In the time that we’re in Dublin, we love living on the north side of the river Liffey. A little further out from city centre–from Trinity, the high street, and Temple Bar–we’re also oh-so-slightly insulated from the throngs of tourist groups that inevitably descend on Dublin city during these central weeks of summer. Today, we celebrate our prime location by visiting some of the neighborhood’s greatest hits.

Fighting Words: this literary non-profit inspired by author Dave Eggers’ 826 Valencia brings creative writing education and mentoring to children, young people, and adults here in Dublin. They invited our group for a sample workshop, and our students churned out stories with an unlikely (and unpredictable) romantic premise.

The Hugh Lane Gallery: Ireland’s municipal gallery of modern and contemporary art, and the first known public collection of modern art in the world. We wrote as we toured the collections, including a reconstruction of painter Francis Bacon’s studio.

O, the food: we strolled over to nearby café Lovinspoon for a proper Irish lunch, and out to Stoneybatter for dinner at beloved gastropub L. Mulligan Grocer, where students discovered a creamy meringue from which they’ll not soon recover.