Ireland in the Beginning

Short back story for those that haven't picked up on recent posts, I made it to Ireland and back traveling with Liz Crussell, who I met through the women's RV group that I have been a part of for several years now.  

I highly recommend Liz's blog to those that want historical details, names spelled correctly, a couple pictures of me and the usual beautiful Liz type pictures.  Here I will just wander around, add a few pictures of Liz and add some random thoughts.....

Yes, Ireland is just as beautiful as all those movies and pictures you have seem. Just to confirm that I will add a few pictures.

For those of you that haven't had an adventure that took you across the big pond or other wide waters, the first adventure was making our way from Cincinnati to Atlanta and then through the Atlanta Airport. The next adventure was the eight hour night flight to Dublin.  Never have I envied First Class passenger's quite as much.   It was about 8pm when we left Atlanta and about 9am when we arrived in Dublin.  Even with a book and free movies to chose from that is a long ride for an old butt.

Standing in the rear of the plane before making my way to my seat after my bathroom break about half way through the flight, I looked back up towards the front of the plane and could see all the little movie screens glowing in the dark. The cabin was quiet as everyone was either asleep (a feat I admired greatly) or watching their screens.  The stewards were quietly talking in the back in the respite between meals, drinks and snacks. It somehow reminded me of nap time in a preschool class when the staff just hope that all the children stay down and quiet.....

We did arrive safely and our legs and hips still seemed to work so we took a taxi and checked in at the hotel and took to the streets.   The weather was pleasant and seven miles later we made it back in time for some supper.

(link to Liz's pictures and story of these Dublin Dayz) 
 http://wheres-liz-2015.blogspot.com/2015/09/vagabond-12-day-giant-irish-adventure.html

Our hotel was near the canal and we noticed some very nice well marked bike lanes.   Later in the day and the next day we also noticed that the city center didn't have bike lanes and bikes weaved their way through heavy bus laden traffic.  Between general public transportation buses, multiple "Hop-on-Hop off" buses and large tour buses all making their way through the city, the bike riders appeared brave...or fool hardy.

One story regarding the brightly painted doors has something to do with drunken men finding their way home late at night and being able to tell their house from the one right next to it......

Bike Tours are available, apparently. We did not pursue.

The city is full of old buildings,  new buildings and some patched together buildings......

Guard dog sleeping on duty.....

There was music near the gates of the park....and I was glad that I was not the chaperon for any of the groups of students and there appeared to be several.

St Patrick Cathedral

The dog said he had not read the sign.....

The choir has been singing for a long time.

Notice the blue hat?  Liz can be tracked in pictures by her blue hat.

It was good to find that my daughter has another revenue stream besides her teaching.....

Heading back to the hotel on Saturday we found that we had missed a kayaking option in the city.

But that was okay because Sunday came round and we headed back towards city center...this time in the rain.

Trinity College. It was Alumni Weekend .  We mostly walked around,thought of all the history here and reminded ourselves that it is still educating students.   The Irish are a well educated people with more access to affordable higher education that we are used to.  The problem then arises as to where the educated young people have to go the get jobs.  Often it means emigrating to other countries.

Dublin Castle

History is everywhere.

And tourists are everywhere even on Sunday mornings in the rain.

I can only imagine what might happen if Nan gets into mischief with a Leprechaun.

Christ Church. It was Sunday and church was in session...inside.

See the doors?

Now look again at the one on the far right. It may be an old church but the lock on the door to the far right has been upgraded to a key pad for entry......

Most of the roads in City Center in Dublin are one way.  Many of the streets are marked to remind everyone which way to look for on coming traffic.  We would expect traffic to come from the left but in Ireland the vehicles are driving on the left side of the road normally.  We learned to look both ways regardless.

Half-Penny Bridge.

Liz and I circled back to Dublin Castle so we could go inside after it opened up for tours. We were able to go down under the current buildings to see the walls from the original castle and towers.  Walking with history.

After touring the present day buildings we headed back to the streets and hopped on a bus for another lap around the city.  Did I mention that it had been raining all day?

From Sturgis to Dublin, they are everywhere.

This is a picture of Liz referring once again to our city map....quickly before it too dissolved.   By this point in the day we were on our third map.   We had discovered earlier in the day that the free tourist maps dissolve into mush in the matter of seconds with even limited exposure to rain and damp. We solved that problem by picking up three more maps.  We made it home without using the fourth map. By then, between our walking the streets and riding the buses we actually knew by landmarks, how to get back to the hotel without checking the map.

It was a good day for ducks and small children in boots.