Dublin Hop On & Hop Off, Day 7

The Dublin Hop on and Hop off Bus Tour is a great way of spending time in the city of Dublin. Our Route included all that we wanted to see, but the Jameson Distillery which we did on our own. There are many companies, our company had Red and Yellow double Decker and the yellow had a different route at some points. The Dublin Tourism office is inside one of Ireland's Churches, some of the churches these days are not Churches at all. We saw one that was a restaurant and this one were the Tourism Centre is. Just outside is the Bus Stop, this tour was about $ 20 each person, the Red Bus has a headphone for the tour the yellow does not.Dublin Castle is situated in the very heart of historic Dublin. In fact the city gets its name from the Dubh Linn or Black Pool (dubh = black), on the site of the present Castle Gardens and Coach House.
The Castle stands on the high ridge, the highest ground in the locality, at the junction of the River Liffey and its tributary the (now underground) Poddle, which formed a natural boundary on two sides. It is very probable that the original fortification on this easily defended strategic site was a Gaelic Ringfort, which guarded the harbour, the adjacent Dubhlinn Ecclesiastical Centre and the four long distant roads that converged nearby. In the 930's, a Danish Viking Fortress stood on the Dublin Castle site and part of the town defences is on view at the Undercroft, where the facing stone revetments offered protection against the River Poddle. Their settlement of Dyflinn (a corruption of Dubhlinn) quickly became the main Viking military base and trading centre of slaves and silver, in Ireland.

Dublinia (Above picture)& The Viking World is a heritage centre, located in central Dublin, at the heart of the medieval city. The exhibitions at Dublinia explore life in the medieval city and the world of the Vikings and are housed in a beautiful neo- Gothic Victorian building, the former Synod Hall of the Church of Ireland. This below is Dublinia in downtown Dublin.

Christ Church Cathedral (The Cathedral of the Holy Trinity, commonly known as Christ Church, Cathedral of the United Dioceses of Dublin and Glendalough and Metropolitical Cathedral of the United Provinces of Dublin and Cashel) in Dublin is the elder of the city's two mediæval cathedrals, the other being St. Patrick's Cathedral. It is officially claimed as the seat (cathedra) of both the Church of Ireland and Roman Catholic archbishops of Dublin. In practice it has been the cathedral of only the Church of Ireland Archbishop of Dublin, since the Irish Reformation. Though nominally claimed as his cathedral, the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Dublin uses a church elsewhere, St Mary's in Malborough Street in Dublin, as his pro-cathedral (acting cathedral).[1]

Christ Church Cathedral is located in the former heart of medieval Dublin, next to Wood Quay, at the end of Dame Street (the latter owes its name to a Norman French title given to Our Lady). The ruins above are in front of the Cathedral. We now walk to Saint Patrick's.

Above picture is of the ground of the Saint Patrick Cathedral, there are big and there is a beautiful fountain in the courtyard. I like fountains, so maybe is not that fancy, but it is beautiful to see a fountain working anywhere you go.


In 1991 they celebrated 800 years of worship at Saint Patrick’s. Many people wonder why there are two medieval Cathedrals in Dublin – one was outside the city walls, one inside. Since disestablishment, Saint Patrick’s has been the National Cathedral for the whole of Ireland, while Christ Church has been the diocesan Cathedral of Dublin and Glendalough.


Some of the beautiful Iconic Stain Glass Windows inside the Cathedral, there are also lots of statues and memorials. There is a charge for entrance, but if you come to Dublin and don't visit Saint Patrick's you have not visited Ireland or Dublin for that matter. It is worth the price of admittance.
Here I am waiting for the Yellow Bus, but it has not shown up. It was very cold so I rather walk to the next stop were the two lines were converging. What do you know as we are going up a small hill, the Yellow Bus comes down, we had time to get to it's next stop up the Hill. We caught in time, within 2 minutes of being there the bus came upon our stop, we hoped in and continue the tour.
In our way with the Yellow Bus we had to wait for the Red one, because we wanted to go through Phoenix Park. The Yellow Bus stopped at Heuston Station and there is were the Red Bus will be coming along in about 8 minutes. We had a chance to use the rest room and eat something at Super Macs, a double burger for each. Another Yellow Bus arrived, the Red Bus has broken down, there will be another one in 10 minutes. We got some coffee and waited.

