Dublin, Ireland - September 3, 2015
We arrived in Dublin at about 9:30 p.m., so just went straight to our hotel -- the Airport Hilton. We used Air Miles to book the first night and paid cash for the other. It was a good deal. Beautiful, comfortable room, close to the airport. Free shuttle from the airport and only €2 to ride to the airport. Buffet breakfast included.
The next day, after a leisurely breakfast, we did some Googling, trying to figure out how to use the bus to get into the city centre. It was about 9 km away, so a little far to walk, and although Dublin has those rental bikes, there are no stations this far out of the centre. Finally, we decided that it would be best just to pay cash -- maybe €3.20 each? 
A "Tesco Extra" -- similar to a Super Wal-Mart -- is right across from the hotel, and there is a bus stop there, so we went and checked the electronic board. The number of the bus we wanted was displayed there, so we figured we were OK.
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| Photo from this website |
A bus came and we started to board, but a young guy saw our money and told us, "The driver can't take notes, only coins." Bummer. So we went into the Tesco and got change, came back out and waited for the next bus. It turned out the cost was only €2.60 each, so that was a pleasant surprise.
I don't normally like riding the bus, but this ride was another pleasant surprise. It was a double-decker bus, so we sat on top and had a glimpse of the city: different types of housing, including cottages, semi-detached 2-storey homes, and some rather elegant 2-storey detached homes. We weren't sure exactly what to look for when getting off at "city centre" but we took a guess and ended up close to a pedestrian shopping street, which worked out just great.
Our first stop was an information centre, where we picked up a city map and then we began exploring. The River Liffey runs straight through the city centre -- it is so straight that we thought it was a canal -- crossed by numerous traffic and pedestrian bridges and lined with old and newer buildings.
The tall domed structure is St. Paul's Church.
Once again, I suggested using the hire cycles -- these are sponsored by Coca-Cola, so I thought for sure Dave would go for it, but no. So we walked.
South of the river, we went to Dublin Castle. This complex dates back to the early 1200s and is still being used today. We enjoyed looking at the old buildings, courtyard, garden, etc., and learned a lot of stuff we didn't know about Irish history.
From here we wandered through the streets to
St. Patrick's Cathedral (1191):
I don't know if I will ever get tired of looking at old buildings, but it certainly hasn't happened yet. I can't get over my amazement that people back in the 1100s could construct something like this -- so beautiful, so intricate and so durable.
There are many plaques like this, acknowledging people who are buried on the site -- apparently more than 500 of them. The only name I recognized right off was that of Jonathan Swift.
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| St. Patrick's Churchyard |
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| The Liberty Bell Sculpture |
As we walked a little farther, we came to Christ Church Cathedral, another old and fantastically beautiful church. It was built even earlier than St. Patrick's -- in 1030. I especially liked the "fully integrated stone bridge" -- a covered walkway leading to the hall across the street.
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The Church of Immaculate Conception |
This building also caught my eye. "Sick and Indigent Roomkeepers Society. Founded AD 1790"
Dublin also has some pretty decent bike lanes and bike boxes; I think I will have to come back on my own some day and try them out.
There is so much more to see in this "fair city" that I was sorry we only had the one day.
We ended the day by eating dinner in a pub. Dave had "bangers and mash" and I had the soup of the day. These were the sinks in the classy, but not so clean ladies' room:
