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We set the alarm for 7am. We were not docked yet, still moving up the mouth of the Liffey river. It is cloudy and it looks like maybe some light showers, 52 degrees. I jumped in the shower as Ken went downstairs to get our lattes. We called Bobbie and Annie to wake them up. We went up for our eggs and orange juice; didn't see Annie and Bobbie. We met them outside our room and headed down to get off the ship. We are taking a city tour. As we were headed down, the captain announced that we will not be going to Cork on Thursday as they are expecting sea swells of 19 feet, so we will be overnight in Dublin and a half day on Thursday.
Our tour guide: Dave, was very informative; a native. He said unemployment is about 14%. Income tax is a % based on income. He gave an example: income of $60,000, you pay about 18%. Depending on your income it can be as high as 47%. Crazy; he spoke about "free" healthcare and education. Not really free.
Our first stop was Trinity College. As our guide Dave was speaking to our
group, a large bird (pigeon?) dropped his large breakfast on the back of a lady right in front of Annie. It was so big, you could hear the splat! Kenny practically knocked Annie over, pushing her out of the way in case there was more. We walked to a wonderful coffee shop: Costa and had lattes and a delicious apple pastry. We then did a little shopping. The weather was changing constantly: one minute drizzling, the next windy and cold; a few minutes later the sky was sunny and we were taking off our jackets. We went to St Patrick's Cathedral; very beautiful. We got off the bus and walked through the city streets. We stopped at 'Sheehan's, a local pub for lunch. Ken got a local beer: Tom's Crean's premium Irish lager, Bobbie got a Carlsburg, I got a coke and Annie water. We did try a Guinness, you must at least try one and didn't like it. For lunch we had corned beef sandwiches, vegetable soup and fries. Everything was very good. We walked around some more and then Annie and Bobbie headed back to the ship. We walked the streets some more. It is a very busy
place; lots of people. We stopped for a glass of wine and there was an old movie on the tv, starring George C Scott and Peter Sellers; didn't catch the title. Just as we were leaving it began to rain again, but only lasted a few blocks. We strolled until dinner time and decided we must eat the local fare instead of heading back to the ship. We went back to Sheehan's since lunch was so good and it was full of locals; we were the only tourists. Ken and I split the beef pie, sautéed in Guinness with a pastry pie top, with salad and fries. It was delicious! We saw a Starbucks on the walk back to our shuttle and Ken got an Americano. We got back to the ship as it began to drizzle again. The pier area is very industrial; not attractive.
Not sure if we will go in to Dublin tomorrow since we only have a few hours.
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Karen
non-member comment
Enjoying your blog
Sounds like you are having quite the adventure.