Dublin, Ireland

Liffey River

Dublin is not only the capital of the Republic of Ireland but also the largest city of the Republic. It became the capital when the Republic of Ireland separated from the British Empire in 1922. Our tour spent 2 nights there. The city was founded as a Viking settlement in the 9th Century, although earliest references date back to 140 AD. Our hotel room overlooked the Liffey River, and we were in walking distance of the city and all that it has to offer. 

During our travels we saw several gypsy camps and some gypsy caravans travelling along the roads, but none as colourful as this one.

On our first night we attended an Irish cabaret and dinner. It was my most enjoyable entertainment of the whole tour. There was a most amusing Irish comedian, a harpist and some young and engaging dancers who combined Riverdance type dancing with such joie de vivre that it was all over far too soon. Even the food and wine was good.

We spent our first morning walking for hours in the city, checking out the historic Book of Kells in the Long Room of Trinity College and other interesting sights. The Book was written on vellum (calfskin) around 800BC and contains the four Gospels accompanied by lavish illustrations. The book attracts over half a million visitors every year. We found the Long Room of Trinity College almost as impressive as the Book of Kells - The Long Room is part of the Old Library built in 1712. Since 1801 the 'Library had been given the right to claim a free copy of every book published in Britain and Ireland' (http://www.tcd.ie/Library/bookofkells/old-library/). The books line the shelves right up to the ceiling. My collage of photos cannot possibly do the Room justice. 

Three of my beautiful Irish cousins

That afternoon one of my Irish cousin's came to meet us for the first time, and then the three of us walked back downtown to meet another two cousins for dinner. It was fantastic to meet these three sisters and enjoy a few hours chatting with them as we dined at an Italian restaurant. Such beautiful people. We had met their other sister and sister-in-law in other towns on our travels, and you may have read about them in a previous blog. 

The next morning we boarded the bus and then spent three hours on a ferry across the Irish Sea to Wales. It was our third ferry ride and the longest of all. The ferries are amazing - this last one had several decks to relax on, numerous cafes and bars, a large duty free gift shop, TVs, cinema and even a Truck driver's lounge. Very smooth and pleasant sailing indeed.