The Phoenix Park (Irish: Páirc an Fhionn-Uisce) is the largest enclosed urban public park in Europe[1][2] located 3 km to the north west of Dublin city centre in Ireland. It measures 712 hectares (1,760 acres), with a walled circumference of 16 km that contains large areas of grassland and tree-lined avenues. The park has been home to a herd of wild Fallow deer since the seventeenth century. The name is a corruption of the Irish fionn uisce meaning "clear water".[3]
Unusually for North Dublin, the park has an even-numbered area code (Dublin 8/D8). All other areas of northside Dublin (except for the adjacent Chapelizod) have odd numbered area codes, and even numbers if on the southside of Dublin.

The Wellington Monument (also known as the Wellington Testimonial Above picture) is a 63 metres (210 ft) tall obelisk commemorating the victories of Duke of Wellington.It would have been even higher if the publicly subscribed funding had not run out.
The phoenix monument is a Corinthian column with a Phoenix bird rising from the ashes at its pinnacle. It was erected by Lord Chesterfield in 1747. From here to the stop closest to the Distillery which will be our next stop.

Set in the heart of Ireland’s thriving capital city, Dublin, The Old Jameson Distillery captures the imagination and the spirit of Ireland! Let our expert guides lead you through the fascinating story of JAMESON, the world’s preferred quality whiskey. Follow the path through malting, milling, mashing, fermenting, distilling and maturing.The journey is completed with a visit to the JAMESON Bar where you can enjoy the ultimate whiskey tasting experience. After your tour, browse in the gift shop or lunch in the restaurant or bars and absorb the unique atmosphere.

After the Distillery we where in the mood for food. We decided we were going to go to the same Pub we went on our First day on Bachellor's Walk we found Panama Pub which is the latest bar to open in Dublin and although it looks small on the outside it actually opens up in length to reveal an upstairs and a downstairs. It is located on Bachelors Walk beside The Bachelor Inn and the difference between the two is huge. Panama is a well lit place and has a stylish wooden look adds to the atmosphere. The pints are a bit expensive but you'd expect this just by looking in the door. The barstaff are friendly and the service good. The seating is laid out down the sides and is fine although when it's packed it is hard to find a standing area and the 'bridge' looking over the basement level looks good.There's all sorts of pictures and Panamanian images on the walls that are not overly noticeable but are worth a look at.

It is a great Sports Bar and it was not loud, at least the days we went there lol! Here you see Irish Stew and Steak and Guinness Pie Stew.

After such a good meal I wanted to get some suspenders (with button's for the red corduroy pants) and some wool gloves so we headed toward Grafton Street to shop our last shopping. Popular Department Stores such as Marks & Spencers, Brown Thomas and BT2 and smaller high street chains including Vero Moda, Next, Oasis, A-Wear, River Island can all be found on Grafton Street. Up market stores such as Pia Bang, Reiss, Monsoon and Laura Ashley can also be found on this Dublin shopping street.Grafton Street is an ideal place for buying footwear. Shoe-shops like Korkys, Zerep, Barretts, Nine West and Bally provide a wide range of quality shoes. For gifts, there's the Dublin bookshop, the Body Shop, Tie rack, the Dublin Jewellery institution that is Weirs, along with other jewellers like Ernest Jones, Gavronski, West and another branch of Fields. There's the Camera Centre and a Spectra Photo to get your pictures developed. If you've phone troubles, there are branches of O2, Vodaphone and Carphone Warehouse. There are three pharmacies including a Boots, various banks and a few newsagents. I did find my gloves at Clerys 100% wool and handwritten sales order. Sometimes you never know when youare going to travel back in time.

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After here we were ready to go to our hotel, but we were going to stop at Quizno's for a Sandwich to take to our Hotel room and have next morning. We needed to be at Heuston Station by 630 to have some coffee and wait for the Air Link Bus 748 that will take us to the Air Port, since we had the LUAS/Bus 7 Day Card it was free. The Return ticket to the Airport or round trip is 10 euros per person, the card is one 26 euros and is valid for a week. Thanks for allowing me to share our trip with you and I hope that you have enjoyed the commentary. Until next year who knows where we will go, but I would not discount the West & North Coast of this beautiful Island or Ireland. Thanks for stopping by!

