"The Fair City" a Dublin Travel Page by sarahandgareth

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Ha'Penny Bridge

Home and away

Dublin is home for me - or at least my parents. I wasn't born in the city, but arrived there in my mid-teens, and after college and working there, I think I call myself at least an honorary Dubliner. In any case, most of the population is honorary!

We met in Dublin, when Sarah was working here, so she can curb my excesses of enthusiasm if necessary.

Although I've chosen to live abroad, I still think that Dublin is a great city, and there are corners, and places, where I know I'm truly at home, in the way that no Irish pub, no matter how nice, can ever replace overseas.

The city has changed enormously since I first started college in 1991: after that came the economic boom that transformed the city centre. Indeed, those transformations are still some way from completion, as the construction works, and forests of cranes, make very clear.

These days, it seems as if restaurants, in particular, open and close every few months, and many of my old favourites have, sadly, disappeared. Many of the newer places are very pricy, I find, but then Dublin was always more famed for drink than food, and in-between the 'super-pubs' which are so inexplicably popular there are loads of down-to-earth places where the only things that matter are a decent pint, a good chat and, perhaps, some traditional music.

It's not just about drinking, of course. Dublin has a great collection of museums and historical buildings, as befits a city with a history that stretches back well over 1,000 years. The early Viking settlements expanded into a major trading outpost filled with English merchants, and many of the finest buildings attest to the links - welcome or not - with Britain.

While there have been some controversial development decisions over the years, there are also parts of Dublin which have been beautifully preserved. For example, a stroll along Merrion Square on a Sunday morning gives you both art and architecture for free.

The green spaces in Dublin are some of the finest in any European city: if ever I'm blessed with fine weather, sitting out in Stephen's Green or on a bench in Trinity College, with students rushing by trying to look busy, is still one of those pleasures I never fail to indulge.

If I could change just one thing, it would be to remove all the rubbish that Dubliners so happily tip onto the ground, and which the corporation never adequately cleans up. Some people are perversely proud of Dirty Dub-ill-in, but I've never objected to a bit of beautification.