IRELAND Dublin

New day, new country.

Our flight was not till afternoon so we relaxed until noon when we caught a taxi to the airport.  

Checking in was easy and we had plenty of time.  We had a snack then went though security.  

The plane was not very big but the flight was quick and smooth.

Our Aer Lingus plane

We got our rental car quite quickly and soon were on our way to our hotel in Dublin.

We did get in a traffic jam at one point but eventually made it.

Our hotel was a former schoolhouse, hence the name, The Schoolhouse Hotel.  We were in the Luke Kelly room.  He apparently was a performer who died young from a brain tumor.

All rooms have different names.

The hotel entry

We had dinner at the hotel that night as we were both tried from travelling.

Rhubarb crumble for dessert was the highlight.

The next day we spent researching family history in the library.  It was almost fruitless however and both of us found very little.  

After that, we walked to Grafton street to the famous Bewley's cafe for afternoon tea.

It was full of people, probably tourists like us.

We then walked on to the St Stephen's shopping centre where we had parked our car.

Then home.

Terry did not want dinner so I walked to Baggot street where I found a deli and a Tesco supermarket.  I bought a simple sandwich and some fruit.  It was most enjoyable.

I went back to the library the next day but did not really discover anything new.  Terry met me and we had lunch in a cafe.  We walked to the archives to find the convict records but we did not have enough identification to get reader's tickets so we left.  We then joined a green tour bus and got to see some of the more famous sights of Dublin.

We got off the bus near the GPO which was one of the sites in the 1916 Easter Rebellion.  It is wide with shops either side.

We then walked to Trinity college so I could view the Book of Kells.

The great Library at Trinity.

We then caught the bus to Merrion Square and home.

For dinner, we walked to some nearby shops and had fish and chips.

Then back to the hotel and packing for tomorrow's journey north.