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                   - A tale of our travels

Dublin, Ireland

26th May 2007

Hello there Lassie! (say this in an Irish accent)...Our trip to the land of Guinness, Potatoes and Shamrocks..

The great thing about moving to London is definitely all the public holidays! Once again,we took advantage of the May Bank holiday and booked a trip to Dublin, Ireland.

Day 1 - Touring the city

The first day was mainly taken up with exploring the city sights of Dublin. Once again, the city sight seeing bus was the best way to see the city in one day. Main sights to take in in Dublin are: -

- Trinity College (home to Oscar Wilde)
- Dublin Castle (not as grand as you would think)
- St Stephens Green ( a great little park to walk through and sit and relax)
- National Museum (if your into them)

The highlight of the day was dinner. We chose a traditional Irish restaurant to feast at and the great thing was that it came with a band and everything! We were hoping to run into Dido or Bono (from U2), but no such luck. Dinner was very traditional, with lamb forming most of the menu..the place is exactly like New Zealand in that respect..sheep everywhere! Anyway, we feasted on lamb roast (Nav) and lamb stew (me). For dessert, we had bread and butter pudding. Just the thing to hit the spot on a cold and rainy night! To top it all off...a glass of Guinness..:)
 The Guinness Factory..this photo was taken from our hotel..talk about being close!
 First day out and about..no matter what they say, it is always cold and wet in Ireland!
Nav making use of the vouchers..having a discounted lunch meal thanks to our city sight seeing tour..the meal? Fish and Chips of course Taking time to take a picture along the river Liffey..this is the main river that flows through Dublin city. Contrary to popular belief, it is not used to make Guinness! If you saw the river, you would understand why!
The good 'ol Dublin tour bus The River Liffey
Trinity College The famous Molly Malone..the Irish lads couldn't get enough of her..you can see why!
St Stephen's Green Shopping Centre, designed to look like a ship from the outside Entrance to St Stephens Garden
Essential travelling item..a big bag of course! and sunglasses..Posh Spice better watch out! The Chands in St Stephens Green
Getting a shot together is always a hard task, but we somehow manage to get a few! Dublin Castle..nothing like Windsor castle back in London.then again, there's no Queen living here
One of the many pubs in Ireland located in the famous Temple Bar district My first Guinness!I managed to drink all of this! (NOT!)
Nav happily finishs it off for me.. OUr HUGE meals...lamb roast and Irish Stew
The black panther..this is Guinness with blackcurrant liquor..very nice! Nav digging into dessert (bread and butter pudding) and yes..he is getting fat :)

Day 2 - Touring the city...again..

The great thing about the City Sight Seeing bus is that the ticket lasts for 24 hours, so any key spots that you missed the previous day you can catch up on the next day.

Today we slept in a little (sight seeing takes a lot out of you!) and then jumped back onto the bus. The first port of call was a tour of the Kilmainham Gaol. Now I know what your probably thinking...touring a goal?? Actually, the Gaol is a big historic site in Dublin and dates back centuries. The fascinating thing is the history behind the goal. It was mostly used during the great Irish famine, when people were sent to gaol for just stealing bread! When the gaol got full, they shipped a lot of the convicts abroad and guess where most of them went...to Australia! (yes, we were very proud when this was mentioned). However, it was a great tour and well worth the visit for anyone visiting Dublin.

The next plan of attack was to take a tour up to the North Coast of Ireland to the fishing village by the name of How the. Nav and I literally ran all the way from Kilmainham Gaol back to the city centre in order to catch our bus to the North Coats. Thankfully along the way we found a cab and made it to the bus just in time, The bad part, Nav left his wallet in the cab and where do you think  the bus tickets were?? Yep, in the wallet...so this kind of changed of changed our plans. After making our way to the police station and cancelling all our credit cards, we were back in the city wondering the sights. Tips for anyone traveling...do not carry a wallet! When traveling for the day, carry some cash and a credit card,leave everything else in the hotel safe or back at home..we unfortunately learn this the hard way! However, being the seasoned travelers we are, we moved on from the slight hiccup of losing the wallet and planned to make the most of the next day...

Taking a photo at all the different bridges along the river Liffey.. Rory O'More Bridge
Mellowes Bridge Fr. Matthew Bridge
O'Donovan Rossa Bridge Grattan Bridge
Trinity College Bono's Hotel. Hotel Clarence
Millenium Bridge Ha'penney Bridge
O'Connell Bridge Dublin Castle
Inside Kilmainham Gaol..just like the movies Nav inside one of the cells..

Nav behind bars


Day 3 - Taking in the breath taking views of the South Coast

Before leaving London I was smart enough to book a tour of the south coast. This is a very popular tour and books up pretty fast.

