Dublin with the Parents!

Instead of having family visit us in London, we met my parents in Dublin.  This was a nice break from London. Unfortunately, my parents have a reputation of travelling only to places when it is raining (or they bring the rain with them).  This was definitely the case in Dublin.  It rained everyday.  We did eventually get to see the sun though.  The clouds broke as we were waiting to get on the plane to come back to London.  

We made the most of the weather though and got to see some pretty great things. 

This thing behind my head is called the Spire of Dublin.  Basically, its a stainless steal spike that served as a great landmark as it was right by the hotel.  Also, a great Unicorn addition!

One of the first things we saw was Christ Church Cathedral.  It is a very tiny little cathedral that reminds me of the Castle at the end of every Super Mario 1 level.

This is Christ Church Cathedral.  The coolest thing about it is that in the crypt, there is a mummified cat and rat. Also, the television show "The Tudors" did a lot of filming here.  They showed some of the costumes used.

The cat and the rat.  I love creepy things!

Attached to the Cathedral is Dublinia: an experience that takes you back in time to a world of vikings and eventually to medieval Dublin.  It is a fantastic interactive museum where tourists get to learn how Dublin came to be, and how people lived.  I recommend this one if you are ever in Dublin!  It has just enough cheese and interesting facts to keep you entertained.

Who wore what kind of shoes?  

Life was not long back then!

Who ate from which plate?

A trip to Dublin is never complete without a trip to the Guinness Storehouse.  There, we learnt about how the beer is made and even learnt how to taste the different notes in the beer.  Did you know there is chocolate in it?

This was the never-ending walk to the front entrance of the Storehouse.  And it rained the whole time!

I have a new appreciation for the beer but it is still really filling.  Drinking on is basically the same a eating a whole meal.  Your tummy is full!

On one of the days, it didn't rain (as much).  We decided to take a bus tour outside Dublin to see the Wicklow "Mountains."  They are not really mountains so much as hills which makes me giggle. We did see some pretty sites though!

Here the parents are posing on the bridge from the Movie "PS, I Love You."  Its a great chic movie that will have your mascara flowing down your face by the end.  The bridge was old looking.

The parents in front of a lake.  There is a VERY expensive house back there that you can't see.  It will cost 20,000 euro a week if you want to rent it out. 

We also went to the Glen of Two Lakes.  There you will find the most important Monastic ruins of Ireland. There is apparently something in the water in this area because people live very long lives there.  The founder lived to 120 year in 617 AD. That's not a unicorn horn behind me but a bell tower!

This is lake 1.  Very pretty picture Shea got here while the rain stopped for about 15 minutes. 

On our final day in Dublin we visited the Jeanie Johnston Tall Ship.  This is a replica ship of one that was used to bring Irish Emigrants to America.  It made 16 voyages between 1847-1855 and carried over 2500 people to "the new world."  The most amazing thing was no one ever died on the ship. Even when the ship was sinking on its final voyage into the Atlantic and the crew climbed up the masts to avoid the water, another ship came by, just in time, to pluck everyone off as the ship sank to the bottom of the ocean.

Captain Shea!

Captain Dave!

Other notable sites we saw included Trinity College (the Book of Kells) and Kilmainham Gaol (a prison).

It was a wonderful break from London and a great chance to catch up with the parents.  Also, we were all questioned why any sane person would live there: it seriously rained the WHOLE time! No wonder there are so many Irish people in every other part of the world.