Day Two: Dublin

Our second day in Dublin started off slowly – the whole family slept in, shaking off the effects of jet lag from the day before. We got a leisurely start to the day, starting at Il Valentino, the tastey bakery around the corner from us (croissants for all and coffee for the ‘rents!), and then walked along the River Liffey to O’Connell Street where we picked up the Red Line for our “hop on, hop off” open-top double decker bus tour.

O’Connell Bridge:




A view of the famous Ha’penny Bridge, built in1816, from O’Connell Bridge:




The bus took us through city-centre, which we had walked a good bit yesterday, including Temple Bar. We hopped off at St. Patrick’s Cathedral, which was pretty cool.












Wyatt looks like Dobby out of Harry Potter by this door:









The Door of Reconciliation struck me as something Boehner and Obama could use: according to legend, in 1492, two feuding families were caught in a heated battle when one family, led by Black James, found refuge behind the door of Chapter House. Deciding enough was enough, and seeking a peaceful truce, the leader of the opposing family, Gerald Fitzgerald pleaded through the door for James to accept his offer of peace. When James, distrusting Fitzgerald, refused to let him in, Fitzgerald hacked a hole in the door, thrust his arm through as a pledge of good faith. This was enough for James, who finally accepted the offer. Thus, the Door of Reconciliation. So Boehner… maybe it’s time to hack down Obama’s door!




Waiting outside St. Pat’s…



Next stop: Guinness Brewery! Founded in 1759, Guinness is one of Ireland’s most successful exports (and, naturally, a good bit stays in the motherland!).



We decided to skirt the guided tour, and to our surprise, found ourselves on the top floor where they were handing out free pints. Needless to say, we partook as we overlooked the cityscape.












We finished the day over at Phoenix Park where we planned to go to the zoo. However, it was only open for one more hour, and for $75 we decided it wasn’t worth it, so we ended up having a snack at the tea house next door, and let the kids burn off some steam in the gardens.







We finished the day by bussing back to the Garden of Remembrance and then walking down O’Connell Street, along the river, and having dinner at Milano’s, a decent pizza place next to our flat.










The only downside to the day was that our rental van, booked for the next two days so we could explore the outskirts of Dublin and some of the Irish countryside, was unexpectedly cancelled (tsk tsk to AutoEurope for emailing us just a few hours ago, forcing us to scramble). It is surprisingly difficult to find rental vans that will fit eight people so we’ve tried a few more options, but it’s not looking good. Guess we may end up walking around Dublin for a couple more days!