LUCK OF THE IRISH

The magical leprechauns have luckily allowed me to take a quick weekend trip to Ireland.  It's a place that I have been wanting to visit for quite a while.  Waterford, Ireland to be specific but that will have to wait until next time.  For now it was just the capital city for a whopping total of 48 hours spread out over 3 days.  This time I am here specifically to visit my brother's daughter, Sabrina. 

In 2010, as a graduation gift, Sabrina came out to Europe with her aunt and uncle from Wisconsin.  On their journey, they made a quick pit stop in Copenhagen.  That was all it took for Sabrina to be smitten by the travel bug.  This once quite and shy little girl is now out on her own discovering the world.  She has already seen several European countries and has even completed a couple of classes as a student in Italy.  At the moment, she is caring for 2 small children in the center of Dublin until her visa expires.

I contacted Sabrina on Messenger to hear which weekend was best for a visit.  She is off every weekend along with every second Monday.  I found the weekend that worked best for me according to her free time.  Likewise, I  booked myself a typical Irish hotel near Sabrina's apartment and along the river Liffey.

Sabrina told me that she would meet me at the bus stop.  Airport bus 747 - easy to remember - stops right at Christ Church Cathedral.  It the closest stop to her apartment and the one she uses when she needs to get to and from the airport.  With departures every 15 minutes and only €6, it's a bargain with convenience.   From the bus stop, Sabrina led the way to my hotel.  It was just a 5 minute walk.

When I stepped off the bus at Christ Church Cathedral, Sabrina saw me before my eye's could focus on this new adventure city.  Here she comes up the street with a big cardboard cup of java in hand, a bounce in her step and a big smile on her face that made me feel so welcome.

She knew exactly where the hotel was located and the quickest way to get there.  I arrived in the city at about 11 but check-in was at 2 in the afternoon or later.  The woman at the bar told me to just set my bag down and she will look after it until I come back.  I paid for the room, got the room key and then I was off to see the city with my own personal tour guide.

 I just arrived and dropped off my bag in the bar.  We crossed the river and snapped this pix while there was sunshine.  I have my windbreaker-sweater on and a light jacket over that.  I called Jens when I arrived at the DUB airport and he told me they were having the expected freak heat wave in Copenhagen.

 

 On messenger, Sabrina told me that when I arrived, she would take us to have brunch. I could hardly wait - seriously.  And here we are.  It was a very special moment for me.

 After brunch we walked to the world famous Temple Bar in the area of the city that goes by the same name.

 There is an endless amount of colorful buildings to snap and I shot many of them.

 Here we have just passed the entrance to a park called St. Stephan's Green.

 This is Christ Church Cathedral above and below on the right.  On the lower left is Dublina, a museum showing Viking Dublin and Medieval Dublin.

Just a standard street  lamp and corner statue.

 above - Dublina museum.
below -  The inside of Christ Church Cathedral.

One of the many colorful windows in the Cathedral.

 The catacombs under the church.

The fascinating arch connecting the museum and the cathedral.

 Here we are at Brazen Head - Ireland's oldest pub and it's just across the street from my hotel.

Be sure to click the link and check it out.

 I had no idea that the beer was black and that you had to let it settle for 2 to 3 minutes before drinking it.  When it settles, it goes from black to ugly dark brown. It looks like it's going to be a heavy brew but it's actually quite lite and rather tasty.

 Evening is upon us and I am doing my best to take in as many shots as possible while there is still a bit of light.

Sabrina asked me what I would like to eat tonight.  Here we are at a typical Irish restaurant.  They specialize in potato pancake which is what Sabrina ordered.  As I was reading the menu card, the different kinds of stews they offered sounded really special.  There was also a choice of 3 different kinds - so naturally........

 We pounded the pavement until 9 in the evening.  I had a busy day and an early start.  I just couldn't keep up with my very young niece.  I was still on Danish time and ready to turn in.  Of course now I am kicking myself in the butt for not going out with her to feel the theme of the Irish magic.
But one very odd thing we saw was this restaurant with rotating dishes.
I hope this video works on your end.  You can also view in full screen to better see the dishes go by.

 

Sabrina surly felt the Irish magic Saturday night because she arrived very late to breakfast at my hotel the next day.  But not a problem since it was raining and it gave me time to fill out the 4 post cards that I sent.  I called Jens in the morning and he bragged that he had to take off his jacket while walking the dog because it was just too warm.

I love museums but I love being outdoors even more so it has to be raining for me to step inside such a place like the Guinness Brewing Company tour.  After a stomach full of very tasty hotel breakfast food, we shot open our spring loaded umbrellas and Sabrina showed me the way to the Guinness Store House.  The price was a bit steep I thought but once inside you understand why.  It was very well worth it and quite interesting.  I snapped way too many pix here.

I'm not sure what this has to do with beer but we are in the advertising section.
A woman needs a man like a fish needs a bicycle.

There were several places where you could eat and taste a beer.  Sabrina suggested we wait until we get to the top.  Wow!  That was one of fancy sky beer-bar with a view that just doesn't quit.

 After the brew tour we head out to Sabrina's apartment.  This is the beginning of her neighbor which is just steps from Guinness.

 All that walking through the beer company made us hungry so we stopped at this really cute cake and coffee house called Queen of Tarts.

It's starting to clear up a bit so I'm ready with my camera again and snap anything with sunshine on it.

Above is the famous Temple Bar and below is Ha'penny Bridge.

 I love the old architecture so snap snap.

There are a lot of church's all over town but I didn't get the feeling that it was a holy roller kind of place.

Here is a statue of St. Somethingoranother, aka St. Whatshisface.

 This is the hotel I stayed at - very typical Irish.  My first choice was just down the street, closer to town and also along the river front but it had an Italian theme - I decided to go for the luck of the Irish and glad I did.

 More Irish food tonight please!  On Yelp, Sabrina found this fab restaurant that served fantastic food at a very affordable price.  Should have ordered the Guinness instead though.  They had a lot of wines to choose from and home made beers.  The beer was too fruity for me - if you can believe that.

So that's it.  Dublin came and gone in a flash.  It was great to see Sabrina again and I had a wonderful time with her.  On my last day, she had breakfast with me again at the hotel and then she walked me to the bus stop to go back to the airport.  On the bus, on the way back to the airport, I snapped a bunch of last impressions from the upper deck window.
Thanks Sabrina for giving this old man a wonderful tour of your town. 

 If you are interested, you can see all 109 photos here -
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