Dublin Day 6

The day started a bit early, not really! We had breakfast Buffet at the Hotel and that was a really big Brunch. We also took some fruit with us and water as always. WE discussed during breakfast that on Sunday the Two Museums that we were interested in seeing were opened from 2 PM till 5 PM so we had to make a choice. I followed the Choice from Kemberlee and we went to the Archeology Musueum
Today we had a short day in the matter of things we could do, yet we followed the advise of a friend Kemberlee from http://www.all-ireland.com/ . She suggested that we take the DART. The DART (Dublin Area Rapid Transit) is the rail line running along the coast of Dublin, from Malahide and Howth southwards as far as Greystones, Co Wicklow. The DART system is administered by the national rail operator, Iarnród Éireann (Irish Rail). You can connect to the regular train service for communities north of Dublin, right up to Belfast. The DART is most convenient if you live in or near the coastal areas. We bought an All Day Ticket which allowed us to have in and out priviledges all day.

The DART goes by the Coast and it has spectacular views of Dublin Bay from a different perspective.

Killiney (Irish: Cill Iníon Léinín, meaning Church of the Daughters of Léinín) is a townland in south County Dublin, Ireland on the outskirts of Dublin city within the administrative area of Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County. The area is by the coast, south of neighbouring Dalkey, and north to Shankill area in the most southern outskirt of Dublin. It features a village centre and a range of surrounding housing developments. From what I heard this town - village is considered to be like the Beverly Hills of Ireland. We stopped and took a bit of a walk around. Nice houses and nice views!
So it is time to go back to Dublin and head toward The National Museum of Ireland (Irish: Ard-Mhúsaem na hÉireann) which is the national museum in Ireland. It has three centres in Dublin and one in County Mayo, with a strong emphasis on Irish art, culture and natural history.The Archaeology and History section on Kildare Street has displays on prehistoric Ireland, including early work in gold, church treasures, the Viking and medieval periods, and more modern times. There are special displays of items from Egypt, Cyprus and the Roman world, and special exhibitions are regularly mounted.

No pictures were allowed inside, but the experience was worth it. Lots of Artifacts including such pieces as the Ardagh Chalice and the Tara Brooch, as well as the Broighter Hoard and the Derrynaflan Hoard, all famous examples of early medieval metalwork in Ireland, as well as prehistoric ornaments from the Bronze Age in Ireland. Many of these pieces were found in the nineteenth century by peasants or agricultural labourers, when population expansion led to cultivation of land which had not been touched since the middle ages. Indeed, only for the intervention of George Petrie of the Royal Irish Academy, and like minded individuals from the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland, most of the metalwork would have been melted down for the intrinsic value of its materials, as did frequently happen despite their efforts. Contemporary Irish are more tuned to their heritage, as can be seen in the example of the Irish Bog Psalter, which was discovered and reported by an alert machine operator in July 2006. This is a must see in Dublin.

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This day We ate at the Local Mall on Jervis Street, there is restaurant/cafeteria like dinning area at the bottom of the Mall and it is reasonably priced. We just came out of Tesco, the supermarket and bought some of the Souvenir Cakes we will be bringing with us. Today we have already packed our luggage ready to go to the Airport, but we still have another two days. We are prepared for that by selecting the clothes we will be wearing on our trip back Tomorrow we will be doing the Dublin Hop On and Hop Off, we don't have much to see and we will take it very easy. Thanks for stopping by!

Dublin on our 5th Day

Today we finally got the opportunity to wake up after 7 AM. We wanted to see the Open Market on Temple Bar Area, so that meant to go across the Liffey on the South Side. We had to go through the Temple Bar Area to find the Farmer's Market that meets on Saturday. The area is bounded by the Liffey to the north, Dame Street to the south, Westmoreland Street to the east and Fishamble Street to the west. It probably got its name from the Temple family, who lived in the area in the 17th century. Sir William Temple, provost of Trinity College Dublin in 1609, had his house and gardens in the area. Alternatively, it could have been named in imitation of the Temple Bar in London. However it got its name, the earliest historical reference to the name Temple Bar is on a 1673 map.
These are very touristic Bars and Pubs that you will have to call tourist magnets( or traps) and they are very pricey. It is a very busy area of Dublin. I was glad we were away from it.

