coffee. Weird I am sure for coffee fanatics but thats just me. Now when it comes to proper coffee, as in ground coffee beans I have to say its hard to find a good cuppa that your not just making do with..... Butlers in my opinion is okay, as is Costa as is Starbucks but none are excellent and the reason they are okay is probably that you just treated yourself, and thats a very rare blessing for the unemployed woman, so you just NEED to like it.
So, basically Coffee is what lead me to blogspot actually and more precisely 'Regular latte or maybe he is referred to as Cosmo, anyway I stumbled upon his coffee blog View from a coffee house and I am now armed with quite a few cafe's to taste the perfect espresso at! Thanks to Cosmo. Now this is also the reason I decided i was going to hunt down all the free activities in the Island of Ireland so that I would have a reason to travel up to Dublin other than just to taste coffee in Cosmo's and others bloggers coffee finds. I mean I am sad but to travel so far to grab a cappuccino and then return home would be insane, surely. So the hunt for free or virtually free activities is on. Oh but also for the perfect coffee!!
So, basically Coffee is what lead me to blogspot actually and more precisely 'Regular latte or maybe he is referred to as Cosmo, anyway I stumbled upon his coffee blog View from a coffee house and I am now armed with quite a few cafe's to taste the perfect espresso at! Thanks to Cosmo. Now this is also the reason I decided i was going to hunt down all the free activities in the Island of Ireland so that I would have a reason to travel up to Dublin other than just to taste coffee in Cosmo's and others bloggers coffee finds. I mean I am sad but to travel so far to grab a cappuccino and then return home would be insane, surely. So the hunt for free or virtually free activities is on. Oh but also for the perfect coffee!!
Freedom to Roam, Dublin
Welcome to my Blog!
Roam Free, that is my new motto, I am going to search for the things that come free in the Emerald Isle. Not an easy challenge to set myself, I hear you say. Hmm you could be right but I have experienced some free activities lately. The National Museum and the National Library (well the latter I confess I was too late to get into but the Yeats exhibition was very informative and free, yes folks FREE. Will have to go back to the Library to explore further. Quite impressive as payment into museums in some countries is a donation which is the only way to get the ticket that they let you in with!!! They need some clarification on the word 'Donation' it seems, dictionary anyone?
Anyway, both were very interesting, from my brief visits (had not too much time to hang around)In the National Museum, I got to see the Fadden More Psalter, very happy that i got to see that as i had recently just seen a documentary about it on TV. The dead people in particular were my favorites! Okay, bog people I think they called them but they were still dead people and a little creepy when you thought too much about that aspect of the display. Down side to National history museum, had to be the cafe. Yes, not a great coffee, though you don't usually expect too much from these places so whatever about the coffee the Lemon Meringue Pie was not so great. I expect tart flavors from anything with lemon, to kinda, I don't know balance the sugary meringue?? Ah well what you expect I guess.
Well there are 2 free things to do in Dublin. Im sure its not to everyones tastes, and I am sure lots of people have been and that but it was interesting for a lowly unemployed wanderer.
Roam Free, that is my new motto, I am going to search for the things that come free in the Emerald Isle. Not an easy challenge to set myself, I hear you say. Hmm you could be right but I have experienced some free activities lately. The National Museum and the National Library (well the latter I confess I was too late to get into but the Yeats exhibition was very informative and free, yes folks FREE. Will have to go back to the Library to explore further. Quite impressive as payment into museums in some countries is a donation which is the only way to get the ticket that they let you in with!!! They need some clarification on the word 'Donation' it seems, dictionary anyone?
Anyway, both were very interesting, from my brief visits (had not too much time to hang around)In the National Museum, I got to see the Fadden More Psalter, very happy that i got to see that as i had recently just seen a documentary about it on TV. The dead people in particular were my favorites! Okay, bog people I think they called them but they were still dead people and a little creepy when you thought too much about that aspect of the display. Down side to National history museum, had to be the cafe. Yes, not a great coffee, though you don't usually expect too much from these places so whatever about the coffee the Lemon Meringue Pie was not so great. I expect tart flavors from anything with lemon, to kinda, I don't know balance the sugary meringue?? Ah well what you expect I guess.
Well there are 2 free things to do in Dublin. Im sure its not to everyones tastes, and I am sure lots of people have been and that but it was interesting for a lowly unemployed wanderer.
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