Ireland

We got a very nice hotel and slept in this morning. After packing up luggage into the car, we made our way to brunch in Temple Bar. Bordered by the River Liffey to the north, Temple Bar is a cultural area originally named after a land owner (William Temple) in the 1600s that built his home along the river banks. Now there is actually a bar in the area with the same name that many mistake for the neighborhood (and also makes for a nice picture). We had a yummy (tho very slow) brunch. Giant bowl of beans was a hit with Hudson and the Irish breakfast was very filling. We had to walk off our food and did some more window shopping along Grafton Street and found the location for the opening scene to the movie Once (now right outside a Disney store, which we obviously also visited). From there, it was off to the Ireland Archeological Museum. The highlight were the very well preserved (if not fully intact) bog bodies. One even had a man bun with shaved sides of his head - I guess every fashion comes around, even 2400 years later. Still, a little too lifelike so I found them creepy. From there, we headed back to pick up our car from the hotel and drove to the enormous Phoenix Park. The 1750 acre park just outside of central Dublin was beautiful. Given the late hour, we chose not to visit the zoo and instead found a playground. Mom got to show off her hopscotch skills while Gideon rolled an ankle trying to figure it out. On the way back, we walked past the Wellington Monument obelisk as they were setting up for the Dublin Marathon tomorrow morning before finding the car and driving to the airport. Dinner and a final Guinness before boarding. We got very lucky with the fall weather and look forward to seeing Northern Ireland next time we come back. Late arrival into Heathrow but get to sleep in our own beds (and rooms) tonight.Read more