This was a Book Market going on with plenty of things to purchase, but we were not looking for books we were looking for the farmer's Market.
Temple Bar Food Market / Organic Farmers' Market

Every Saturday, year-round, from 9am until 5pm, there's the Temple Bar Food Market in Meeting House Square. Over the past four years, the Market has been going from strength to strength and now boasts roughly thirty regular stalls. There are handmade chocolates from Chez Emily, there's Cakes & Buns from Claudia's. Corleggy Cheeses have another stall, as do Sheridans Cheesemongers, so if you're into your stinky dairy delights, you'll do well here. You can chow down on some sweet pastries, along with many other dishes like their lovely quiches from the Gallic Kitchen. There's the ubiquitous crepe stall, there's fish, vegetables, cheese. Going Bananas make fresh juice from fruit & vegetables. Frank Hederman's Smoked Fish is another one to sample. All your organic vegetable needs can be supplied by the McNally Family Farm. At other stalls, there's sushi, there's jam, there's waffles, there's freshly baked bread and tapas both Spanish and Mexican-style. So it's always a nice stop-off on a lazy Saturday and one of the best things about Temple Bar.

There was even Daddy knitting with his child. A man Knitting in Public. This market is not a bad market, but it was very cold that day. We had Lunch here some kind of Giant Potato-Cheese thing that we split in two lol!

We got some fruits, chocolates, cheese and we were thinking about getting something to drink like a coffee or hot cider, but there was no place to sit. It is a great market and you can find a lot of stuff, great hand made soaps as well. It is not a very big place, so we decided we had enough and headed toward our final destination which was Trinity College where the Book of Kells is.

Wait a minute we found a coffee shop where we could get some hot coffee and get warmed up, sit down. After sitting down for a while the police went in, so we knew it must be a good place to get coffee.

On our way to Trinity College we went through Merrion Square. Merrion Square (Cearnóg Mhuirfean in Irish) is situated on the south side of Dublin city centre and is considered one of the city's finest Georgian squares. The square was laid out after 1762 and was largely complete by the beginning of the 19th century.
Several notable buildings face on to the square, including Leinster House (seat of the Oireachtas), the Natural History building of the National Museum of Ireland, the National Maternity Hospital and the National Gallery of Ireland. The Irish Red Cross, the Central Catholic Library, the Irish Traditional Music Archive and the Irish Georgian Society have their headquarters on the square.

This is a national war memorial which was erected in november to mark the many soldiers that past away while in service for the country over the many past years. Its of triangle design with an eternal flame in the center of the monument.also inside the memorial are 4 bronce life size soldiers with there heads bowed . It is very impressive to the soul!

This is a little video so that you can see what the square looks like, it is a very nice place for meditaiton and for relaxing.

Trinity is located in the centre of Dublin, Ireland, on College Green opposite the former Irish Houses of Parliament (now a branch of the Bank of Ireland). The campus occupies 190,000 m2 (47 acres), with many buildings, both old and new, ranged around large courts (known as "squares") and two playing fields. The Library of Trinity College is a copyright library for Ireland and the United Kingdom, containing over 4.5 million books and significant quantities of maps, manuscripts and music.
The Book of Kells (Irish: Leabhar Cheanannais) (Dublin, Trinity College Library, MS A. I. (58), sometimes known as the Book of Columba) is an illuminated manuscript in Latin, containing the four Gospels of the New Testament together with various prefatory texts and tables. It was transcribed by Celtic monks ca. 800. The text of the Gospels is largely drawn from the Vulgate, although it also includes several passages drawn from the earlier versions of the Bible known as the Vetus Latina. It is a masterwork of Western calligraphy and represents the pinnacle of Insular illumination. It is also widely regarded as Ireland's finest national treasure.
After we saw the Book of Kells Exhibition, we weet back toward Temple bar area, but were able to stop at the Powercourts Townhouse Centre Located in a beautiful Georgian building, the Townhouse is a treasure trove of designer fashion and jewelry. The Powerscourt Townhouse Centre is at 59 South William Street, Dublin 2. This is where we went to the This is Knit Store where we met Jacqui the owner which I knew through Ravelry.
This is Knit is on the First Floor and it is a small store with a lot of yarn, I was happy to see that they opened a new store in Dublin instead of having to go to Blackrock which would have been a bit away, but accessible through DART (Dublin Rapid Area Transit)

Actually from here we decided to go to the Guiness Factory and this was a blast, we had a complimentary Pint. There was a restaurant Lounge at the top that a young crowd was enjoying a lot. If I was 30 years younger it would have been a fun place to be.These horse drawn carriages were outside just in case you needed a taxi after all that beer. They were a very nice touch to this place.

