Dublin Day 2

Our first full day in Dublin and it was another scorcher! We came to Ireland prepared for any weather. Anyone who knows me knows, the only weather I am never ready for is extreme heat. Man is it hot! It's hard to be cranky about this since everyone here is so thrilled at this weather "they never get"! It's not slowing us down much as we travel through our day, but I will tell you when the day is done - so am I!!

We were up and easing into our day, but despite what felt like a beautifully leisurely start, we were all out and making our way to the local bus stop by about 9:00. The wrong bus came along but we got on anyway being assured by the driver we'd get "near enough" to where we wanted to be. The Irish are such helpful folks that I am already pretty confident that we couldn't get into much trouble that someone wouldn't help us sort. The early morning drive through pretty neighbourhoods on our ciruitious route to central Dublin was full of delighful scenes and beautiful gardens. I am still totally enamoured with the colourful, overflowing window boxes and clever garden designs!

When we arrive in a new city we often take a hop-on/hop-off bus to get ourselves oriented. We decided on DoDublin Tours since they offer live tours and in Ireland we already decided that connecting with a local is the best way to go. Gareth Lawless was the perfect guide. He navigated impossible Dublin traffic, knew his city and it's history, regaled us with song and was at times hilarious! We certainly learned much about the rich literary history as we passed the Finn Hotel where James Joyce met and married a chamber maid named Nora Barnacle and went on to set the date of Ulysses on the same day as his first date! We saw the church (St. Anne's) where Bram Stoker was married. We also learned that Dracula came from two gaelic words - Olc for bad, and fola for blood! Those, along with 1000 other great trivia facts filled our morning! An absolutely fabulous way to spend time and a great overview of the city. Highly recommended!

After our tour we met Patrick's sister, Esther, for lunch, and spent the rest of the day wandering the streets of Dublin with a local! Another absolutely delightful day but by the end in the heat, we are well and truly knackered!

Our first trip over the Liffy.
A very cool architectural feature we learned about on our tour. Buildings we're built with increasingly shorter windows in higher stories. It made the buidings appear taller!
The Guinness meca, stretching to heaven!
A very cool restaurant converted from an old church!

                                                 
The centre isle houses the massive bar! The pipe organ, stained glass and stations of the cross have all been left untouched.
                                       
They have great local (cheeky) names for their statues. For example the water statue of Anna Livia Plurabelle (James Joyce character) is locally known as the Floozie in the Jacuzzi. This sculpture of two women shopping on Grafton Street is known as The Bags with the Hags - the boys insisted we belonged in the picture 😂
On the Ha'penny Bridge.
Molly Malone, known locally as the Tart with the Cart or the Trollop with the Scallop! Rubbing bronze statues for luck is a thing, wonder where this statue is rubbed? 😳 
The window boxes continue to delight!

Even the local shopping mall is festooned.
Oscar Wilde - a dandy in the park!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Day 16 Northern Ireland - Take II

Image
Although not one to complain about weather, when we woke this morning to glorious sunshine my mood lifted and I began to think of possibilities for the day. After we sorted ourselves for a trip back to Dublin, we started our day headed for Portrush. Portrush is known as the quintessential, seaside, genteel, resort town. We actually stopped several times on our way there because we just couldn't pass some of the sights we were seeing! A friend had commented on my blog yesterday when I noted the difference south to north. She spent a lot of time in Northern Ireland when her husband worked there. She is also from Newfoundland and noticed a "whole different world" between them. She also told me that "the scenery in Northern Ireland would take my breath away" and man was she right about that! The Antrim Coast is exquisite! Our first stop was for a sign that pointed to Dunluce Castle. Dating back to the 15th Century, these are possibly the most complete ruins we have ...
Read more

Day 6 Limerick

Image
Today was a brilliant day that most visitors to Ireland would ever get to experience! It started out with rain but we were ready for it and after breakfast headed to Lough Gur for a hike. The scenery, like all of Ireland, was beautiful but the area also contained ancient treasures. The pictures will tell the tale.  After our leg stretch we traveled through the countyside stopping in at the sites that held the Murphy's roots. It was beautiful Irish county to be sure, but it was so cool to travel to the places we had heard about from their stories of growing up in Ireland. The highlight was a visit to Patrick's brother's farm. We knew the farm held a castle remnant that was never allowed to be touched. The Irish historical trust insists on the preservation of castle ruins, thankfully! This remnant has continued to hold feed and farm equipment but remains standing in all its glory since 1306!! Incredible! Dennis, Patrick's brother, was a delight! He's 80, and although ...
Read more

Leaving Pearson without incident

Image
July 17, 2022 Well this is something that I didn't think I would be doing now! As much as I LOVED to travel BC (before COVID), The world has changed and dragged many a travel plan along with it. Sometimes though, the universe conspires. When that happens a body oughta listen and so off we go! Our dear Irish friends Margaret and Patrick Murphy made us an offer we couldn't refuse. They called, somewhat out of the blue, a few weeks ago, to tell us that they were going back to Ireland to visit family.  Margaret's nephew was leaving his house in Dublin for three weeks.  As the house sits alone with cars in the driveway, if we wanted to join them on this trip home, they would extend the visit to three weeks to include a holiday as well. My mother, who has been terrified of COVID and of the idea that sooner or later we would set out once again on our exploits, was the first person to speak up and claim I would be a fool to pass up this opportunity! Thus, despite the many reasons t...
Read more