My dad has been going to OFFSET in Dublin for years and started to bug me about going with him this time around. I had thought I might be in LA come February, but it turned out that I could actually squeeze in going. I went earlier (on Monday) than my parents to get a better feel of the city.
I left a pretty snowy Denmark and arrived in Dublin where the sun was shining. I took the bus into the city and waited around at my hostel for a while before I could check in. I then walked to the Millennium Spire for a walking tour!
The tour was of the Northern part of the city and focused on the 1916 revolution. It is a major part of Ireland's history so it felt proper enough to hear about it - I would have preferred to have a less political start in the city though.
It was cool to hear some explanations about Dublin and it made my stay more informed. I loved the silly rhyming nick names for everything - for example the Pin in the Bin.
I had to leave the tour before it ended though, as I was in a hurry to go to a vintage store before it closed.
Where I found this pretty great dress with gealic symbols on.
It was one of the more fun vintage stores I've been to - and it was surprisingly cheap. I had seen that it would be closed the next days, so I wanted to get to it in time. It was a bit rushed though, as I was going to a gesture class that night too.
I grabbed some quick food, caught the latest new about the (Irish) oldest donkey in the world passing on, and made it to class on time. Niall Laverty was great and got me out of my comfort zone a little.
I walked the 50 minutes back to the hostel and completely collapsed in my bed. I got the top bunker which was a bit annoying since I had to go down with my laptop and glasses and charger and...
Tuesday came and my first offsite workshop came: Annie Atkins. It was actually really challenging and fun and I got to think a little differently about props and crafts.
We made our own Dracula passport and practised calligraphy while listening to monks chanting. It proved a surprisingly relaxing combo.
Afterwards I headed out onto the streets, just walking about. I stumbled across a street with some vintage stores on it that I had found online. I ended up getting some 10 euro goodness.
The buildings in Dublin are quite charming but I did feel that the city was small.
I had kinda forgotten about the fact that it was Valentines and happened to find myself at an Italian restaurant solo dining. I felt a slight awkwardness at first, sitting between two couples on dates but I quickly found it just lovely to be surrounded by happy people - and I was texting Anastacia and a few others too.
Hostel chilling with room mates that couldn't speak English, yayyyy... And I went to a screening of a Canadian animated movie. I arrived thinking I'd join the crowd of schoolchildren but it ended up being just myself and an elderly woman. It was a cute little film.
It was also nice seeing a different area than the city center. I then walked to Lemon to meet with Sandra! She's a friend of Rasmus' that I met briefly over Christmas and she lives in Kilkenny because of Cartoon Saloon. She had a few days off though and came to meet me in the capital.
We walked around for a bit in the amazing weather, going into a park and then the National Museum - Archaeology. It was a small affair but had some lovely artefacts.
As the sun was setting, we headed across town.
The opening times of cafes, restaurants and pubs are quite different from what I'm used to elsewhere and we had to wait for a half hour for a restaurant to open - we filled the gap with cake at Queen of Tarts.
Thursday was the masterclass/Q&A with Dan Perri. A girl that had been to Annie Atkins was there too so we went to lunch together at Avoca. It was a bit of a long day filled with listening and not a lot of action...
so I awarded myself with a pear/nutella tart at Dolce Sicily. I randomly started talking to a girl there who's also pursuing animation! But I had to get going because I was meeting Leigh from Rome at Foam (oh hey, that rhymes!). He gave me a better understanding of the pipeline in Dublin and how storyboarding works there.
Friday came. I went to the roof terrace in the morning, sketching buildings, before checking in at the hotel by the Bord Gais. My parents arrived mid-day and we heard a few of the talks together.
Kirsten seemed to be a hit even with the non-filmmakers and my dad's work friends couldn't stop talking about stop motion. So that was fun haha.
None of us had a heavy hunger so I suggested going to this place Boojum that the internet had provided me with. Although sceptical, the elderly posse followed my guidance. It was good and cheap food - and really loved by all the locals, as exemplified by these men of the law.
We then merely crossed the street and went to the "networking" party. The place was pretty funky with all sorts of Japanese decorations - and a classic movie playing.
Saturday I went with mum to the Arts and Decorations museum a little outside of the city center after my morning offset dosage.
The museum's mannequins were super eerie looking, but they actually had some impressively old wardrobe pieces on display - this one is from 1760 and was in amazing condition.
The coffee bean cuffs were a fun touch - she was probably a woman in a family with coffee plantations back in the day.
The gaelic symbols continued and we made our way back into the city center, walking past some truly old buildings.
It was nice getting to a more local area before heading back down to the Ørestad-ish area of the Bord Gais.
After eating I went to a the oldest pub in Dublin with my dad and his friends. It was actually not a very touristy place and we had a pretty good time.
After a week of crappy hostel breakfast, I felt very pleased by the hotel one.
The last day we spent a few hours in the swimming pool at the hotel before catching a few presentations at Offset. We were all super tired so we ate at the hostel and just relaxed. We then caught the sunrise in the morning.
I got to eat my favourite dessert and saw the weird sight of three Santas just chilling at the airport...