After we visited the Guiness Factory it was almost time for eating dinner and we went to Beshoff for Fish and Chips, we sat on the second floor.

The Beshoff name has been synonymous with quality fish for generations. Grandfather Ivan Beshoff came to Ireland from Russia in 1913 and lived to 104 years. His father lived to 108 and his grandfather to 115 – enough said about the goodness of fish. The Beshoff concept is in sharp contrast with other Fish Restaurants. We offer fresh natural products in old world surroundings – we emphasize the healthy aspect of our food. We strive to achieve a look that evokes an Edwardian oyster bar. This Restaurant is located on 6 . Upper O'Connell street Dublin 1. It is time to go to our Hotel in the LUAS and stop by the convenience store to get some milk, a sandwich and some fruit for the morning.

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Dublin and for all that matters, Ireland in general is a place to not be in a hurry, you never know when you going to see something that looks like and old wall which actually is 1,000 years old and you would have missed it if you were in a hurry. Tomorrow we take a different tour as our trip is winding down and we are still full of ideas of where to go. Thanks for stopping by.

Blarney, Cork, Cobh Day 4

On the 4th day we got up and went to the Heuston Train Station at 6:40 AM and we met the Bright Yellow Jacket People, lol! Those were the ones from the tour. There was a line forming and we promptly were on our way to the reserved seats on this train. The Irish Railways are beautiful extra clean trains with great bathrooms and snack service. There is a Breakfast Car , but we have had breakfast in our room already and brought some snacks for the road. It is very dark, the sun won't come up for another 2 hours. It was exciting to ride a train and get to see some of the Irish Countryside. These train are commuter trains as well, people were coming in and out in the few stops we made.

We got to Blarney under a bit of fog and it was very cold, we drove through Cork I believe and ended up by the Woollen Mills where we will be coming back to greet our tour guide Marie and the other people from the tour. We booked this tour through Expedia. If you wondered how cold it was watch the video and you will see the frost on the ground.
At the top of this Castle is where you go and kiss the Blarney Stone. The Blarney Stone is a block of bluestone built into the battlements of Blarney Castle, Blarney about 8 km from Cork, Ireland. According to legend, kissing the stone endows the kisser with the gift of gab (great eloquence or skill at flattery). The stone was set into a tower of the castle in 1446. The castle is a popular tourist site in Ireland, attracting visitors from all over the world to kiss the Stone and tour the castle and its gardens.
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Going to the top of the Castle is claustrophobic as you go up this spiral very tight stone staircase. If you are a portly person , meaning too heavy you will not be able to make it through here. So here I am Kissing the Stone. The fellows that help you are very nice guys. When I kissed the stone I felt touched by Magic. I was in the enchanted Forest doing something I never thought I would do. Miles O' Brien here it goes to the Silver Tongue after kissing the stone! Ireland holds a special place in my heart, I guess is from a prior lifetime as this Island just bewitched me with its wonder and green rolling hills. I understand Island People being from Puerto Rico, people that live in an Island tend to be very different, I understood!
We could have gone through the gardens, but it was so cold and foggy, I just did not want to spend more time there that I had too. We decided to head toward the Restaurant at the Mills and had some Irish Stew for Lunch then we went to do some shopping before we left. The Woolen Mills is a great place to buy anything Irish made that is wool, sweaters to die for, what a lot of beautiful craftsmanship and lots of good sales.
It was not long before we got back into the Van and drove through the town of Cork toward Cobh or Queenstown as it was known when it was under the Brutal British Rule. Here you see the Saint Colman Cathedral.

St. Colman’s Cathedral is a Roman Catholic Cathedral located in Cobh, Ireland. It is the cathedral church of the Diocese of Cloyne.

