We found the luck of the Irish, the history of the Irish, the drink of the Irish, the music of the Irish and the hospitality of the Irish ("You are very welcome!") while we were in Dublin over three days (we flew in early on Saturday morning and departed Monday night). Before I bring you along on our journey, see if you can't find this youtube video first, and play it along while reading this entry:
http://martindardis.com/id157.html. This is a song called "Hand Me Down My Bible" by the Dubliners and is the song that will always bring me back to a pub in Dublin when I hear it. Ok, here we go.
ARRIVAL
We arrived in Dublin at 7:30 a.m. It was still dark outside, so we watched the sun rise from the top level of the Double Decker bus we took from the airport into the centre of Dublin. We were dropped off in front of the gates of Trinity College, and began walking toward our hotel. Here are a few of the things we saw:
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| The entrance to St. Stephen's Green, which looked an awful like the entrance to Central Park to me. |
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| St. Stephen's Green |
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| St. Stephen's Green |
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| St. Stephen's Green |
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| We passed the Albany House, of which we had to take a picture. We were so happy to see the word Albany and not actually be in Albany (Albanians, we miss you, just not the place) |
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| We arrived at the hotel |
Also, along the way to the hotel we strolled up Grafton Street (a pedestrian shopping mall). And what did we see? A Clarks store that opened up minutes before we strolled by. And what did we find inside? The pair of boots I have been trying to get my hands on for a few months now. Not only did this store have a few pairs in stock, they had a pair in MY size! It was meant to be! (Background: I have been looking for these since my birthday in November. All the stores near us in England were out of this style, and I couldn't find them on the web either). We land in Dublin, and here they are! The luck of the Irish!
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| My Birthday Boots! |
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| Yay! Thanks, Adam for a great present! :) |
HISTORIC WALKING TOUR
Per Steve Rick's Guide to Ireland (of course) we joined the historic walking tour of Dublin. Our guide was a PhD candidate in history and was gracious with his time and knowledge (the tour was to be 2 hours long, and ended up being 3. On a cold winter's day). We saw and learned a lot about the history of the city.
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| Historic Square of Trinity College, a college funded by Queen Elizabeth I to educate protestants. |
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| Exam Hall at Trinity College |
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| Dorms and homes of debate societies at Trinity College |
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| Great lamppost. Had to share. |
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| A YELLOW Double Decker! We are not in England anymore, Toto. |
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| The first building constructed in the UK specifically to house the parliament. It is currently owned and used by a bank. |
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| Notice there are no windows: this was built during the time when windows (and therefore, daylight) was taxed. To get around the issue of payment, window panes were eliminated. |
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| Our Tour Guide, Gavin |
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| A farmers' market. See the huge umbrellas folded in the picture? These were just installed. Four of them can be opened via remote in order to protect the market area from rain. |
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| The Four Courts of Dublin |
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| The Dome within the Four Courts |
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| The flag of Ulster on the wall representing Northern Ireland. |
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| Dublin Castle, the seat of parliament for many years. The Queen of England just visited for the first time last year. This was the first visit of a British monarch since the vote of Independence held in 1922. |
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| Over which Lady Justice presides |
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| Notice that she does not wear a blindfold... |
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| That looks a bit more like a castle... |
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| The first performance of Handel's Messiah was held in Dublin. I bet that was an amazing thing to hear... |
MICROBREWS & GUINNESS PIE
After a 3 hour walking tour in the cold, we were ready for some hearty food and some warmth. So where did we end up? At the Bull and Castle, sitting by the fire drinking mircrobrews (Adam was SO EXCITED to see such a thing on the menu) and eating hearty Irish fare.
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| Steak & Guinness Pie and a Bulmer's Cider |
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| Lamb Stew |
CHRIST CHURCH CATHEDRAL
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| Christ Church Cathedral. Where kings and queens of the past claimed their stake in protestant, or catholic (as the case may be) Ireland |
PUB TIME
After taking a quick nap (that was much needed after a 4 a.m. start that day), we had a late dinner (note: most pubs in Ireland stop serving dinner by 9 p.m.) and hit a few pubs for some spontaneous Irish music. Cue the Dubliners.
