Days One and Two in Dublin.

Hosted by Cecily

If you missed it, and want to hear about the first of the vacation, then you can go back and read the previous post too...no pressure though!
Irish doors are so wonderful. I know I have said it once before, and I will probably say it again. Every color of the rainbow with knobs and knockers from the plain to ornate. LOVE IT!

I figure I can make this last a few post if I cover only a couple of days at a time! With the return of the rental car, we had to hoof it. I admit I love seeing cities on foot. You miss so much when you are driving in a car, plus I was informed by Aaron that I stress out way too much while driving (I really thought I was doing pretty good the second say behind the wheel, but apparently not!).
We had the great pleasure to stay in a guest house in Dublin rather than a hostel, for the same price! Yay! It was a lovely place to stay, and most of the evening we were there. I mean, sauna, jetted tub and even television...crazy I know (I even got to watch Manchester Unites wipe the floor with AC Milan...woot!).
But during the day we were out and about exploring the city. There is just something about Dublin that captured my heart the first time I was there, and calls me to it. It is a big bustling city, full of people, shops, pubs and history. On one block there is a 400+ year old church next to a new modern building. I really can't explain it, for a city that has never been my home, it feels as homey to me as Spokane.
I am, again going to let the pictures do most of the talking, words seem to be failing me on this one.
We went to this thing that gives you a view of what life would have been like in Dublin, or Dublina (the Viking name for Dublin, which in Irish means Dark Pools) centuries upon centuries ago. It took us through the history of Dublin from when it was founded by Viking warriors through to the black plague era. We were encourage to try on the costumes provided, but we were kind of spoil sports and only did the chain mail and helmet. The above picture is the view from the tower of the Dublina Viking Experience building (formally part of Christ Chruch Cathedral...the youngest part that is.)
Aaron in the Helmet...looks pretty rockin' awesome, eh?
You might be, at least I was, shocked at how heavy this one piece of armor was! Glad I don't have to wear it everyday!
This is a fountain out side of St. Patrick Cathedral. I love the grounds there. So beautiful.
Aaron by the same fountain. You will have to wait for another post to see the inside of this magnificent edifice though, it was closed to tourist this day.
This is Christ Church Cathedral. A truly splendid house of worship (being a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, it was very strange to take pictures of the interior. Seemed wrong. I said hard for me, not impossible.) I really wanted to be able to remember the ancient stone work and stained glass.
Aaron had the super wide angle lens on, and is responsible for the picture of the outside of the cathedral. I just had to capture him capturing the ceiling. Truly beautiful.
This stand holds the Holy Bible...so cannot remember what it is called (and I wouldn't even be offended if someone out there knew what it was and wanted to share it with us.)
After we had wondered for hours through the exhibit and the the cathedral, we went to a small grocery type store, bought some food, and headed to the boardwalk on the River Liffey to eat. We were lucky enough to be there at the right time to witness our first regatta! Two of the colleges in Dublin were having their rival races that day. WE stuck around only long enough to see the novice teams (men and women's both) race. I was surprised to learn that they had only been rowing since October.
The men at the staring line.
The women as they rowed past my location. And the lower one is the shot before this one...uploaded them in the wrong order. Oh well, they are both here!
We went to The Irish National Gallery too, but I wasn't sure they would be all that happy with me if I took pictures of Picasso and all those other fancy named painters, so I kept the camera capped.
Can you believe that was just our first day in Dublin? Are you ready for day two? I know, this is a long post, but I think we can handle a few more pictures. What do you say? I hear ya!
Since we don't shop and all that on Sunday we didn't go into any of the historical buildings or any thing that cost money, or made people work, but we did walk...a lot. Here they are! These came from our LONG walk searching for the LDS chapel. I was right on course until one turn, that ended up being only two blocks away from the church, but because I didn't follow my instincts, and I forgot the directions in the guest house, we ended up walking about three miles out of our way. crazy huh. I turned an 8 mile round trip walk into a 12 mile walk. Lets just say, I our feel were less than happy with me!
The start of our morning. We headed out two hours before church was to start. Two hours, four miles...plenty of time, right? Umm, yeah, not for us I guess!
This entryway, was one of my FAVORITE things. I mean, look. IT has gorgeous masonry. And there, look up, there is a steeple suspended about ten feet above it. I think, although, I am not sure (because I didn't go through the door) that there is a church tucked back behind the front building.
As we walked on we came across SO many people out in there horse and buggies. I am not talking about people who drove the handsome cabs and charged money, just regular citizens of Dublin out on the city streets either riding their horses or in buggies. I thought it was SO STINKIN' COOL.
And finally, we came to the chapel. Nearly an hour late, tired and embarrassed to be entering so late. I was sure we had missed the whole of Sacrament Meeting. We almost didn't go in, almost. Once inside we notice that it was PACKED. Yeah, turned out it was stake conference sunday. We were both glad we didn't chicken out!
Well, you are just going to have to check back later on to hear more...if I haven't bored you to death. Just a hint of what is to come...a gaol (jail), Phoenix Park, the Dublin Zoo, St. Patrick's, Molly Malone and more!