Tuesday, June 20th

It felt glorious to sleep in until 9:30!  First stop this morning was a guided tour of Dublin Castle, just a short walk from our hotel.  The castle was built on elevated ground once occupied by the largest Viking settlement and was the seat of British rule of Ireland for 800 years until 1922 when Ireland won its independence.  We were shown remnants of the Powder Tower now underground, the Viceroy’s private chapel and grand apartments where heads of state stay (most recently President Biden stayed here).  

Next stop was brekkie at The Stage Door, perfectly timed during a downpour!  After retrieving our umbrellas & a layer from our room, we set out for the St Stephen’s Green, a lush & colorful park and former site of the Easter Rising in April 1916 where some 2,000 volunteer rebels fought some 16,000 British, and St Patrick’s Cathedral, built during the 13th century and the largest in Ireland!  Up next was a guided tour of the Little Museum of Dublin, providing a history of Dublin (means “black water”) and memorabilia of Bono (U2), James Joyce (Ulysses), Guinness (obviously, beer), Oscar Wilde (The Picture of Dorian Gray) & Jonathan Swift (Gulliver’s Travels)!  Our guide told us the one difference between God & Bono is God doesn’t think he’s Bono!  The current population of Ireland is approaching 9 million, about the same as before the Irish Potato Famine between 1845 - 1847, which saw the death of 1.5 million and emigration of another 1.5 million!  With all our walking and sightseeing, we were parched and ready for a pint at a pub…the live music & gregarious crowds at the Quays Bar was just the ticket!  Final stop was a delicious dinner at Chequer Lane by Jamie Oliver (yes, that Jamie from the Food Network…although, our waiter says he visits the restaurant as often as we do!)