Dublin

We arrived in Dublin on Monday afternoon after what was a busy long weekend for the city. There had been a formula one car race in the city on Saturday which had actually gone right in the front of our hotel. The grandstands were still set up out the front. On Sunday they had their annual woman's charity marathon. It was a beautiful day on Monday too though we chose to blob out in our room and have a rest. We watched the Queens jubilee concert on TV and had room service!

Tuesday we had an orientation around Dublin in the morning on the bus. Dublin was very busy with tourists - buses and people everywhere. Its a bit drab like Edinburgh though with mainly brick buildings as opposed to stone.









We then had the afternoon to do whatever we wanted. Unfortunately the weather wasn't too great. We had a bit of a walk around the city and stopped off for lunch in a lovely little pub. We were looking forward to a nice quiet lunch by ourselves however this older lady came and asked if the seat opposite us was taken. We assumed she wanted it for another table - but no - she then plonked herself down opposite us even though there were plenty of tables free. Mal even said to her she would be better sitting somewhere else but she chose to ignore that and then started yakking - mostly about herself, typical German!

It wouldn't have been too bad if we weren't getting tired of putting up with people we would rather not - I have decided that I am not the bus  tour type of person. It has been good from the point of view that its hassle free and we have seen far more than we would have if we had travelled on our own, however my tolerance for some of our fellow travelers is wearing very thin. I have a few stories to tell about some of these oddballs and their idiosyncrasies!  We are really looking forward to Paris on our own next week.

Last night we went to the Guinness Storehouse and had a tour of the production process, a tasting (it was very nice) and dinner there. The bar is on the top floor of the building and has fantastic 360 degree views over Dublin. We have found out why we think Guinness tastes better over here - it has to be kept at precisely 6 degrees celsius otherwise its taste can be affected by 50%. We wonder if Oz and NZ serve it at a different temperature.


Sadly we are heading out of Ireland tomorrow - I have really enjoyed the time here. We catch the ferry to Wales early in the morning - not quite sure what to expect in Wales - apart from bad weather that is!