A short trip to Dublin

 We took the overnight WestJet flight from St. John's to Dublin which arrived in just under four hours! Since our next flight  to Cardiff was late that night we decided to stay overnight in a small town just by the airport called Malahide.

It is located on the coast with long sandy beaches...

The town is very affluent as could be seen by the houses we walked by...

 

It also has a 12th century castle but we didn't have time to visit as we were tired from the overnight flight so didn't do much that day.

After our trip to Wales we flew back to Dublin where we met Dawn and took the bus back into the city.

We had a great apartment in the Center of the city by the River Liffey which runs through Dublin separating the North and South of the city. There are many bridges crossing the river.

Dublin is a much bigger city than I expected with a population of about 1.2 million. It is also filled with tourists!

The city is also filled with pubs offering traditional Irish food and live music throughout the day and night...

Since we were only here for four days to help Dawn celebrate her birthday we saw the inside of a lot of them!

This guy was checking out his betting options...

Looks like Don spent too much time checking out the Guinness...

We ran across some familiar people, including Molly Malone, whose song is the unofficial anthem of Dublin...

" In Dublin's fair city

where the girls are so pretty
I once met a girl named sweet Molly Malone
and she wheeled her wheel barrow
through the streets broad and narrow
singing cockles and mussels alive alive oh"

And what would be a trip to Dublin be without a stop at the Guinness Storeroom? Dawn booked us in on the Connosieur  tour so we were treated to a history lesson about Guinness as well as a tasting menu of some of the lesser known brews. The brewery was started in 1729 by Arthur Guinness whose picture is in the left of this photo. 

Guinness Brewery is a Dublin institution that occupies over 60 acres just a little ways from the city Center. 

After getting our history lesson and some samples we understood the reasons behind this popular brew, even I liked some of the beers and I don't like Guinness we get at home!

Our historian and bartender...

Dawn learning to pull a pint...

Happy students 

A view of Dublin with the Wicklow Hills in the background taken from the bar at the top of the Distllery....

Besides beer Ireland is also known for its' whiskey that is sold all over town...

I think that the Irish like their "drink"...

We also enjoyed some great good...

Irish breakfasts.. 

Delicious seafood chowders..

And of course desserts...

We also found time to explore some of the churches here in the city...

Loved the sculpture outside Christchurch...

Then there is St. Patrick's Cathedral named after the Patron Saint of Ireland. It was founded  in 1191, is the National Cathedral of the Church of Ireland. With its 43-metre spire, St. Patrick's is the tallest church in Ireland and the largest

Next door in St. Patrick's park is this plaque...

It is said he used the Shamrock to represent the Trinity in his baptismals.

We took a city bus tour so here are some glimpses of Dublin...

 

Trinity College,founded in 1592 is a world recognized learning institution.

One of the museums which are housed in old buildings and have free admission, all of them!

Typical neighbourhoods...

 A government building...

Many colours in the city...

Street art...

Another attraction in Dublin are the number of pubs that offer live music both day and night...

Overall we liked Dublin and thought it was a great place to visit with lots more to see and do than a few days would allow. Another time perhaps?