Dublin... loved it!

Dublin! Wow what another beautiful city. An incredibly lively and spotlessly clean place with such a strong sense of culture and history.

We arrived on Friday evening, and I must admit it was a relief to be travelling in a country that speaks English again, just being able to rock up and have a really easy conversation with the lady at the tourism office. We bused in no problem and found the hotel... it's strange to be staying in a hotel again rather than a B&B, a pretty budget one albeit but very livable, and with it's own sort of charm.

The first day we'd bought a bus tour which was very useful to get around a lot of sights. I think I'll look out for more bus tours in the future the commentary was very useful, and amusing. The first stop was Trinity College which was a beautiful university that was opened by Queen Elizabeth the 1st (see I wouldn't know that if it hadn't been for the tour). Trinity College was also the home to the book of Kells which was a very interesting to see! This is a book written by monks in the 9th century. Just as impressive almost was the college's "Long Room" a charming library room that houses the colleges oldest books.

A bonus was they had the sculpture "Sphere within sphere" I think it is called. There was one of these at the Vatican City too so it was cool to see another!

We had a short look around the Georgian buildings and parks (and saw a statue of Oscar Wilde - coming to Dublin really makes you realise how many fantastic authors came from Ireland). Then we went to the National Museum. It was a really lovely museum, just had a really airy old but modern atmosphere. The highlight here though was the bog people, which were human remains that were almost perfectly preserved in peat bogs. It was really eerie! They had hair and faces and everything!

Next stop was a quick look at Dublin castle which was closed, then we decided to choose one of Christ Church Cathedral, or St Patrick's Cathedral. Well for no better reason than we're from Christchurch we went to Christ Church Cathedral. It was a lovely Church and very accessible, you were allowed to wander all around it and into the crypt. I haven't had enough of Church's yet, but I think for big Catholic Churches nothing will beat St Peter's Basilica in the Vatican City, and for Gothic Cathedrals York Minster.

Next stop, The Guinness Storehouse! It was an interesting tour, learning a bit of history and how they make the beer. But of course the highlight is the complimentary pint of Guinness you get. Darren pulled his own pint, and for some reason didn't have to hand in his complimentary tag which meant he had it for when we up to the Gravity Bar so he could get another! And I gave him mine too. The half a glass I had in the tasting room made me realise I didn't want a whole pint to myself. The gravity bar was a pretty high bar which wonderful views of the city. It was a lovely spot, and coincidentally Darren and I were celebrating our 4 year anniversary that day. After his 3 pints (which he shared with me) Darren declared the Guinness Storehouse to be the highlight of the day!

It was dark and raining by the time we got out so we had the rest of the tour without getting off. The taste was then to enjoy another quite drink and pretty reasonable bar meal at a pub. The end to a very nice day!

Sunday was a chance to get back to some of the places we'd seen on the tour but not got off. I got a picture with Molly Malone's statue. I love the song Molly Mallone as Gran taught it to me and we used to sing it while we were skipping along the beach at Port Underwood. We also looked around the shops and spent a relaxing half hour of so wandering around the beautiful park of St Stephen's Green.

Then it was time to catch the train to the Bram Stoker museum. Which actually turned out to be similar to a carnival haunted house experience. It was fun though and I learned a lot about Bram Stoker. The actual wander through "Dracula's Castle" wasn't really that scary but I managed to psych myself up enough that I did get a fright at the couple of dummy's that jumped out at you! The funniest thing that it was in this bar complex, that had a gaming area, TONS of pool tables. It was a like a family friendly bar, but still definitely a bar... it stunk of alcohol! So what else to do but enjoy a quiet drink here!

We caught the train back then wandered through "Temple Bar" the area of Dublin famous for Bars, Restaurants, shops, culture! I insisted Darren had another drink here, as you can't go to Dublin without enjoying a drink at Temple Bar. So despite the pint he had cost the same as a dozen would have in NZ it was a great experience in a real atmosphere filled buzzing pub.

For dinner we tried Ireland's answer to fast food... Supermac! A fast food shop that sold Maccas style burgers, Subway style sandwiches, pizzas, fish n chips! The whole kebang! We both had burgers though and they were nice enough.

Monday was final shopping and a final Guinness in Temple Bar for Darren!

:)
Mindy