It took us a day and a half to
sail to Dublin, Ireland, our first port on this cruise. Dublin is chock full of beautiful
buildings and history.
Did you notice that the front has
two wheels?
We found some trees turning, such
as this one. However, most of the trees were still very green.
An old two-masted schooner.
These figures were placed in the
park to memorialize the great potato famine. Notice how thin they are.
The sculptor had done research
prior to creating these and this figure here is of a father who walked 10 miles
with his son on his back to a soup kitchen. The story is that when he got
there, they were out of soup so he walked back home the ten miles. The next day
he set out once again for the soup kitchen and when he got there discovered
that his son had died sometime during the walk.
This building has signs from the
great lock out of 1913. It started with the transportation workers who struck
for higher wages and eventually spread throughout the city. Instead of bending
to the striker’s demands, the employers locked their doors and refused to allow
anyone to work. It was a troublesome time and one that helped make Dublin the
city it is today.
This is on one of the tallest
buildings in Dublin and there are some we talked to that feel it is too gaudy
for the cityscape.
One of the bridges, which is quite
ornate.
Here is one of their government
buildings. Notice the flower put on the roof?
Because they did not want the ugly
chimneys to show, they built these flower pots around the chimney to camouflage
them.
We are looking towards one of the
most modern items in Dublin and this is the Millennium spear. We have found
that many of the cities we have visited this year all have built a massive
building or piece of art for the millennium.
Dublin is no different.
Some typical downtown streets in
Dublin.
This is a sculpture of Molly
Malone, of lyric fame. By day she sold cockles and mussels. Not making enough
money during the day, she apparently worked another profession by night.
A guard (policeman) at the gate to
the government house.
One of the things that was most
noticeable in Dublin was that the street lamps were all this ornate.
There is a section of Dublin known
for its Georgian Doorways. The area is now a historical site and originally the
buildings were identical and the owners made their doors ornate and different
to differentiate their homes.
Here are some of the doorways we
saw.
Because the original streets were
dirt, each entrance way had at least one of the ornamental boot scrapers.
Today, Elvis has been found. He
must be living in one of the row houses. J
On the other side of the street
were newer homes, even though very similar to each other.
Notice the chimneys sticking up
through the roofs.
This was a small commercial
building.
Even other streets had their
famous doors.
This sign was on the side of a
building advertising a local pub. I never did make the connection between an
Irish Pub and Venice.
Look at the stained glass canopy
on the old Olympia Theatre.
Our next stop was at St. Patrick’s
Cathedral.
A couple of stylized shots of St.
Patrick’s. Fancy, huh?
In the courtyard was a fountain.
Even the pigeons thought this was a nice place.
In 1988 Jameson Distillery paid to
remodel the courtyard and included memorials to Irish poets, writers, and
artists. We also discovered that between Jameson Distillery and Guinness
Brewery, these two had companies had helped rebuild or remodel most of the
churches and cathedrals in Dublin.
James Joyce is proudly represented
here.
Next, we drove by Christchurch
Cathedral.
As
we took some time out to shop, we discovered this mural on a side street. It
was amazing.
Next, we walked through Temple
Bar, which is about four blocks long. This is the site of the original Viking
settlement and later was owned by a merchant named Temple. Bar refers to the
bank of the river and since this area was next to the river, it became known as
Temple Bar.
Of course, even modern businesses
show up in this tourist area.
Some views from this historical
district.
This here is Merchants Gate and
was the main entrance from the river into this area. The reason it is called merchant gate because the merchant lived above the gate.
Not sure what was going on, but
this young man took off his pants and paraded around the area for a few minutes
while everyone looked on. Not sure why, but it may have been an initiation of
some type as his friends were certainly encouraging him.
This building on the left was the
Meeting House and the area is known as Meeting House Square.
This bar here was established in
1694. Original bars did not allow women into the establishments, but this one
did. There was an area that was called the Snug and that is why the signed out
front advertises SNUG on their sign.
In Ireland, they don’t fill the
pubs with a little truck carrying bottles, they use large tankers full of
Guinness. If you believe that, then I have some land in Ireland to sell you. J
Notice the friezes on this
building. Quite elaborate.
Many buildings included mosaics
such as this one recognizing the Viking heritage.
We did see a tram in the city, but
they are not nearly as prevalent as in the European cities we visited in June.
The North Star Hotel, one of the
oldest hotels in Dublin.
We didn’t quite get the story
behind these palm trees, but some traveler brought them back and they are
throughout one section of town. It is a special hybrid that grows in the cold
weather. I thought these were only fund in hot climates, but what do I know?
We next drove to the town of Howth,
which is nestled against the ancient ruins of Howth Abbey. Below is the fishing
harbor and marina.
Here we had a “typically Irish”
four course lunch with some Irish entertainment during our meal. Very nice.
Some shots from inside the
restaurant. This was a real old restaurant with stone walls, stained glass
windows, and wood. Plenty of wood.
Rexie sitting outside the
restaurant waiting on the bus. One might think she is enjoying herself too
much, but you can never enjoy yourself too much.
Here is a portion of the regular menu for the restaurant. We
thought the prices not too bad considering what we had paid for items in
London.
Here you can see how the Abbey Tavern sits high above the
water.
These fortifications were built during the French-Napoleonic
wars as watch towers. They were built in site of each other to spread the word
should an invasion occur. Some have been destroyed, others have been made into
offices, and others like this have been made in to houses.
There are still a number of gypsies that live in the gypsy
camps and they love to keep the old ways when possible, such as using horses to
get around.
We end our day with a towel animal from our room steward that made us chuckle.
I must be off!
1 comment:
Looks fantastic! The kids had actually mentioned wanting to visit Ireland next time. I'll be sure to show them the pictures. By the way, Kaylee wanted to let you know she lost another tooth! I told her she doesn't have enough left to eat steak next week now. LOL
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