Dublin

Ha'penny Bridge across the Liffey
In Irish: Droichead na Life

Easter weekend arrived at last and Scott and I took a quick flight across the Irish Sea on our first visit to Ireland. We spent a couple of days in Dublin, and on Easter Sunday we took a coach trip to the Cliffs of Moher on the west coast of Ireland. We had a great time in Dublin where we learned a bit of the history of Ireland on a 3 hour walking tour, enjoyed some traditional food, Irish music and dance, and sampled one of Dublin's most famous products: Guiness. Hope you enjoy the photos!

On our walking tour we visited Trinity College and Christ Church Cathedral, both beautiful.

Christ Church Cathedral

Trinity College

Hollywood came knocking at Trinity College a few years ago. It seems the dining hall
was used for filming some scenes in a certain series of movies about a young wizard with a
lightening bolt shaped scar on his forehead, compliments of ,"He who must not be named".

We also stopped by Dublin Castle. We learned that during one of Ireland's many revolutions the original castle burned down. A castle has stood on this spot since 1204, but little of the original remains.

Dublin Castle
In Irish: Caisleán Bhaile Átha Cliath

The Bedford Tower dates from 1761. It was from here that the
Irish crown jewels were stolen in 1907.

Well...
of course, no trip to Dublin would be complete without a tour of the Guiness Brewery. Scott and I opted for the Connoisseur Tour where we learned the history of Guiness. We also received generous servings of 4 different types of Guiness to taste. Once we each had our favourites, we learned how to draw the perfect pint of Guiness by tapping our own pint, or in my case, a pint for Scott. I can still, honestly say I have never met a beer I like.

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Learning how to pour the perfect pint.

Scott and I ate at some great restaurants just off Grafton Street, the main pedestrian shopping street. We also wondered through the Temple Bar area and enjoyed some nice lunches there. Scott took a photo of the original Temple Bar.

Here are a few more photos from our trip:

Colorful signs in a mix of both Irish and English are common in Dublin. Don't let those
window boxes with flowers fool you though, it is still pretty cold in Ireland!

The tall spire is relatively new, replacing a monument that was destroyed. This one is officially
called "The Monument of Light", although it has many other nicknames.