DUBLIN I

June 24, 2004

The next day Ramana came over to show us how to set the heater and give us a bit of info.  I got directions to a supermarket, as the little Spar in Dunboyne leaves a lot to be desired.

We ventured out in search of the Tesco Supermarket that Ramana gave us directions to, but we ended up at another big shopping center in Blanchardstown and went to the Lidl instead.  We got enough food for 3 days and headed back home.

The next day we decided to try a trip into Dublin.  We got on the highway, N3, and followed the signs into the city center.  There we parked and headed towards the Dublin Castle.  The state buildings were closed for a conference, but we were able to visit the old fortress part of the castle and also the cathedral where we saw the elaborate carved chairs where the dignitaries used to sit and also their coats of arms carved in the front of the balconies.

Then we tried to take the tour of the medieval part of town, but Don kept changing the direction and we ended up in Temple Bar, which is a happenin’ place, with lots of restaurants and bars.  We visited a few art galleries and strolled along Fishamble Street through the hot spots with the in crowd.  Then we walked across the River Liffy to the big statue of Charles Parnell and along the quay. 

I decided I needed a better guidebook, so we walked up to the pedestrian mall called Grafton Street, where I found a good bookstore and bought myself a Michelin Guide.  While we were walking along Grafton Street we saw, and heard, the unique?!? Peruvian minstrels playing their flutes and selling cds.  We have seen them everywhere on our travels, in several cities in Spain and now and here in Dublin. And we thought they were so unique when we bought their cd in Palo Alto!

Next we stopped at a restaurant for lunch before continuing on our tour of the Medieval Town.  We visited Auden’s Gate, built in 1275 and stopped for a tour of St. Auden’s Church before heading back to our car and home to Dunboyne.

I plotted the most efficient route home, trying to avoid the rush hour traffic by cleverly taking back roads.  What a joke!  I tried to take a short cut to the south of Dunboyne, through a town called Lucan.  We missed the turn and ended up on a Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride type of road, where the commuters were flying at 50 mph on a twisty, windy 1 ½ lane road on which we ended up traveling against the commute traffic.  Don did a great job dodging and weaving and avoiding a head-on collision.

We went around in circles for several miles and finally returned to Dunboyne on the familiar road from Maynooth.  Two and one half hours later we finally got back to our nice house in Hamilton Hall Estates.