Ireland Day 2: Dublin Tourism
After a bright and early start, we had
our first Irish breakfast at the B&B. These breakfasts were pretty
much the same the entire trip. It started with some fruit and cereal,
and then the hot part was eggs, bacon (which was more like ham), black pudding, white pudding, a broiled half of a tomato, and
toast. I think black pudding is an acquired taste!
We decided to walk into downtown Dublin, and take one of the double decker tour buses. This would give us a good overview of the city, and let us know what we wanted to see later on in the day. Our tour guide was very entertaining with his jokes. There's quite a bit of old stuff in the city. We drove by Christchurch cathedral, St. Stephens cathedral, Dublin Castle, Phoenix Park, and of course the Guinness brewery. There's a tons of history in Dublin, and I would definitely recommend picking up a good book if you're interested (which means that I have forgotten most of the details ;) ). They have some strange billboards...
The first place we decided to stop after the tour was Dublin Castle. It was originally built by the Vikings, but one of the subsequent owners accidentally blew most of it up trying to put out a fire with a controlled explosion. Unfortunately, the only thing left after the explosion was one tower, which is still standing. The rest of the castle was built up on the site in the 1700s. We went on a tour of the interior, which was pretty cool. Like most of the castles and estates that we saw, it was decorated in a Victorian style. While Ireland was still controlled by England, the English viceroys lived in the castle. The tour guide made a big deal of the fact that Queen Victoria stayed in the castle for a while. Apparently, they had to lower the throne a bit, since she wasn't very tall. The outside of the castle was unexpectedly colorful, and really didn't look like the seat of government. They had a cool garden outside the castle, with a funky Mayan-esque fountain and a foot-maze that was built for the millennium celebrations.
We decided to walk into downtown Dublin, and take one of the double decker tour buses. This would give us a good overview of the city, and let us know what we wanted to see later on in the day. Our tour guide was very entertaining with his jokes. There's quite a bit of old stuff in the city. We drove by Christchurch cathedral, St. Stephens cathedral, Dublin Castle, Phoenix Park, and of course the Guinness brewery. There's a tons of history in Dublin, and I would definitely recommend picking up a good book if you're interested (which means that I have forgotten most of the details ;) ). They have some strange billboards...
The first place we decided to stop after the tour was Dublin Castle. It was originally built by the Vikings, but one of the subsequent owners accidentally blew most of it up trying to put out a fire with a controlled explosion. Unfortunately, the only thing left after the explosion was one tower, which is still standing. The rest of the castle was built up on the site in the 1700s. We went on a tour of the interior, which was pretty cool. Like most of the castles and estates that we saw, it was decorated in a Victorian style. While Ireland was still controlled by England, the English viceroys lived in the castle. The tour guide made a big deal of the fact that Queen Victoria stayed in the castle for a while. Apparently, they had to lower the throne a bit, since she wasn't very tall. The outside of the castle was unexpectedly colorful, and really didn't look like the seat of government. They had a cool garden outside the castle, with a funky Mayan-esque fountain and a foot-maze that was built for the millennium celebrations.
The next stop was Christchurch
Cathedral, which was the oldest Christian structure in Dublin,
which was originally built around 1038. It's pretty amazing that
a building that old is still in daily use. The interior was pretty
impressive, with some nice stained glass windows and an incredible
floor. There is a huge underground crypt in the church, which at one
point was used as a marketplace (kind of creepy, but still
interesting). This church also contained the sarcophagus of Stonebow,
one of the old kings. It had been worn almost smooth by people rubbing
it for luck!
At this point, our party split up. Some went to the Guinness brewery, while the rest of us went for a walk to see St. Patrick's Cathedral and do some shopping. We only looked at the outside of St. Patrick's, since we were kind of churched out, but it had a pretty cool garden. After some walking around and shopping, we ended up at a fairly snooty Italian restaurant on Grafton St. The food was pretty good, although the 'tude was extreme.
Proceed to Day 3: We have a car!
Go back to Day 1
Return to index
All photos (c) Hoyt Heaton, 2003, yadayada....
At this point, our party split up. Some went to the Guinness brewery, while the rest of us went for a walk to see St. Patrick's Cathedral and do some shopping. We only looked at the outside of St. Patrick's, since we were kind of churched out, but it had a pretty cool garden. After some walking around and shopping, we ended up at a fairly snooty Italian restaurant on Grafton St. The food was pretty good, although the 'tude was extreme.
Proceed to Day 3: We have a car!
Go back to Day 1
Return to index
All photos (c) Hoyt Heaton, 2003, yadayada....