Ireland Day 6

Tuesday, December 18, 2007

Day 2 of our bus tour was slightly disappointing. We planned to see Dublin Castle, Saint Patrick's Cathedral, a famous Irish jail, and the Jameson distillery. I also wanted to see the Irish Writer's Museum, but we decided that could wait for another day. Unfortunately, we only managed to see Dublin Castle and Saint Pat's Cathedral because Gregg and Emily were lazy late starters. Dublin Castle was really cool. It was a combination of the medieval castle built by the Vikings centuries ago and the Georgian restoration during the 1700s. It was interesting to see the vastly different styles. First the heavily fortified castle from the medieval era, then the larger courtyards and rooms for the English monarchs to rule Ireland over and keep them in line. Ireland gained its independence from the Crown in 1922. The inside was not quite as breathtaking as Versailles, but what can be? We took some good pictures of the ornate ceilings and chandeliers. Lots of neck craning. After a lunch stop in a pub we headed to Saint Patrick's Cathedral. It was really cool, very nice stainglass windows and architecture like most Gothic cathedrals have. We got a few good pictures of that aswell. Jonathon Swift was a big part of the Cathedral and he is buried there. There was a neat side exhibit detailing his life. We also went for a stroll in the garden/park outside the Cathedral, where they have a bunch of plaques honoring Irish's rich history of poets and writers. We hopped back on the bus and took a small detour in our plans and headed back to the Guiness factory to pick up some souvenirs. We were rushed last night and I had a change of heart and decided to buy some things to remind me of the cool advertising campaigns. 4 pint classes, a nice mug to go with my collection, and a pack of playing cards with the advertising designs on them. We were unable to see the jail or the distillery due to bad time management, so we decided to meet Dad for dinner earlier than planned. On the way we stopped at a Celtic Whiskey Shop, were I popped in to buy some gifts. I don't have a clue when it comes to whiskey, but I think I found something suitable. Dinner was a nice leg of lamb, then we headed back to the DART station to catch the train back to Howth. I took a brief nap on the way and am now closing out the day as I have since we got here...watching old reruns of British Who Wants to be a Millionaire episodes! Day 3 should see highlights from the jail and the distillery, so stay tuned!