Dublin Overview

When we got to Dublin, we had the opposite of Irish luck. We had an awful flight with a screeching baby in the row behind us and got hardly any sleep.  Then the pub in which we could check into our room was closed b/c it was a weekend.  After about ten tries with my southern charm, a man at the Westin told us about a luggage store place all the way across the river.  Of course, the river we would learn is a short walk.  After that incident, our Dublin days were great!

We hit all the high spots while we walked--The O'Connell bridge, the Post Office (where they read their Independence writing in 1916), and the Spire.  The Spire is European's tallest monument.

We walked to Dublin Castle, which is where the Normans started the city.  Then to Chester Beatty Library.  This library is a collection of amazing books donated by an American businessman who moved to England then Dublin in the 20th century.  We saw original pieces of the gospel writings from the Bible and other religious writings.  Sadly, the whole first floor was closed, so we missed the "fun" writings.  Then we toured St. Patrick's, where most of the famous Irishmen are buried. Also, we toured Christ Cathedral, where Strongbow is buried.  And Trinity College, with the Book of Kells and the largest single library on Earth!

Then Jordan said we needed to experience Dublin.  We headed to the touristy Temple Bar and heard some great live Irish music.  We even encountered some crazy Irishmen dressed up as WWE people?!  A nice Englishmen (they are so polite) helped me find my drink of choice, Bulmer’s cider!  It's great and comes in four varieties.  We noticed more Irish people drank Bulmer’s cider or Smirnoff Ice then Guinness...weird huh?

The second day we headed around Grafton Street and the famous parks-St. Stephen's Green and Merrion's Square.  Both of these parks have famous statues:

We walked to the Guinness Storehouse.  The tour was great and very informative. Sadly, I still couldn't stomach any Guinness Beer:

After that, we had plenty of time to stroll around and see Dublin:

We learned we loved hanging out at our local pub--the one we stayed above.  The music, sports watching, and local families were fun to watch and talk to about Dublin.

We barely missed President Obama's speech.  We did see all the set-up and the car route.  Luckily, it didn't cause too much delay.  Did you know that Lady Gaga and Obama were in Dublin on the same day?  Coincidence, I think not!

From there we took RyanAir straight to Brussels.