The Cathedral of Saint Colman is a large, elaborately detailed neo-Gothic building. It is prominently sited overlooking Cork harbour and visible for quite a distance. Local people are generally very proud of it and tourists often climb the steep hill to admire and photograph it. We were able to take a picture from the Van lol! The videos are from the Inside and from the Outside of the Cathedral. I felt honored to be there.
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Cobh (pronounced /koːv/ "cove"; Irish: An Cóbh) is a sheltered seaport town on the south coast of County Cork, Ireland.

The locality, which had had several different Irish-language names, was first referred to as Cove ("The Cove of Cork") in 1750. It was renamed Queenstown in 1849 to commemorate a visit by Queen Victoria and so remained until the name Cobh (closer to the Irish spelling) was restored in 1922 with the foundation of the Irish Free State.

Cobh is located on the south shore of the Great Island in Cork Harbour, (reputed to be the second largest natural harbour in the world), on south-facing slopes overlooking the entrance to the harbour. Facing the town of Cobh are Spike Island and Haulbowline Island. On a high point in the town stands the Cobh Cathedral, St. Colman's, seat of the diocese of Cloyne.

This picture below is supposed to be the Angel of Death!

Cobh was the last port for the Titanic, there is a memorial and a lot of historical data. This is a must see if you come to Ireland.The Queenstown Story is sad, people dieing of starvation, people migrating to America, families divided, people dieing from a famine how could that be allowed to happen. The Irish-American was born. There is a lot of story to tell, these people were very brave and I take my hats off for them.
It was a long day and the train was a bit late getting back to Dublin, so we went and got a Sandwich at our favorite convenience store close to the hotel and had dinner. Saturday and Sunday will be two fun days with Our Dublin 2 Day Pass. I hope you liked the journey, I want to go back! In the meantime that night we went back to Dublin. Thanks for stopping by!

Waterford, our 3rd Day

It is Thanksgiving and we get up early, we went to Heuston Station about a 5 minute walk from the Hotel and got some Coffee and some other snack for the road. We had some cereal with milk in the room earlier. We brought two apples for the road as well. We took the 7:30 AM Train from Dublin Heuston Station arriving around 10:09 AM at Waterford ass we wanted to start early.
There were some views of the fantastic countryside of Ireland when the Sun finnally came out. There where some stops, maybe around five in other towns like Newbridge @0803 , Kildare @ 0811 , Athy @ 0831, Carlow @ 0846 , Muine Bheag , Kilkenny ,Thomastown and Waterford (Plunkett) 1009 . It was a nice ride and there are refreshment carts to purchase snacks, coffee and more coffee. The prices were not bad.

The people in Ireland are very helpful, I tell you they go out of their way to be pleasant and informative. We got a Lady Taxi driver from Rapid Cabs and she was a riot. We talked about a lot of stuff and she was definitely Irish. Great sense of humor. She gave us some pointers about downtown and told us about a place to eat, very good indeed. This was our first tour stop. We actually got a complimentary tour thanks to knowing someone who works for them here in the USA. You take a little Van to the factory about 200 meters away and then you go in. Our First stop was this very warm place where they were making glass. This is such a mesmerizing task. People have been making glass for thousands of years and the basic techniques are ancient. These guys get paid by projects and teams and by steps. They are all wearing shorts and tank tops because it is very hot where the ovens are. The following pictures are not enough to show you what we saw, it is impossible to show you all the beauty that we caught on pictures, but I learned something No defective Waterford Crystal Exist, it has so many inspections points and such high quality that I will say it is improbable that here is a Waterford Crystal Piece that is defective in the market, they take their jobs and craft very seriously and are very proud of their creations. NO SUBSTANDARD glass creations, all Waterford Crystal also has a marker. So if someone tries to sell you a defective Waterford Crystal remember there is no such thing, they get destroyed, i.e. recycled into new glass sculptures or creations. This is a piece that was being cut, there are so many steps before the piece gets to be Waterford Crystal . Below is this Water Pitcher that we saw this guy making the lip for the pitcher and creating the handle. They know this by heart and they are good. The tour is not long, lasts about an hour and ends in the store. We got a great deal and were able to get some nice Christmas presents, from some Seahorse Broaches, crystal Rosaries for our moms, and a shamrock paperweight. We got free shipping with insurance, not a bad deal at all and no VAT!SO we call the Rapid Cabs once more and go to the restaurant that our Lady Driver told us about. It was a place with character and very nice people. In the heart of Waterford City, in John Street Village & Waterford's Entertainment District is Revolution Gastro Bar, 19 Johns Street, Waterford .It is the perfect venue whether you are visiting Waterford for business or pleasure, for food or a few drinks. We were actually sitting on the other side where the kitchen line is. We had a great Irish style Lunch with mashed turnips!We walk back to the train station through downtown and looked around at the houses and streets. There was even a Merry Go Round.

