Kerre Woodham: Irish eyes were closed

I see that London's Daily Telegraph has voted New Zealand the most beautiful place in the world to visit, but somewhat down the list when it comes to best place in the world to live. And if the comments of some British travellers in the South Island are anything to go by, it's because we're too quiet. Not racy enough. If New Zealand was to be hooked up to the ECG of life, it would be weeks before it registered a blip.

Which is fine when you live here. Tranquillity and contentment are much under-rated virtues. But when you're a fun-seeking tourist with money and hormones to burn, tranquil equals dull. I can understand how frustrating it is to travel to the country at the end of the earth, only to find that country closed. Because it happened to us in Ireland. Our small party had three days to spare so we went to Dublin. We'd take in as much as we could of this fabulously popular city over the New Year break before we headed our separate ways.

We arrived with much anticipation, and if we'd been groovy young things, out to drink the night away and sleep the day, we'd have been well catered for. But we were all a little long in the tooth to be drinking until dawn. We wanted to immerse ourselves in the history and the culture of Dublin rather than in vats of over-priced Guinness. But we couldn't.

Dublin seems to close down over Christmas and New Year. We wanted to see the Book of Kells at Trinity College - the famous book of the gospels that dates back to the 6th century - but that was closed until January 6. We tried the Museum of Modern Art but that wasn't open on Mondays, even if the Monday in question was a public holiday. Although we were eventually able to see the Writers Museum, it took a couple of goes because of the idiosyncratic opening hours during the holiday season. There was no live theatre, apart from a production of Alone It Stands, the story of the Munster rugby club's famous win over the All Blacks. We'd seen that in Auckland, so we gave it a miss.

The young and hip were catered for, however, with dance parties on at a couple of venues. We thought we were in luck when we went to visit a famous old manor on the outskirts of Dublin. We asked how much it was to see inside the house, and we were told by the man sitting in a car at the beginning of the 3km driveway that it was free. It was free, all right, but closed for the holiday. At the end of our 6km round trip, the man was still there. "You didn't tell us it was closed," we said. "Well, sure now, and you didn't ask," he replied.

We still had a wonderful time - it's hard not to in Dublin because it's a beautiful city and the people are friendly, despite, or perhaps because of, the huge numbers of tourists. It was a day before we heard a Dublin accent in the street - the rest of the time it was Italian, French, Australian, American - you name it. The tables have turned now, and rather than Ireland exporting its people, the world is coming to the Emerald Isle. So to anyone who asks is Dublin a good place to visit, the answer is yes. Absolutely. At any time, if you're young or young at heart or you have a propensity for the drink. But steer clear of the Christmas break if you're there for the culture.