Shamrock Shenanigans

So we arrived home from Amsterdam, happy to be able to do our washing and just relax. This wore off quite quickly and we discovered that we had over a week of just hanging around Wycombe. This was a desperate situation that had to be rectified! Consequently we booked a trip to Dublin to plug that gap in our holiday schedule.

We arrived in Dublin in the afternoon and decided to spend our time strolling the streets. Whilst doing this, we happened upon some buskers who were surrounded by quite a large crowd. We joined the crowd and quickly got hooked, staying to listen for at least 20mins. After this time Sally was jiggling about, desperate to go up and buy their CD but unwilling to walk up to them in front of the crowds while they were performing. Eventually, she summoned her dare-devil courage, walking up to the apparently idle member of the band and poking him to gain his attention. After purchasing the CD, she was rather embarrassed to discover that the cover was of a VERY naked woman. She hid it away quickly.


The crazy old sailor in the background is loving it!

 

Dancing a jig



The following day, we walked to Christ Church Cathedral. This was amazing and we particularly liked the crypt.


Christ Church Cathedral




The cat and mouse "preserved" in the organ













Dublin Castle - sadly, we never made it inside


We then went to the Dublin Writers Museum and found out about all the writers that we didn't realise were Irish such as Jonathan Swift, Oscar Wilde and Bram Stoker. The older writers were much more familiar to us than the contemporary writers (none of which we had heard of). We exited the museum to find that it was raining, putting a dampener on our afternoon plans of wandering down the street shopping, so instead we decided to go to the cinema to see Bridesmaids. This movie was very strange but funny. The old woman sitting next to me did not find it funny at all. She kept grabbing my arm and saying "oh, this is disgusting!"

Our final, day in Dublin was jam-packed with fun. We had a tight schedule to adhere to if we were going to fit everything in! We started at Dublin Zoo which is up there with Cologne Zoo as one of our favourites. This zoo is located in Phoenix Park, where there are apparently deer roaming (that we did not see).




bare bottom



Tired or hungry?





Sunbaking - in Ireland?!



The wet-mop look



Buddha




Buddha II



We had to hurry through the last section of the zoo so that we could make it to Kilmainham Gaol. This was a fascinating place to visit as the guide told us quite a bit of Irish history, particularly centred around the Easter Rising and the consequent increase in prisoners and executions. This was the gaol from which 4000 convicts were sent to Australia, so we felt we were discovering our roots.


The home of our ancestors


Our last stop was at the Guiness Storehouse. This was quite similar to the Heineken Experience and equally as amazing. After having a guiness taster, and Sally going rather squinty in the process, we decided to trade our free guiness for a free Coke instead. The top level of the Guiness Storehouse had amazing views all over Dublin. We ended our last day of Dublin with dinner at an Irish Pub. Sally ordered beef and guiness stew, despite her earlier bad experience with guiness, and I ordered the best burger I've ever had.

So with full and satisfied stomachs, we said goodbye to Dublin and arrived home with one day to prepare for Bruges.