Well we thought this was very cute, VULCAN street Live Long and Prosper!

We took the 1300 hour train back and made it in time to Dublin. The trains were getting busy as we were getting closer to Dublin area. There is a lot of commuting I take. Once in Dublin for dinner that day we went to Flanagan's Bar and Pizzeria 61 Upper O'Connell street. We were not very happy with the service here. Almost walked out without a ticket, after asking for our ticket twice, I told Michael to go to the door and tell her that you are leaving and need to pay now, so we did. The worst Spaghetti dinner I have ever had in my life, I thought they opened a can of Beefaroni , nevertheless It was nourishing and a warm place to be. I would never go back there again if I am back in Dublin.

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From the restaurant we went to the post office to purchase stamps, the Lady at the Postal Office service window told us where we could get some nice postcards and gifts. Carrolls Irish Gifts, had so many nice things to buy, that it was very hard not to buy a lot of stuff, we resisted. I wanted a lot of stuff, I loved the Wacky Wollies ' merchandise, I could have bought everything, but just got a mug and some pens, magnets and note pad. It is time to go to the convenience store and get a sandwich for the morning snack. Tomorrow we go to Kiss the Blarney Stone! Thanks for stopping by!

Dublin , The Arrival our 2 Day

We arrived at Dublin Airport already in the EU so no more immigration officers. We went and picked up our luggage and directed ourselves to the Tourist Information COunter where we were able to exchanges some of our vouchers for the Dublin 2 Day Pass and we were able to purchase the Luas only + Luas & Bus 7 Day for 26 euros per person, not a bad deal. It is unlimited pass that included the Air Link Bus 748 (10 euros by itself for a round trip) that will take us to the Heuston Train / Bus Station just a block away from our Hotel. Easy as pie everything went smooth and we were in our way to the Heuston Station.

The station opened on 4 August 1846[1] as the terminus and headquarters of the Great Southern and Western Railway (GS&WR). It was originally called Kingsbridge Station from the nearby Kings Bridge over the Liffey, but was renamed in 1966 after Sean Heuston, an Easter Rising leader who had worked in the station offices.
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As soon as we go to the Train/Bus Station we bought our Train Tickets for Waterford for next day. We decided to go very early , around 7:30 in the morning that means having breakfast in our room will be very handy and comfy. Round trip tickets are called , you buy a ticket with return, makes sense to me. Iarnród Éireann (IÉ; Irish pronunciation: [ˈiəɾʲnʲˌɾʲoːdʲ ˈeːɾʲənʲ]; in English, Irish Rail) is the national railway system operator of the Republic of Ireland. Established on 2 February 1987, it is a subsidiary of Córas Iompair Éireann (CIÉ). It operates all internal intercity, suburban and commuter railway services in the Republic of Ireland, and, jointly with Northern Ireland Railways, the Enterprise service between Dublin and Belfast. In 2007, Iarnród Éireann carried 45.5 million passengers,[1] up on 43.1 million in 2006.[2]

A block away going North across the Liffey is our Hotel, just take a right and go up the Hilll, the hotel was getting renovated and the entrance was on the other side lol! This is a great Hotel that I would recommend to everyone, clean, easy access to transportation and 24 hour staff. The Ashling Best Western, which by the way was an excellent Hotel as it is away from the Tourist Area and very quiet neigborhood. So we went to the room and unpacked all our stuff then decided to walk down to the Museum Station Stop to go downtown to get some groceries. For the next two days we will be getting up very early to take trains from Heuston Station.This is the Museum Station a block away from our Hotel , From here to The Jervis Street Mall is about 5 minutes in the train. Here Michael is in a very nice mood as we found the TESCO supermarket and were able to getr scones, milk, andd fruit for our breakfast next day. I brought some cereal and plastic bowls so that we could have cereal in our room without much trouble. So this concludes our second day of our successful vacation, we got fruit, milk and bread for snacks for the next day, now we will go for some dinner at the Panama Bar You can look at their menu at this website links below. We had a great dinner, Irish Stew and the Steak and Guiness Pie, delicious. Thanks for stopping by!