It was AMAZING! The tour took us outside of Dublin city and into the heart of Ireland. It was exactly what you would expect Ireland to be...all green and lush, with rolling hills and plains..

We travelled in a mini bus up to the Wicklow Mountains, taking in the acres of cotton fields and waterfalls. An interesting fact is that even though everything looked green and lush, Ireland was actually going through a drought! and the worst ever in years!..I attribute all this to Global Warming!!

After venturing up the mountains, we made our way down towards the rivers and lakes. Once again spectacular views and all worthy of kodak moments. Now no day tour would be complete without a stop off at the local pub for some traditional Irish cuisine. We stopped at     Lynhams (a local pub) and had some homemade chicken and mushroom pie, washed down with the local Guinness...ahhh...could life get better than this!

Off course it can! Cause after a long day on the tour, we topped off the night back in Dublin city and what did we have for dessert? Baileys Cheesecake of course! The hips are definitely getting a workout..

Stoping to take some pics along the south coast. This was taken at Dun Laoghaire.
It's always nice when strangers take pics for you! Are you cold or trying to model? Nav can't decide how he should pose..
Taking a stop for morning tea...check out the dessert bar Contrary to what you may all think, we don't always just sit around eating :)...this time though, we tried and tested some of the local caramel slices and scones..yummm!
Nearly all gone.. The green and lush fields..exactly how I managed Ireland would look..
A small cottage in the midst of perfection.. Nav and I take advantage of hte beautiful surroundings
The white stuff is actually cotton.. Amazing rivers, lakes and waterfalls
Yes, it was cold outside!  It started to pour right after this photo was taken!
Stopping off for lunch at Lynhams From the mountains, down to the valley..the was actually a graveyard..
Posing outside the pub The monks used to live in these towers
Making our way through the graveyard and down towards to the River Walking through the lush forest..
It was windy and cold..I'm not always posing :) But together, you can't help but pose..How amazing is the view behind us!
The Brazen Head pub is the oldest pub in Ireland Baileys Cheesecake...yummm!
The bridges along the River LIffey at night..wow..

Day 4 - Saving the best til last..

Leaving the best til last...

Today we were making our way back home, but we had time to take in one more attraction..The Guinness Factory! This is the most popular tourist attraction in all of Ireland and you cannot leave Dublin without seeing how Guinness is made.

The tour itself is stock standard and tells you all about the special ingredients in Guinness. The best thing about the tour? The free Guinness at the end! If your really ambitious, you can pour yourself your own drink..I however elected to be served and got the bar man to serve me my usual...Guinness with balck currant. The result? A little shamrock creation on my beer (Refer epic below)..very impressive :)

The secret to Black Gold..Guinness..
Nav guzzling down the free beer The casks in which the beers are placed
We're from there! Any opportunity to support down under.. Photo in front of steel pipes (why did I take this??..probably Nav trying to be creative)
View of dublin from the top of the Guinness factory Nav lining up for his free beer (it was only 11am in the morning!)
Notice the shamrock on the beer! How cool is that! Taking in the free Guinness!
An end to our tour of Dublin..

The Verdict

Ireland is a fantastic country and definitely a place to go once in your lifetime. The history, people and food definitely make this country one of the top on my list!

Tips for visiting Dublin

If you only have a few days in this beautiful city, try and make the most of it by doing the following: -

- Take a tour down to the Wicklow Mountains, Sally Gap and Glendough on day 1. The tour company to choose? Day Tours Unplugged. Reasonably priced, with a great tour guide. Also, they have a minibus, which means they can go into the small roads that the big double decker buses cannot reach. Book online at http://www.daytoursunplugged.ie/
- Take the city sight seeing tour the next day. Best way to see any city is to get on at every stop and wonder the sights. Something to note...if your a museum fan, all the museums are closed on Monday, so make sure you plan ahead!
- Day 3 should be left for visiting the North Coast and the best way to do this is via train. Take the Dart to Howthe, sit on the hill overlooking the ocean and enjoy your fish and chips. The Dart is an easy and inexpensive way to travel up and down the north and south coast. We unfortunately did not get a chance to do this, but I'm sure some of you will!
- Try the traditional Irish Stew. Made from lamb, potatoes, carrots and celery, it is a must on a cold and rainy night and there's plenty of those in Ireland!
- Try the Guinness! No matter what anyone says, it does taste better in Ireland! For the ladies, ask them to mix in some blackcurrant liquor. This tastes absolutely amazing! I have been converted!
- The Hotel - We stayed at the Ashling Hotel, which was located near Heuston station. This is the main station to get to and from the airport. Very convenient. The hotel itself is about a 15-20 minute walk to the main city centre, but you save money by not being in the heart of things. Overall, we thought it was good and would definitely recommend it.