Dublin pictures to come in the next post!
Our first day in Dublin was definitely a good
one. We decided to do the Hop on-Hop off bus tour and get an overview of
everything before deciding what to do first. I’ve never done one before because
I generally like to explore on my own and find things the creative way, but
seeing as there’s much to do and not much time, we wanted to be as efficient as
possible. The bus drivers were wonderful! They were funny and seemed to have a
fabulous attitude, even when sitting in traffic!
The Kilmainham Gaol (jail) was just across the
street from our hotel, so that’s where we picked up the bus. That’s where
people involved in the 1916 Rising were hanged and strangled, so it’s very
important to Irish political culture.
The Liffey river is the barrier between North
Dublin and South Dublin. Apparently it’s like the Mason-Dixon line in the
States. We bussed along the river aways until we came to Phoenix Park, the
oldest city park in Europe, dating back to 1662! The streetlights are all the
original Victorian gaslights, so that’s kind of a neat thing, too. The Dublin
Zoo is there, which is the fourth oldest zoo in the world. They’re known for
their lion birthing, and as a matter of fact, the famous MGM lion was born and
raised in the Dublin Zoo!
We came again to the River Liffey and heard about the
Vikings who came to settle the area in the mid-9th century. I wish
he’d talked more about that! One of these days I’ll go up to Scandinavia and
get the full scoop from the source!
Moving right along, we came to O’Connell Street, named for
Daniel O’Connell. There are LOTS of things named for O’Connell, and with good
reason… he’s the reason Ireland was emancipated!
Stop here, switch buses, and on we go! Next stop: Trinity
College. My friend Andrea went to Trinity last fall for a semester of school,
and she inspired me with her stories of life in Ireland! Queen Elizabeth the
First of England founded the school in 1592.
We made our way around again and decided to stop at the
National Irish History Museum… mostly because it’s free! We only got through
one exhibit—the one about war. It’s a huge museum made in an old Army Barracks,
which is pretty interesting. It was just way too big to be able to get through
in a day.
Next stop: Lunch, then souvenir shopping! We found a really
busy café (appropriately called “Busyfeet”), and you know what the best thing
about that was? Cherie’s and my hot chocolate came with mini marshmallows—white
AND pink ones! =) Fun fun. Now that we’d gotten all fueled up, it was time to
do the thing we needed to do: Shop.
Now, those who know me know I loathe shopping. But put me in
a new country and it’s great fun! It’s a way to learn about the people and
culture in that country—what they like, what their stereotypes are, what’s
authentic, how good or bad is the conversion rate between dollars and their
currency, etc. AND you get to decide what to take back as a reminder of where
you’ve been! I got a green wool blanket and some wool socks, as well as some
Christmas presents. Cherie and Matt had the same idea: Christmas shopping!
Purchases made, we decided to take our things back to the
hotel and figure out exactly how to get to the Brazen Head, where our dinner
reservations were for the evening. Lucky for us, we would be able to hop the
bus back to the Gaol across from our hotel. Unluckily for us, where was a
protest going on in the streets! Abortion is still illegal in Ireland because
of the STRONG Catholic presence, but apparently not everyone shares the stance.
These folks were very much pro-choice. They were also irritating since we were
trying to adhere to a schedule!
But fortunately, our bus finally came! We had to follow the
protestors down the street for a ways, but the driver got a call giving him
permission to deviate from the normal route and get around the marchers! He had
a lovely attitude, as all the bus drivers did, and delivered us to the stop
closest to our hotel in a timely manner!
Armed with long johns and hand warmers, as we had been all
day, we set out to find the Brazen Head! It’s the oldest pub in Dublin, dating
back to 1195! The lady at the front desk said it would be a 20-minute walk and
gave us directions. It was actually a 40-minute walk and it was not in exact
sight. Had we not known what we were looking for, we surely would have missed
it! An interesting thing about Irish signage: it’s bad! Even the Irish laugh
about it and say you really have to know where you’re going before you can go
anywhere! We could not rely on road signs, but thankfully we had landmarks!
Dinner was a very special, very culturally stimulating
event. It’s called “An Evening of Food, Folklore, and Faeries,” and Cherie and
I both said it was our favorite thing we’d did during the trip! It was so good,
it deserves its own post. That’s coming up next!
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