Bridal hen parties are a big thing here. We have seen many groups of women dressed in loud, call-attention-to-themselves outfits all over Great Britain. I finally asked these girls about how this works. The head bridesmaid (in this case it is the girl on the left) plans where to go and what the group will wear. Each person pays her own way. This group was flying from Manchester, England to Barcelona, Spain. We quit counting the groups that we saw this day. It is the month of June so it made sense. Seems like quite an improvement over our
bachelorette parties, but then they can fly to Barcelona or Dublin for seventy dollars.
The Manchester Airport has the biggest and nicest duty free shopping that we have ever seen.
Our walk back to the hotel from dinner our first night in Dublin took us by the former home of Oscar Wilde, who graduated from Trinity College, two blocks away. We ate in a cafe with live Irish music and dancing. We met three couples of teachers from Florida who sat next to us. They were on their way to Turkey. We ran into two of them the next day when they sat next to us in a different restaurant for lunch.
Harry Clarke designed the stained glass windows in
Bewley's Cafe on Grafton Street in Dublin. We saw his original illustrations for Hans Christian Anderson and Edgar Allan Poe at the National Gallery of Ireland the next day.
Grafton Street is an auto free shopping area that was really hopping even in the rain and cold. Ted and I gave up fighting the umbrella in the wind and bought hats. I was very grateful for gloves, long coat, and scarf.
St. Patrick's Cathedral is
allegedly on the site where St. Patrick baptized the first Christians in Ireland.
As we walked from St. Patrick's to Christ Church, we passed this interesting clock shop. It made us think of Barry, our sister-in-law's father, who repairs and restores clocks for fun.
Christ Church, a cathedral of the Church of Ireland, is Anglican/Episcopal and was originally built in 1030 AD. The audio tour was very well done. In repairing columns in the crypt, the workmen found stones forming the foundation of an even older building.
The Lady's Chapel is behind the Quire. This an active place of worship and visitors dodged art and grates for an upcoming exhibit. Listening to the audio tour was a challenge while the organist practiced.
These ruins of the former Chapter House (kind of like a board room) sit immediately beside the cathedral.
The tiles are beautiful.
If the sermon gets boring, the pulpit would provide lots of visual entertainment.
This heart-shaped chest is purported to hold the heart of the 12th-century Archbishop Laurence O'Toole, who was canonized.
When a car is parked illegally, the police attach this lock to one tire. Here, the driver is sitting inside waiting for the police to arrive so that he can pay the fine and be allowed to leave.
We got to Dublin Castle too late for the tour, but did get to see the very large courtyard. Justice sits over one entrance. According to Rick Steves locals say, "There she stands, above her station, with her face to the palace and her arse to the nation."
Molly Malone of childhood song fame is known locally as the tart with the cart.
The neighborhood around Merrion Square looks like this. The doors are works of art. Some date from 1762. The door knockers ranged from the head of a zephyr to one resembling a young woman's cameo. We wanted to visited the archeological exhibits at the National Museum, but it was closed for repairs so we went to the National Gallery of Ireland instead. It was free and so was the audio tour. We had intended to leave in time to see the Book of Kells at Trinity College, but got so absorbed in the excellent art collection that we didn't make it.
This replica of the famine ship "Jeannie Johnston" sits on the River Liffey, two blocks from our hotel. The original ship brought many of our ancestors to America during the Irish Potato Famine.
Looking west from the famine ship the former custom house with the dome is prominent. It was constructed in 1791.
The Dublin Convention Center, to the east of the famine ship, is certainly eye-catching. Looks like a tilted trash barrel at a rest stop in Oklahoma.
Bridal hen parties are a big thing here. We have seen many groups of women dressed in loud, call-attention-to-themselves outfits all over Great Britain. I finally asked these girls about how this works. The head bridesmaid (in this case it is the girl on the left) plans where to go and what the group will wear. Each person pays her own way. This group was flying from Manchester, England to Barcelona, Spain. We quit counting the groups that we saw this day. It is the month of June so it made sense. Seems like quite an improvement over our bachelorette parties, but then they can fly to Barcelona or Dublin for seventy dollars. 
The Manchester Airport has the biggest and nicest duty free shopping that we have ever seen. 
Our walk back to the hotel from dinner our first night in Dublin took us by the former home of Oscar Wilde, who graduated from Trinity College, two blocks away. We ate in a cafe with live Irish music and dancing. We met three couples of teachers from Florida who sat next to us. They were on their way to Turkey. We ran into two of them the next day when they sat next to us in a different restaurant for lunch. 
Harry Clarke designed the stained glass windows in Bewley's Cafe on Grafton Street in Dublin. We saw his original illustrations for Hans Christian Anderson and Edgar Allan Poe at the National Gallery of Ireland the next day. 
Grafton Street is an auto free shopping area that was really hopping even in the rain and cold. Ted and I gave up fighting the umbrella in the wind and bought hats. I was very grateful for gloves, long coat, and scarf. 
St. Patrick's Cathedral is allegedly on the site where St. Patrick baptized the first Christians in Ireland.
As we walked from St. Patrick's to Christ Church, we passed this interesting clock shop. It made us think of Barry, our sister-in-law's father, who repairs and restores clocks for fun.
Christ Church, a cathedral of the Church of Ireland, is Anglican/Episcopal and was originally built in 1030 AD. The audio tour was very well done. In repairing columns in the crypt, the workmen found stones forming the foundation of an even older building.
The Lady's Chapel is behind the Quire. This an active place of worship and visitors dodged art and grates for an upcoming exhibit. Listening to the audio tour was a challenge while the organist practiced. 
These ruins of the former Chapter House (kind of like a board room) sit immediately beside the cathedral.
The tiles are beautiful.
If the sermon gets boring, the pulpit would provide lots of visual entertainment.
This heart-shaped chest is purported to hold the heart of the 12th-century Archbishop Laurence O'Toole, who was canonized.
When a car is parked illegally, the police attach this lock to one tire. Here, the driver is sitting inside waiting for the police to arrive so that he can pay the fine and be allowed to leave. 
We got to Dublin Castle too late for the tour, but did get to see the very large courtyard. Justice sits over one entrance. According to Rick Steves locals say, "There she stands, above her station, with her face to the palace and her arse to the nation." 
Molly Malone of childhood song fame is known locally as the tart with the cart. 
The neighborhood around Merrion Square looks like this. The doors are works of art. Some date from 1762. The door knockers ranged from the head of a zephyr to one resembling a young woman's cameo. We wanted to visited the archeological exhibits at the National Museum, but it was closed for repairs so we went to the National Gallery of Ireland instead. It was free and so was the audio tour. We had intended to leave in time to see the Book of Kells at Trinity College, but got so absorbed in the excellent art collection that we didn't make it.
This replica of the famine ship "Jeannie Johnston" sits on the River Liffey, two blocks from our hotel. The original ship brought many of our ancestors to America during the Irish Potato Famine. 
Looking west from the famine ship the former custom house with the dome is prominent. It was constructed in 1791.
The Dublin Convention Center, to the east of the famine ship, is certainly eye-catching. Looks like a tilted trash barrel at a rest stop in Oklahoma.
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