Dublin

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Two days in Dublin and the weather has been great. I arrived with no delays, and twenty minutes later Heather came from her long journey from Bermuda. We went to hotel to leave our bags and took off to explore Dublin. We strolled along Grafton Street window shopping and seeking the Thai restaurant recommended by the concierge. When we found it the waiter told us to either come back at six (they were closed) or go to nearby Vietnamese restaurant. We chose the latter and soon had our green curries.
We found a famous statue of Irish woman, you can tell when you come across something of note by all of the cameras flashing.
Dublin is like every capital city in the world, no Irish to be found downtown. When walking along the streets you can hear every language in the world. There are roads with dozens of cuisines. So far we have eaten Thai (green curries are hotter than usual), Kababs (don't bother), Chinese (great crab salad) and Subway. We'll try Irish food when we get to the country. We're getting the car this afternoon. Yesterday we took a bus tour and was surprised to see a couple with Tim Horton mugs in their hands. They got them at a spa, of all places. They had been to Canada and enjoyed the Tim's coffee. If anyone started a franchise in the U.K., they'd make a fortune. The bus tour was great, and the driver was a real comedian.
Our favourite place is the atrium in the hotel. It is an oasis of beauty and peace. We start and end the day there.

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Photos

Guinness
We found O'Donnahues, the one off Grafton street. We have a list of famous pubs to visit and raise a glass of Guinness. Thanks for the advice, Denis.

Statue of Irish woman
Google 'Dublin' to find out about Martha or Mary or whatever this statue is called.

Grafton Street
Looking for Thai restaurant, what else do you do in cosmopolitan city?

Temple Pub
We found the Temple Pub on Heather's list of famous sites. Good Irish music and tons of tourists. It was a fun spot.

Heather's hand
What goes on in Dublin, stays in Dublin.

Heather
We discovered the hotel's atrium, a piece of heaven. We go there first thing in the morning and at the end of the day. Amazing ambiance.

Morning Tea
Oh, yeah, I'm the pale one, as you can tell.

Atrium sky
An oasis of beauty.

Bus Tour
Yesterday we took a bus tour of Dublin. Great way to see city and get a sense of what we'll attempt to visit. We managed to get to the Art museum, but the Writer's museum was closed.

Tim's in Ireland
These people were hounded by every Canadian that crossed their path while they were drinking their Tim's coffee. Good sports, they missed their addiction from their trip to Canada.

Tour
We were exceptionally lucky for the sunny weather during our tour.

Bridges
Dublin reminds me of Paris with the river and many bridges.

Church
The bus tour ticket lasts 24 hours. We planned to jump back on and go to Guinness brewery and St. Pat's church but didn't make it. Walking along O'Connell Street, we found great souvenir shop and Heather got gifts for her kids. I got Irish ring.

Street
One of the main streets of Dublin

Thatched cottage
The area is similar to Devon, England, with thatched cottages amongst modern bungalows.

Comments

[mike isenor]

geocaching
OMG OMG!! did lynne get you info on GPS'less caches in dublin? i'll bet not ... i will get after her. love the travel blog ... mike

[Matt Corkum]

Mmm Guinness
I bet Guinness tastes just a little bit better when you're in Dublin :) Also, I'm guessing that's the Grafton St. that Halifax's is named after?