Spring Break '09 - Stop #4 - DUBLIN, IRELAND - "Gotta Love the Irish!!!"

MONDAY, APRIL 20, 2009

Once we arrived in Dublin, we made our way to the city bus stop to go into town. We got on the bus and sat in the back so we could figure out which stop we had to get off at. We looked at the map a few times but didn’t find Marlborough anywhere. Dewey and I continued to look when the man sitting next to us asked if he could help. I didn’t hear him completely at first… I am used to not understanding people when we are on public transportation that I tend to zone it all out. He asked again, and then it was like I “OMG I am actually hearing English, FLUENT ENGLISH!” He was super helpful and showed us which stop we had to get off at and which way we had to go when we got off of the bus. He was an architect and was just returning from Chicago… Random!!!

We finally found our hostel but we weren’t able to check in until 4 – it was 10am. The let us put our luggage in the luggage room for the day and then we all tried to decide where we were going to go first. Majority vote was for the Guinness Factory. It was pretty cool because we got to see how Guinness beer was brewed. If we kept our entrance ticket, we were able to get a free glass of Guinness from the Gravity Bar (on the top floor of the building). It was interesting to see how it was brewed and then actually taste it. However, it tasted like beer (understandable – it is a beer) and coffee – my two least favorite beverages in the world. But I tried it so that has to count for something right!

Dewey, Me, Sarah, and Annie at the Guinness Factory

View from the top of the Guinness Factory - Gravity Bar

After our tour, we went to St. Patrick’s Park and had a picnic. We had some left over bread so we fed the pigeons… bad idea… it was like attack of the pigeons once we threw one piece. There were about 4 around us before and after wards, I think 20 showed up… It was pretty funny though because all of the little kids in the park would laugh at them once they tried to eat some bread!

St. Patrick's Cathedral

Beautiful Sunset!

We went back to the hostel to check in and then headed out to the oldest pub in Ireland, “The Brazen Head.” It was kind of cool – there were dollar bills all over the walls with people’s signatures on them. We left early to get some sleep for the free walking tour the next morning. I gave Sarah my alarm because I knew I wouldn’t hear it because I was really tired.

The Brazen Head - Ireland's Oldest Pub - with a drunken Leprechaun in the window!

TUESDAY, APRIL 21, 2009

Well Guess what – I didn’t hear it and was supposed to get up at 9 to make the walking tour at 11 (4 people had to take showers). I didn’t crawl out of bed til about 9:45 and my camera was completely dead, so I had to plug it into my computer – but that was dead too so I had to go down the kitchen to plug it all in. There were no plugs in our room. I never got back up to the room til 10:30 and we ended up being a bit late to the walking tour – oh well – they were still at the meeting point. We just missed the introduction to Dublin.

We started at city hall and then headed to Dublin Castle, where our tour guide pointed out just how terrible Dublin is at planning things and just how original they are at naming monuments and tourist attractions.

Dublin Castle - The only remaining part is the round tower (The Records Room)... The top decoration was added recently to make it look more Castle-like!

At Dublin Castle there is really only one part that still exists from the 18th century, when it was built. It used to be the records room (it was called the “records tower” – how original huh?) but was a bit to large so it was turned into a prison. No one had escaped the building for over 500 years mostly because the walls were 4.8 meters thick and there were no windows. There was only one way out besides the front door. It was through a drain pip that led into the river that led up the mountains. It seemed like the perfect plan for Red Hugh O'Donnell; however, this man decided to take this perfect escape route in the middle of January (not so perfect anymore). Our tour guide had many many more stories for every stop we had – if not more ridiculous – it made the tour go by so fast and it was so much more interesting.

This was part of the backside of Dublin Castle... The different do have some meaning behind them - however, not anything historical... They were the architect's favorite colors!

Well, Rome has the Spanish Steps... so Dublin has their own version! These stairs consists of 40 steps and guess what it is called... "The 40 Steps"

O'Connell Bridge - O'Connell Street is the most famous street in Dublin!

We went shopping after the tour – bad idea… I did buy a lot of things for other people but still, I had a little fun shopping in Irish Country!

These are just friendly reminders for the tourists... People in England drive on the opposite side of the road so you have to look the opposite way when crossing the street! Thanks for the reminder!