City Views

Between the long days of sightseeing, enjoying the locals in the pubs, and fighting some internet issues, I am behind in my posts. Thinking this will be a common theme. 😄 We are on the south coast of Ireland now having left the city behind. BUT, before I tell you about here, I need to tell you about the past two days!
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Friday, we spent in Dublin on the south side of the river. This area is where you find the Dublin Castle, the old city walls and Trinity College - Ireland's equilivant to Oxford, Yale or Harvard. Dublin Castle was the seat of English rule in Ireland from 1204 to 1922. Yep, 1200's! Some of these 800+ years old walls still exist. It is just mind-boggling to look at them and think of those who stood there before you.

The pubs of the city number in the 700s with many having been there for a hundred, two hundred years or more. The history in these places is vast. Many were the haunts of famous Irish authors (think James Joyce or Oscar Wilde) or political rebels fighting for Irish freedom (won in 1922). The first pub we went to was The Brazen Head, the oldest pub in Dublin dating to 1653, with the building currently standing dating to 1754. To our happy surprise, the bowl of Irish stew with brown bread and butter we had for lunch was really, really, really good.

The campus of Trinity feels like the center of the city. The large quad is surrounded by beautiful architecture. When we were here in 2017, we saw the Long Hall and the Book of Kells, so we skipped that this time. Instead, we ventured into the building housing the geology department. The photos below help explain that choice.

We strolled down Grafton Street, where we heard buskers, saw street vendors selling beautiful flowers, people watched and found our next pub stop. Ready for pint, we popped into O'Neil's and stayed for 2 hours before heading toward our dinner location. We chose to have "boxty" for dinner. Boxty is an Irish term for a mix of potato and flour made into a thin "pancake" (see photo). They then used these pancakes in a manner similar to a taco shell. Richard had his filed with shredded lamb. Our server, David, recommended the corned beef and cabbage, so that is what I had...wow, these were some yummy food!

Our day wrapped up with a trip over Ha'penny Bridge, then back to our rooms in time for sunset.Read more