Dublin Part I

Bus from airport to city...My Dad (in hat)and Conny. I guess now is the time to give my views of Dublin. I hoped it would have the buildings and feel of London/Edinburgh/York, etc. I was very disappointed, seems their idea is to tear things down and build anew. Few 1700 structures survive, most are 1800's or newer. I have tried to capture the feel of Dublin in a three-part entry. My favorite area was Grafton Street and Temple Bar. Our first lunch was at a mall of sorts, Brambles eatery, my Dad had soup, Conny a ham cheese sandwich and I had a plate of 3 salads plus 2 drinks. Cost for this was E22 or $29 USD. Also if you want your sandwich toasted it costs more. Electricity is very costly so hence the cost. My Dad liked his soup but my salads were just food for energy. LOL

Behind our hotel was Moore Street Mall. This is a closed street with vendors selling fruits/vegetables and some other items. This takes place everyday.

My Dad purchased bananas and said they were the best since he had been in South America.

Our hotel...a chain throughout UK. It is a 3 star hotel...point of that is you do not get a facecloth, I had to use the corner of my hand towel. I asked it they had forgotten to place them in the room and was told only 4-5 star hotel provide those. UGH!!!

It had room coffee service-tv-hair dryer-bath and shower. Almost like home... A Irish Breakfast was served buffet style, glad it was included never would have paid E 13.95/$18 US for it.

We saw many old time butcher shoppes. I enjoyed glancing through the windows at things I would never buy like kidneys and other offal. The shoppes were well stocked and had almost anything you could think of for a meal.

Arnott's is a department store, one of the buildings that I felt had character....

Agricultural Building mosaics of farm scenes. Hope this clicks larger. On the Liffey River by O'Connell Bridge.

Just a pic

Buildings along the Liffey.

The Millennium Needle is about 400 ft tall (120m) was built to mark the Millennium. From my understanding it was not finished 2003. You hear much grumbling about the cost and how in these economic times many wish it had never been built. It is lighted at the top, but not very bright.

View of city and M Needle from my room.

Ditto

View from room. Great view, but below me was a street cleaning shop. Noise all the time, even overnight as they dumped the trash. Left the tv on at night to cover the noise. They used small vehicles that they ran on the sidewalks, you had to be alert all the time as they operated constantly.

A jewelery store that all lit up at night, cute!!!

The Post Office building. Postcard stamps were E .82 or $1.06. And we complain! Good Friday was a bank holiday and so was the following Monday. The whole week after Easter is called Easter Holiday week, kids out of school and so on.

2 Days in Dublin Part III

This is the Guinness area- tour was $15.00 E or

$20 USD. We did not tour but shopped for gifts!

Matthew told me this was a must for a gift for him.

Guinness took up many blocks and different areas of the city. Maid serving a "G" weathervane. Another pub...

This is Stephen's Green mall, we used the water closet for E .20 or $.25, my Dad refused. Told him I would have paid whatever, needed one badly!

Grafton Street, many interesting up-scale shops. Really liked the closed to traffic streets for pedestrians.

Sorry got this pic twice, can not get rid of it!

O2 is a cell phone company and these ducks were

everywhere! Just thought was too cute!

Lovely lady was selling beautiful flowers on Grafton St.

We had lunch, you know where, a pub, Independence Pub. In England, every lunch had peas on the plate, here the soup of the day was Cream of Vegetable, everywhere! A bowl of soup and a pint of Smithwick's Irish Ale made a filling lunch, of course brown bread was served with everything! My Dad drank Guinness.

This pub was old old old and had stained glass windows, metal ceiling and a huge wooden bar. Small, but wonderful atmosphere!

Yes, another pub and no I did not have a pint at all of them!!!

This pub was in the Temple Bar area. Many pubs have the tobacco signs and say the sell the products, but smoking inside is taboo. This area is the nightlife spot in Dublin.

Halfpenny Bridge, that is what the charge used to be. It is a foot-bridge across the Liffey River.

If you ever saw "Nottinghill" with Julia Roberts and Hugh Grant there is a bus in London many times with her on the side advertising the movie. Just had to have a shot of this!







The city is over-run with buses. I have never seen so many buses. City buses, tour buses, just plain buses. Most were double-decker, closed or open. Also street-cleaners on the sidewalks filled with people. Thought that was very strange, it seemed one was following us and when Conny went into a store, the driver of one motioned for me to come and ride with him. I declined, I guess I will always wonder what he thought when he motioned to me. Maybe I could have had a few pints with him....LOL

2 Days in Dublin Part II

My Dad and Mickey D's

There are many statues in the city...this is O'Connell street that runs to the Liffey River that splits the city! Heineken building in the background.

Panama Pub, we had supper there the first night.

Yes I had Cream of Vegetable soup...and a pint of Smithwick's.

Close to our hotel was the 1st stop for tour of Dublin. We bought the "Hop On Hop Off" pass for E15 or about $20 USD. Nothing is cheap in euro countries. My Dad wondered how "normal" people survived the costs. I agree with him.

The round trip takes 1 1/2 hr and first time around we just rode and took in the views. Second time, we hopped off and on.

Trinity College on right. Founded by Queen Elizabeth in 1592. Swift, Beckett and Wilde attended here. It houses the "Book of Kells", one of Ireland's most treasured possessions. Will let ya look that one up!

Left is the Irish Houses of Parliment, but now is the Bank of Ireland. Parliment was dissolved in 1801 when the United Kingdom was formed.

Betting places are a dime a dozen in most towns.

Before the Master's looked in one and they would take bets on who had the first birdie. Bets on almost anything!

Another pub

Christ Church Cathedral

Founded in 1030 by King Sitric, this is Dublin's oldest building. Not all is that old, has been added to over the ages.