Ireland

Our second day in Dublin began with the host at our BNB providing us with a nice breakfast which included a selection of cereals, bread, spreads, juice and fruit. After breakfast we caught the DART commuter train to Malahide, a stop at the end of the line, and a small, quaint village recommended as a destination to us by our BNB host. Once there we followed a pedestrian walkway along the waterfront to an area with an expanse of beach sand on the shores of the Irish Sea. Very picturesque area and a nice change from busy cities.

On the return walk from the beach we followed a more coastal route and made our way into the heart of the village which has a few streets lined with small shops and cafes. We stopped for a snack at one place before continuing on to Malahide Castle and Gardens. Once there we toured through a butterfly garden filled with a number of beautiful butterflies, then walked through part of the expansive gardens surrounding the castle before joining in on a guided tour of the castle itself. The gardens include large grassy fields one of which was being setup for an upcoming series of concerts including Arcade Fire!

On the guided castle tour, we learned all about the castle’s history including the fact that it has been continuously inhabited by the same family for almost 800 years. We also learned about the origins of a few of today’s expressions, the origins of which we don’t always know, but wonder about, such as “plastered” and “watch your beeswax”!

After the castle tour it was time for lunch as we were all getting hungry. We walked back into town where I had a sub-style ham and cheese sandwich, Emma had sausage rolls and Laura had a couscous salad,

After finishing lunch, we found our way back to the DART station and took it all the way into downtown Dublin to continue our walking touring of the city. There were still many places we had not yet seen. The photos in today’s posting highlights the places we visited today. The city of Dublin is large and it offers a lot to see and do.

It is very quiet and comfortable here in our BNB on the outskirts of Dublin and we have access to the kitchen so, after we had completed our touring of the downtown area, we brought dinner meals home with us from M&S that we just had to heat up in the microwave. Emma decided to go for a long run at a nearby park before dinner. I had dinner early and headed back up to our bedroom to watch another EuroCup soccer match and enjoy a big bottle of Italian beer. I tried watching another episode of “The Bridgersons” on Netflix but dozed off several times. The 25,000+ steps I walked today had tired me out!Read more