Eating OutEating Out > Pub Grub
30 Bachelors Walk,Dublin 1
Go Back :: Go to: Eating Out : Pub Grub
Locality Info:
O'Connell Street Area

Phone:
+353 (0)1 874-5730
Menu:
The Panama Bar Menu with MenuPages.ie
Reviews:
The Panama Bar Reviews with MenuPages.ie

SFO to DUB day One

In this economic challenging times we were able to take a Trip by tightening our belts and saving money. It takes a Taurus with lots of determination to save money, but I have been aware of the economic downturn for a couple of months now as I look into the Heavens and see the Astrological Dancing in the skies. So we embark today a week ago to Ireland via London. We travelled through United Economy Plus, and it was a very comfortable flight as it has been on years before. I was able to knit this hat by the time we arrived to London and boy did I use it one day. This hat is double stranded and it is in short rows. It resembles The Tychus, but it is knit and purl, not garter stitch and I use wraps, but it is based on this pattern.
We had a lay-over in London of 6 hours, which by the way, I have found to be fantastic to get your body in sync with the new time zones. We arrived at dawn. We had to go to England's Immigration to the EU for non EU citizens, what a slow line, very slow, did I say slow?
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After what seem to be an eternity in line, because they did not have enough agents and the agents that were there were on training, We decided to have Breakfast at the Tin Goose, great restaurant by the way.
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The needles I bring on the plane are wooden needles, nothing circular and no metal. The Crochet hooks are a combo, some metal, some wood and some plastic. I never bring anything that is of great value, just in case someone decides I can not take it through!
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I will be blogging each day as if it was in real time for last week, taking you through the steps we had to go through until we returned to our Homeland, USA! There will be some cute short You Tube videos to share as well. Thanks for stopping by.

Ireland the Land of Wonder

The land of green, castles, fairies and leprechauns and the sorts. I hope that as you follow me through my small vacation, that you will be able to see Ireland through my eyes. I have fallen in love with the Island of Ireland and it's people. I love their accent and their spirit, their good Whiskey and their Guinness Beer, the Lamb stew, Phoenix Park and Molly Malone. I had no idea of the reality of these people and their struggle for Independence. A land of thousands of years of history, but The Republic of Ireland is a very young country in itself. I want to salute Ireland and it's people with my blogging about my experience on this enchanted land. I actually felt like I was at home in a totally strange land. The sound of the Irish Language was very comforting. What a great place to visit. There is more to come.

Ireland (pronounced /ˈaɪɚlənd/ (help·info), locally [ˈaɾlənd]; Irish: Éire, Ulster Scots: Airlann) is the third largest island in Europe, and the twentieth-largest island in the world. It lies to the north-west of continental Europe and is surrounded by hundreds of islands and islets. To the east of Ireland, separated by the Irish Sea, is the island of Great Britain. Politically, the state Ireland (described as the Republic of Ireland) covers five-sixths of the island, with Northern Ireland, part of the United Kingdom, covering the remainder in the north-east.

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The population of the island is slightly under 6 million (2006), with 4,239,848 million in the Republic of Ireland [2] (1.7 million in Greater Dublin)[3] and an estimated almost 1.75 million in Northern Ireland[4] (800,000 in Greater Belfast[5]). This is a significant increase from a modern historical low in the 1960s, but still much lower than the peak population of over 8 million in the early 19th century, prior to the Great Famine.[6].

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The name Ireland derives from the name of the Celtic goddess Ériu (in modern Irish, Éire) with the addition of the Germanic word land. Most other western European names for Ireland, such as French Irlande, Spanish, Italian, Romanian and Portuguese Irlanda, German Irland, and Dutch Ierland, as well as Russian Ирландия [irlˈanʲdʲijə], derive from the same source.

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