Day 1–Dublin

We arrived in Dublin, Ireland at half four (Irish talk for 4:30) in the morning.  We had not slept well on the flight and thought a few hours of shut eye sounded really appealing.  After getting our rental car, we called the hotel we were to stay in that night to see if we could possibly get our room.  They indicated they could have it ready in a bit so we headed that way. 

Our first meal was a traditional Irish breakfast at the hotel.  It did not amaze us so we ate granola bars or skipped breakfast the rest of the trip.  After breakfast we got our room and a few hours of sleep. 

We headed into the city around lunch and spent the day enjoying Dublin.  We began on a pedestrian street with tons of shopping. 

There was also a rock band playing in the middle of the street with ton of people gathered around to take it in.

Here is a typical street in Dublin city center.  The Irish have a good sense of humor.  The shops here include “funky munky” and “Knobs & Knockers.”

At this point we got on a hop-on hop-off bus tour.  Our only hop-off was St. Patrick’s Cathedral, one of the Dublin highlights.  It is the National Cathedral for the Church of Ireland (Anglican) Community in Ireland, St. Patrick's Cathedral was built by the first Anglo-Norman Bishop, John Comyn in 1192, on the site of a little wooden Church dedicated to St. Patrick.

It is the national cathedral of the Church of Ireland, a Protestant denomination.  The Cathedral played a vital role in the advancement of Reformation in Ireland.  Over time the interior features of the cathedral have been updated to go from more catholic to more protestant.  The cathedral is still functioning as a church and offers daily worship.

The current state of the cathedral is largely due to the generosity of Sir Benjamin Guinness, of the brewing family, who started financing major restoration work in 1860.  The Guinness family has given a lot back to the Dublin community. 

Above the choir loft are the banners and hatchments of the Knights of Saint Patrick, a chivalric order founded by King George III in 1793.  The last living Knight is getting old and will likely be the last.  The Queen of England could knight additional members, but is unlikely to do so.

The stained glass was erected in 1864 as part of the major restoration work by Sir Benjamin Guinness.

Legend has it that in the 5th century St. Patrick baptized many converts at a well on the site of the cathedral. 

The famous Jonathan Swift, author of Gulliver's Travels, is buried in the cathedral along with about 300 other people.  They are under the floor, in the walls, and under the alter.  The closer you are to the alter, the more important you were.

After spending time at the Cathedral, we hopped back on the bus to continue our city tour.

We drove by this scene and I was reminded of Mark Carpenter’s story of how he hung the Christmas lights at his house by putting a ladder on top of his van.  Looks like a bad idea!

A castle, we think it is the Dublin Castle, but not sure.

The River Liffey which runs through downtown Dublin.

The Wellington Monument in Phoenix Park.  Phoenix Park is the largest urban park in Europe (1750 acres). 

The American diplomat’s house, Dan Rooney, is just across the road from the Irish President’s home.

The Irish President’s home.  The US White House had an Irish architect which explains the similarity.

Our bus tour ended around dusk.  From there we walked to Trinity College to see the Book of Kells. 

Our travel book indicates this book if often called “the most beautiful book in the world,” and we can understand why.  The manuscript dates to the 8th or 9th century and is one of the original gospel manuscripts.  It was in a glass case with no photography allowed and a guard stood in the room.  Some of the interesting things were the colors used.  The pages being displayed were colorful and had intricate designs on them.  The paper was very thick and the binding was loose.  It was a work of art.  Paul asked the guard if that was the original or a replica.  The guard indicated it was the original.

After leaving the room with the Book of Kells, we were able to view the original Trinity College library.  It reminded me of Harry Potter.

From there we walked to a nice restaurant and enjoyed a lovely Italian dinner.  The restraint was called Dunne & Crescenzi and we would recommend it.

We parked in a garage in the Temple Bar area which charged by the hour.  Our parking bill ended up being around 35 euros ($45) for about 8 hours of parking.