Blogs from County Dublin, Ireland, Europe - page 2

Today was a day on our own, so we decided to take it easy, not set an alarm, and just have a slow start to our morning. By the time we were up and ready to start the day, it was past time to partake in the hotel breakfast. So we decided just to walk around town and find someplace to eat breakfast, brunch, or lunch. We saw McDonald’s, Burger King, and KFC. We decided to go in one of them, opened the door, and found it was a Mall! We walked through the mall, found a lovely café/coffee shop and decided to eat there. I had pancakes and fruit and a flat white. Nanci had a sausage roll and a great coffee. As we sat at the cafe having our breakfast, we looked around, and ... read more

Dublin Tour The next stop on our British Isles cruise was Dun Laoghaire the gateway to Dublin. After taking the train from Dun Laoghaire to Pearse Station, Renata, Mom and I headed over to Trinity College. Trinity College We previously booked a tour of Trinity College and the Book of Kells before departing on the cruise. When we arrived at Trinity College, we were greeted by a student representative of the college, Ethan who specializes in Theoretical Physics and took us on a tour of the campus. Some of the interesting facts about Trinity College include: 1. Famous People: It produced some of the world’s finest most original minds including the writers Oscar Wilde, Samuel Beckett and Bram Stroker. 2. The Campanile: The bell tower in the heart of Trinity’s Front Square. The superstition goes, that ... read more

Welcome back all, after 5 years, 3 of those interrupted by the c-word (COVID), Greg and Rose are back on the road! On this trip, we are spending 10 days in Ireland mostly to catch up with some of Rose's distant relations and historical ancestry. Then we are going to Scotland for 10 days to catch up with family of two of our special friends, after that going to London for 2 nights to see our nephew and one of Rose's cousins. France is the where we will pick up our car and spend another 10 days getting to Tuscany where we will have 1 month with friends and family. The last 3 days will be traveling to Rome to catch the flight home. At this stage that seems like a long way away, but it ... read more

Since I blew a fuse the evening before, I began the day by fessing up (by What's App) to the host who replied that it was not unusual for North American electrical items to cause that problem and she would 'pop up and check' during the day. Had a reservation for 9:30 for the Book of Kells in Trinity College. Got up early, took a taxi in to Trinity. Certainly looked different from our last visit--not the College but the streets around the College. In 2017, there was a massive Roads Project and it was a mess. Some of the entrances to Trinity were closed by it even. This time, we easily walked across the street and in, had a great visit with the Book of Kells and went up to the Long Room. A LOT ... read more

After breakfast, we took a cab from City North Hotel into the center of Dublin. Happily, there was another person in our group who needed to go into the city so we were able to share the fare. We checked our luggage at the Point A Hotel, near Parnell Square, then wandered down O'Connell St. We had purchased gifts for Mike's oncology team and wanted to put it in the mail. How convenient--post office right there and Eason's, a department store, with packaging supplies, just a few doors down. That mission accomplished, we headed on over the O'Connell Bridge and stopped at Fitzgerald's for a bit of lunch. We then hopped into a cab to go to Kilmainham Gaol, my goal for the day. Although it was a real jail and thousands of men, women, and ... read more