Day 1 - 2: Arrival and Sightseeing

On August 2, 2011, we flew to Dublin, Ireland for our first taste of international travel (excluding the Caribbean). This was a 7 day stay in Dublin with a one day trip to County Clare to visit the Cliffs of Moher, a castle and the Irish countryside. Our first impression of the Dublin airport was that it looked very modern and contemporary.

 

This was home for our 7 days in Dublin. The hotel was in a great location in the city. We were just blocks away from St. Stephens Green park and the Grafton shopping district. I came to appreciate the location later as we walked the city because my initial experience upon arriving to the hotel was discovering how tired I was and truly understanding the term "jet lag".  We stayed up as long as we could in an attempt to acclimate to the Ireland time zone difference. In the end, sleep won out and we ordered room service for dinner and called it a day. City exploration commenced the next day after a good night's rest.

A typical Dublin street

A lot of the doorways in Dublin have this Georgian archway design. When the Irish were under British rule, a royal decree ordered the people of Dublin to paint all front doors black as a sign of mourning for the Queen's death. So what did the Irish do? They painted their doors any color but black. Therefore, there's a plethora of colorful front doors in the city of Dublin. This red door being a typical example.

European version of the $1 store. Although with the dollar conversion rate, this would be more like a $3 store which is about right because there is some sticker shock when you compare U.S. and European prices.

We thought the ivy vines growing up this building were pretty cool. 

This building also displays the ornate iron railings and balconies common on a lot of residences and businesses.

Historic Shelbourne Hotel across the street from St. Stephens Green park. The Ireland Constitution was signed in a room here. JFK and other American dignitaries have also stayed here during visits to Ireland.

Dublin street

Even the street lamps were ornate iron works of art in some parts of the city.

The Church of St. Augustine and St. John, commonly known as John's Lane Church, is a large Roman Catholic Church located on Thomas Street, Dublin, Ireland. It was opened in 1874 on the site of the medieval St. John's Hospital, founded c. 1180. It is served by the Augustinian Order.^[2] The church is named after St. Augustine and St. John the Baptist, but is popularly known as John's Lane Church, from its location at the corner of John's Lane.^[5] The church steeple is the highest steeple in the city,^[6] standing at over 200 feet (61.0 m). It was originally not designed to hold bells, but a spiral staircase was added later to provide access to bells. The Bell Ringers Company of John's Lane was formed in 1872 and the bells were first rung on St. Patrick's Day 1873.^[2][7]

Abbey Presbyterian Church is a church located at Parnell Square, Dublin. Designed by architect Andrew Heiton of Perth, Scotland, it is a decorated Gothic building, with a spire 180 feet (54.9 m) high. The church was erected in 1864 with funding from Alexander Findlater, a Dublin merchant, and is known colloquially as "Findlater's church".^[1][2]

We enjoyed the food in Ireland. Aside from the fish (battered) and chips (fries) a lot of dishes included stews of meat and potatoes. These are just a small sample from one or two meals eaten during our stay. We both were hooked on the brown bread. It was awesome. The fish and chips were good as expected and a lamb stew over a baked potato in a small village in rural Clare County was the best stew that I've ever tasted. 

Vegetable soup with brown bread.

Traditional Irish stew.

Vegetable soup with brown bread. Crystal preferred this creamy version to the other picture of the vegetable soup. The brown bread was good everywhere.

This is something you won't find in the states. It's called mushy peas. Think mashed peas. It was actually pretty good. I kept seeing it on a lot of menus so I thought I'd try it. I also had some with my fish and chips one day.

This is a battered mushroom appetizer.

Irish Guinness beef stew. This was also a lot better than the traditional stew that I tried at the other restaurant. It was richer and more flavorful and plenty of meat.

A bronze statue of the infamous Molly Malone can be seen in the background of this picture. Molly was a street vendor by day and a bed vendor by night. I think the sculptor captured both her day and night professions in this sculpture because both wares are on display if you know what I mean. The running joke was that even though Molly was a lady of the night she was believed to be celibate. She would sell a bit here and sell a bit there... 😁

 These buses were an affordable way to navigate and learn about the city. You buy a 2 day pass and you could hop on and off the bus at various destinations around the city. The buses came every 15 minutes and provided audio tours throughout the route.

Entrance to the St. Stephens Green shopping center aka the wedding cake aka the Grafton street shopping district. The area is a maze of international, designer brand stores alongside small boutique and souvenir shops. The streets are paved with brick for pedestrian foot traffic only. 

