My hub and i had a sudden crave for a good chinese meal (despite the fact that there are no good chinese food in dublin) n so, we went to the unofficial 'chinatown' in Abbey Street to check out sm restaurants...we ordered a plate of fried noodles, some tofu n veg..quality was so-so but its very expansive! well, this is dublin..u cant possibly expect much yah..heh ;P
After the meal, we happened to walk pass an area that is being cordoned off....so we went in to chk it out - its the celebration of Bloomsbury Day! oohh, no wonder we saw so many publicity banners along the main street..so this is 'THE' Bloomsbury Day celebration:
June 16, the day on which James Joyce had his first date with Nora Barnacle, who would later become his wife. June 16th is also the day on which the infamous novel, Ulysses, is set.
We went into the museum to check out n were told that we were just in time for the recitation of James Joyce's works...actors and actresses were dressed up in costumes and they 'performed' live in the streets...
its like a mini play staged in public...n they were reallie good..we enjoyed 20mins of free 'performance' before we head bac to continue our packing...
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16 June - AIB World Street Performers Championship
we wanted to catch the performance at Merrion Square yest but it was raining, yes again...so, we decided to check it out today..we wanted to get Peter to come along with us...but his hp had sm probs n we couldnt contact him...
our main objective was to catch this Japanese group - Garmajobat's performance as we have seen enough of 'ang mos' street busking..they were very comical and cute!! we reallie enjoyed the show..esp my hub (who wasnt very keen initially abt cming), but end up, he was the one laughing thru out the whole show..haa...
sometimes we wonder y we din get to enjoy such shows in spore where we used to have the Spore River Busking Festival..maybe its the people/audience who 'helped' make the difference to the overall atmosphere...in a relaxed n fun environment here, everyone is very sporting. they just gathered around the roadside n enjoy the show or being 'tekan' by the 2 comedians...
we were so excited to see them n went up to have a short chat with them after the performance..n guess wat, they tot we were from Korea (??)..haa..not bad leh..korean or japanese - we were always mistaken for whenever we travel...n b4 we went into the park to check out other performances, i took the chance to snap a pix with them! Say cheese!
There are always rows of pple selling art pieces or paintings along the gates of Merrion Square(thou i rarely see anyone buying them)...i guess its part of their lifestyle in Europe as u can find similar scenes in Paris and London...
Inside the park, u can find plenty of stalls or carts selling yummy ice cream or hot food...n of cos, plenty of pple too!
There is one thing i like very much abt Europe...n that is their vibrant ARTS culture...not those 'fake' or 'imitation' kind that spore has been trying very hard to put up...even the simple n 'cheap' decoration they had blended very naturally with the greenery of the garden...like the one below, they got children to do up flowers wiht their names using paper and hung them ard the trees - seems like a mystic garden ya?
The organisers also turned the garden into a mini 'maze'..performers are scattered all over n they rotate among themselves every couple of hours...these 2 husband & wife 'Daredevil Chicken Club' caught our attention..but personally, i dun enjoy such 'silly' stuff...abit too much for me...
There was also a vote & win competition gg on throughout the 3 day festival where the group with the highest vote will win the championship and gets invited back next year to perform...the guy below from Australia is the winner last year..n this yr, he is back with more stunts to show off...his performance is the daring kind, rather than comical..he played with fire n swallowed a real knife etc...however, what impressed me most was his ending speech (of cos he asked for $, but in a very meaningful n sincere way) - "this is my profession n livelihood..so, if u hav some spare cash to 'give' for my performance, i would be most happy..however, if you dont, dont worry, this performance shall be my gift to you...n this is the beauty of street performance!" - so inspiring! n it warms my heart...as in the midst of our $-minded society, there are still pple who believe n are passionate abt what they do..hmm...
well, its time to rush back...as we had to meet Javi & Magda for coffee at cafe near our house...we met them, had a quick chat b4 we brght Magda to the Oriental Supermarket n share with her what kind of sauces or ingrdients she can buy to cook...
