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We decided to leave Ireland early. It is too expensive and we think we will be able to do more in England so we are going back there. So, after using the internet to change our flight we checked out of the hotel. Then we stored our bags in the hotel’s luggage room and spent the day in town. We rode the city bus to see Dublinia. Dublinia is in the old Synod Hall of Christ Church Cathedral. It is a multi-media exhibition that covers the medieval times from about 1170 to 1540. It is two stories of models and videos etc. of the development of Dublin. The first floor had a large model of Dublin. The whole exhibit was well done and took about three hours to tour.

Dublinia ends at Christ Church Cathedral. Both places require a ticket purchase but I would recommend starting at Dublinia. They gave us a discount on the cathedral ticket because we bought tickets for both places at once. I understand you do not get this same deal if you start at the cathedral. I found the cathedral to be very beautiful. We spent the rest of the day shopping and enjoying the downtown area.

We had to take a bus back out to the airport and they did not run all night or early enough the next morning. So we had to take a late evening bus for a flight the next day. We went to the hotel and retrieved our luggage and walked about two blocks to the bus station. Then we took a bus to the airport and arrived at 8 PM for an 8 AM flight. I was worried about the airport security letting us sleep there but it was no problem. McDonalds was open late and there was a coffee shop open all night. And there were LOTS of people spending the night in the airport. While many sat upstairs in the coffee shop we were trying to get chairs downstairs. People were stretched out on rows of chairs and some people were even in sleeping bags. I finally secured a row and the girls laid down with coats for blankets and got some sleep. I stayed awake all night but it was okay.

We started the day by eating at the hotel. It is included in the price of the room. It was very good and nicely put on. I had the best cup of tea I have had on the whole trip. The concierge at the hotel sold us tickets at a reduced rate for the Dublin city bus tour. We walked over to O’Connell Street to catch the tour bus. It is about eight blocks from the hotel. Taking Trista’s advice from other trips we decided to ride the bus for the whole tour and then decide what we wanted to get off to see. But by the Guinness Storehouse we decided to get off. This way the major place that Trista wanted to visit. The tour was pretty good. It showed all the steps of making the beer and explained it well. There were also displays and videos that told how the process originally started. Each adult received a pint at the end or children received a soft drink. Of course a gift shop was on the premises where we were able to buy a few souvenirs.

Our next stop was St. Patrick’s Cathedral. This was a beautiful church which has been in existence for over 800 years. St. Patricks is the National Cathedral of Ireland. They hold two sung services everyday except Saturday. We learned that over 300,000 visitors each year. Once again we rejoined the tour to complete the route.

One of the tourist guide books listed the post office as a “must see” . We didn’t really understand why we should see a post office but we went to check it out. First of all it was a huge, beautiful building. Then inside it was just as beautiful and we learned that many things go on in the post office. You could buy stamps, envelopes, and post cards. There was also a small office on the side that sold collectable stamps. Also people were there to pay bills such as municipal bills and to pick up their welfare checks. It was a really busy place.

We ate lunch at a small place off O’Connell Street on Henry Street. The food was okay but the place was really too small for eat in guests.

We went to join the tour again but found it was too late. How could we forget how early everything closes? We did not want to sit in our hotel rooms so we went to see a movie in the multi-plex on O’Connell Street.

I woke up at 4 AM. Trista and I had shared the nottom of a bunk bed. There was just not enough room for the two of us. The hostel was clean and we had our own bathroom but it was not going to work. It didn’t really matter-we only had a reservation for the one night. They did not have any larger spaces available for the three of us so we had to go in search of another hotel. We found a hotel around the corner that had a room for one night so we took it. It was very expensive but we had not been able to find anything else in Dublin.

It is packed with people here. The taxi drivers said it is always very very busy here. We went to Grafton Street. It is a major shopping area with no cars or busses allowed, only pedestrians. It was so crowded we were constantly being pushed and shoved. We were told it is one of the ten most expensive shopping areas in the world. I believed it.

We ate lunch at Captain America’s Cookhouse and Bar. It was very good food but expensive. Of course we had been trying to eat cheap to save money but this was high just like most things wer had seen in Dublin so far. Trista had noted that while living and traveling in Europe for the last few months that they did not have ranch dressing. It is such a common thing at home and she had missed it. Although Captain America’s advertised American food they did not have it either. Most people use a dressing called salad cream which seems to be mayonnaise based. Trista liked it but not as much as ranch. Looking around the restuarant one of the things I again noticed was people never use their fingers to eat. The french fries were not so different to watch eaten with a fork but it was interesting to watch people try to cut and eat thick hamburgers. We just picked ours up with our hands as we usually do. I am sure people had fun watching us uncouth Americans also.

At the end of Grafton Street is the Stephen Green mall. We spent several hours there and found it to be a beautiful shopping area. There were three stories of shops and restuarants. I think we looked in most of them; the girls love to shop. We didn’t buy much though because once again everything was so expensive.Everything in Europe seems to close early so we took a taxi back to the hotel.

The day started with us, once again, sleeping in. We were up late last night. Trista and I sat up until about 1 in the morning. We packed and checked out of the hotel but left our bags at the hotel in their luggage room. We scrounged but could not come up with the money for the bus into town. The cash machine was not working but they directed us to a cash machine by a little market a few blocks away. That machine was also out of service! At home you can buy something at a store and pay with a card and get change back. Not in Scotland; at least not at the market we were in. So we stood at an unused check out line and took all our money out of our pockets and purses and just came up with enough money to get the bus into town!

We finished out bus tour on our same tickets by visiting the Royal Yacht Brittania. I had not been that excited but it was really interesting. One thing of note; the only double bed on board was one Prince Charles brought when he married Princess Diana and they used the yacht for their honeymoon. All the rest, even the queens, were just singles. Sort of weird! Overall, the ship was very luxurious. It is now rented out for corporate dinners and such.

After the tour we searched(!) for a cash machine before returning to our hotel. Trista used the internet there to make us a reservation in Dublin and then informed me we should already be checking in at the airport! We took a taxi to the airport-made it. Then we flew to Dublin Ireland for the next stage of our trip. It was about one half hour bus ride into town and a short walk to our hostel. The hostel was nice and clean and we had our own room with our own bathroom. That was nice but we just did not have enough bed space and their was no couch or anything else to sleep on. We will have to look for somewhere else to stay.