 

Day 3 - St. Stephens Green Park and St. Patrick's Cathedral

St. Stephen's Green is a beautiful, serene 22 acre park in the heart of Dublin. It is the largest garden green in Europe. 

The day that these pictures in the park were taken it was actually sunny and hot by Ireland's standards. The temps were in the low 70s and everyone came to the park. There were a number of businessmen like the guys in this picture that took a break from the office. One thing that we did observe was that no one was on their laptop, smartphone, or tablet. Even people that were there alone were sitting quietly, reading, or napping. People were there to enjoy the weather and each other's company. It was a bit different than a day in the park in the U.S.. 

Another entrance/exit from the park at dusk located across the street from the Grafton shopping district

St. Ann's Church on Dawson Street in Dublin, Ireland, was built in the early 18th century following the establishment of the local Anglican parish in 1707. The building of the church in baroque style commenced in 1720, to a design by Isaac Wills.^[2] The current façade dates to the 19th century. In 1907, St. Ann's was listed as one of just six Dublin church buildings surviving from the 18th century.^[3][4][5]

A fashion magazine that came with the Irish Time newspaper one day. What I took from this cover is that Opie would've been a raging sensation in the Ireland modeling circuit.

Saint Patrick's Cathedral is Ireland's largest church. The original building established around AD 450 was just a wooden chapel. In 1192, it was rebuilt in stone. Much of the present building dates back to work done during the mid 13th century although it underwent extensive restoration in the 1860s.

 

This is the stone slab that covered the sacred well that St. Patrick used to baptize converts around AD 450. It was unearthed at the turn of the 20th century. The church was erected beside the well.

  

This elaborate tomb was dedicated to the Boyle family in the 17th century. Richard Boyle, Earl of Cork, erected it in memory of his second wife Katherine.

A sample of the intricate tile work in the floor of the church. The entire floor of the church was comprised of similar patterns and complex designs.

Jonathan Swift's corner. He bacame Dean of St. Patrick's  in 1713. He's buried in the chapel.

This is a bust of Jonathan Swift. He was born and raised in Dublin and educated at Trinity College. He was a writer whose best known work was Gulliver's Travels. Swift was a bit of a maverick in his day. He wrote political commentaries and bitter satires and drew criticism for his relationships with two younger women, Stella and Hester.

This is the pulpit that Dean Swift used to give his sermons. His sermons would drone on for hours which caused some of the parishioners to fall asleep. As a result, he had the base outfitted with wheels so that he could be pushed through the cathedral and whack with a stick any unsuspecting parishioners that he caught napping during his sermon.

This is the present day pulpit. The detailed carving and ornate design is pretty spectacular.

Marble and stone pillars at the base of the pulpit

   

This pew box was reserved for dignitaries and high ranking officials.

Church pews for the parishioners. Functional but not at all comfortable.

I think these were cushions for the pews. If so, they were sorely needed. Every chair had one hanging off the back of the chair and most of the designs looked unique.

Ornate iron vent grills. Again, note the intricate and elaborate tile work on the floor. There were a number of these radiators, but I can't imagine they could adequately heat this massive church and it's soaring ceilings.

This figurehead is carved into a pillar in the church. He's called the green man and is the only one like it in the cathedral. The detail in his face (eyes, teeth, and nose) are worth noting.

Built in 1701, this is the oldest public library in Ireland. It's located behind St. Patrick's cathedral.

An old guard house at the Dublin castle

Trinity College (Irish: Coláiste na Tríonóide), officially the College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin, is the sole constituent college of the University of Dublin, a research university in Dublin, Ireland.^[10] Queen Elizabeth I founded the college in 1592 as "the mother of a university" that was modeled after the collegiate universities of Oxford and Cambridge, but unlike these affiliated institutions, only one college was ever established; as such, the designations "Trinity College" and "University of Dublin" are usually synonymous for practical purposes.^[11]

Trinity College founded in 1592

It is one of the seven ancient universities of Britain and Ireland,^[16] as well as Ireland's oldest surviving university.^[17] The university's main campus, in the heart of Dublin, has been ranked among the most iconic in the world, and is the setting for a number of novels, films and urban legends.^[18][19][20]

Widely considered one of Europe's elite universities, Trinity is Ireland's most prestigious university, in part due to its historical significance.^[21][22]

Trinity College Dublin is a sister college to St John's College, Cambridge and Oriel College, Oxford,^[12][13] and by incorporation, a graduate of Dublin, Oxford or Cambridge can be conferred the equivalent degree at either of the other two without further examination.^[14]

The Campanile bell tower in the parliament square on campus