The D&O Diary is on assignment in Europe, with first stops last week and over the weekend in Dublin and London. Neither late January nor early February are ideal times to visit Ireland or England. However, though the weather was chilly and darkness gathered early in the afternoon, it turned out not to be a bad time to visit after all.

The first item on the travel itinerary was a short stop in the Irish capital city of Dublin. Though the primary purpose of the Dublin visit was a client meeting, we did have the chance to see some of the sights, albeit briefly, before heading off to London.

Dublin is of course located on the River Liffey. Numerous bridge crossings afford great views of the city and of the river. We were fortunate that our free day in Dublin was sunny and generally pleasant, although also a bit on the chilly side.
Though still in its winter dormancy, St. Stephen’s Green was a peaceful and pleasant place in the late January afternoon sunshine.
Despite the temptation to stay outdoors and enjoy the unexpected sunshine, we did take some time to go indoors to visit the National Gallery of Ireland. There was a special exhibit of Turner watercolors, that, at the direction of the paintings’ donor, are only shown during the month of January each year. We were fortunate to catch the exhibit just before it closed for this year.
Trinity College is located in the city center, right in the heart of Dublin. A pleasant place to stroll around in the sunshine.
Dublin has a surprisingly dynamic, prosperous feel. The Eastern end of the River Liffey is lined with modern, low rise glass and steel office buildings, as is the port area (as shown in this picture). One of the many things that makes the city so great to visit.

Here’s a recommendation for anyone planning a trip to Dublin in the near future. On Fenian Street, just a couple blocks north of Merrion Square, is a great classic Irish pub called The Ginger Man. It is away from the main tourist area but close to the center city. Great vibe, lively atmosphere. I had found it on my own, but our Dublin hosts wound up taking us there as well for a pre-dinner beverage.

Our visit to Dublin was short and before we knew it we were off to London for the weekend. Unfortunately, the sunshine didn’t follow us to London, which at least upon our arrival was more characteristically grey and cloudy, as reflected in the picture of Buckingham Palace, below.

One of the main reasons we wanted to visit London over the weekend was to see the very special program entitled “Michelangelo, Leonardo, Raphael: Florence, c. 1504,” a splendid exhibition of drawings and sketches at the Royal Academy of Arts. The exhibition included this superb drawing by Leonardo used in preparation for his famous painting “The Virgin and the Child with St. Anne.” It was a great exhibit overall.
After the art exhibit, we had to spend a little time outside just to clear our heads, so we went for a walk through Green Park and St. James’s Park, where we saw this grey heron.
During our walk we also came across this protest march, just as the protesters made their way on to Piccadilly. The marchers are against the “extreme right wing.” It was a peaceful march, albeit noisy. The protest we saw apparently was a countermarch opposed to a separate march taking place elsewhere in London.
On Saturday evening, we went to a choral music concert at the Church of St. Martin in the Fields, in Trafalgar Square. After an excellent Asian fusion food near Covent Garden, we walked to the church to hear the Tallis Scholars perform an excellent program of music by the 16th century composer Giovanni Palestrina and the contemporary composer Arvo Pärt. It was an unexpectedly brilliant performance, a true delight.
The interior of the Church of St. Martin in the Fields. The acoustics were well suited to the choral music.

Sunday morning dawned bright and sunny. London is always a great place but it is particularly pleasant in the sunshine.

The Palace of Westminster, viewed from the far side of the Thames.
This is a picture of the Earl’s Court Underground station, located near our hotel. One of the things I love about London is the ease of getting around. Thanks to the Tube, we were able to freely roam around the city. Sure, the underground can be crowded but it is hard to beat the ease of travel.
“This is a District Line train to BAH-king.”
On Sunday , we heard a late morning classical music concert at Wigmore Hall, the West End just north of Bond Street. Júlia Pusker, on violin, and Christia Hudziy, on piano, performed a series of duets. It was a great concert in a great venue, but after the concert, we were ready to go back outside into the sunshine.
Wigmore Hall interior.
After lunch, we enjoyed a long walk around Regent’s Park. The early February sunshine was extraordinarily pleasant.

As we enjoyed the afternoon sunshine in Regent’s Park, we found ourselves regretting that our planned visit to London was so short. We would gladly have stayed longer, but on Monday morning we were off to other destinations.