We got to the airport plenty early and it’s a good thing we did.  Organized chaos might be the best description.  They are building a new terminal, so hopefully that will improve things.  We checked our bags pretty easily, but trying to get our VAT refund was more challenging.  They told us to be at the gate by noon because it would be closed.

On the way to the gate, we saw some Trinity College items, so we got some souvenirs after all (Connor will have to wait for his Trinity rugby ball).  What we didn’t know was that we had to go through US immigration to get to our gate.  They told us to be there by noon, but Immigration was closed for lunch from 11:30 to 12.  By the time they opened, there was a huge line behind us.  We made it through just fine.

Waiting at the Gate in Dublin

We ended up taking off about 20 minutes late, but landed in Chicago a full 30 minutes early.  We had no bag problems or customs problems and called for the limo to take us back to Karen’s.  There was no snow this time, so the trip was much faster.  Thanks again Josh & Karen.

We made it to Joliet in time to meet up with Mamaw & Papaw.  Jill went back to Columbus.  We’ll see her in a few days.  Kathy, Connor & I headed for Iowa.  We made it home about 2 am on 12/31/08 – over 24 hours after we had gotten up in Dublin.

Thanks to everyone who followed along and/or made comments along the way.  We have a few hundred pictures to sort through, so you’ve only seen a portion of them.  Thanks to Andrew for hosting us and sometimes having to put up with us.

We went to Christ Church Cathedral this morning.

Christ Church Cathedral

It was started in the 1200′s and is the site of the tomb of Strongbow, amongst a lot of others.  Strongbow was from Britain and came to Ireland to help settle a dispute between ruling Irish families.

Stongbow's Tomb

He married the daughter of the King of Leinster and eventually ended being appointed as the English King’s ruler of Ireland.

Windows at the Front of the Church

Interior of Christ Church

From there, we went to Trinity College to see the library.

Front Gate at Trinity College

It was closed for the week between Christmas and New Year’s, so we didn’t get to see the library or go to the bookstore.  No Trinity logo’d stuff for anyone.

Trinity College Grounds

We had lunch at Cassidy’s pub and then split up.  The ladies went shopping and the guys went to the GPO (General Post Office).  The GPO was a central place in the 1916 Easter Uprising.

General Post Office

There are still some bullet holes in the outside.  From the GPO, the guys went to Croke Park.

Croke Park is the 4th largest stadium in Europe and is used for Gaelic sports.

Croke Park Stadium

The Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) promotes hurling, Gaelic football, handball and rounders.  Other famous events there include an Ali fight in the 70′s and a Mass by Pope John Paul II.

We got back together to see the Christmas Tree on O’Connell Street in front of the GPO.

The Kids on O'Connell Street

We ate dinner at the Porterhouse brew pub in Temple Bar.

Headed to the airport in the morning.

We slept in today and then we went for a tour of the Old Jameson Distillery.  This location in Dublin was where they made Irish Whiskey until the 1970′s.  Now it is made in Midleton down in County Cork.

Jameson Irish Whiskey

We were able to follow through the distillation process from start to finish.  

Part of the Triple Distillation Apparatus

I volunteered for the whiskey tasting at the end.  We compared Scotch (Johnnie Walker Black), Jameson, and American (Jack Daniels) Whiskey.  Jameson was the smoothest by far.  Everyone got a taste at the end, even if you weren’t part of the taste test.

Which Do I Think is Best?

On the way back, Kathy and I went by the Four Courts building so we could see where all the action is in Dublin.

The Four Courts

(Pictures have been posted on previous entries – check it out)

We moved to our new place yesterday afternoon.  It is located on the north bank of the River Liffey.

View towards the East from our Balcony

We settled in and had a spaghetti dinner followed by a game of Hearts.

View towards the West (The James Joyce Bridge)

This morning we had breakfast in the restaurant downstairs and then headed for the Guinness Brewery.  The brewery is located south of the Liffey, but is very near our apartment.

Crossing the River Liffey

The Guinness Visitors Center is located in the former fermentation building.  It was the first steel-skeleton building erected in the British Isles.  The site explains the ingredients and the brewing process that results in Guinness.

Copper Kettle at Guinness

At the top of the building, you get a pint of Guinness and a view of Dublin from 7 stories up.

Free Pint at the Gravity Lounge

View to the North from atop the Guinness Storehouse

After the tour, we headed for Grafton Street and some shopping.  At the top of Grafton Street is the statue of Molly Malone.  We haven’t found the other statue that Julie saw on the internet.

Molly Malone

We did some window shopping on Grafton Street and saw St. Stephen’s Green at the other end.  We also saw a mall.  After a while in the mall, Andrew decided to wait on us in a pub so he could watch soccer.  Unfortunately, the only thing that they had on was darts.

Grafton Street at Christmas

We headed back to the apartment after shopping.  Kathy and I decided to go to O’Connell Street to see the Christmas Tree there.  Unfortunately, my memory card was full, so that will have to wait until tomorrow.

Our Christmas Tree

The kids got to open a few things and we all opened stockings from Mamaw & Papaw.  Things are very quiet in Dublin today.  Most everything is closed or on limited hours.

We’ve been watching movies on tv for most of the afternoon.  Their shows don’t always end or start on the hour or half hour.  It’s driving me crazy as you might guess. 

Everyone is playing Wii right now.  Kathy won the bowling tournament.  Golf is on-going as I type.

We have a different apartment booked for tomorrow, so we should be able to update with pictures then.

We headed back to Dublin this morning.  Along the way, we stopped at Glendalough.  

Glendalough

It is the site of a medieval monastery in the Wicklow mountains.  

Waterfall at Glendalough

Waterfall

There is a waterfall, 2 lakes and some ruins of churches and monasteries.

Ruins of a Medieval Church

Upper Lake at Glendalough

We passed through Roundwood.  This village is located at 728 feet above sea level and is the highest village in Ireland.

We arrived in Dublin and our hotel reservation fell through.  The building is having heating and water problems, so we’ve crashed at Andrew’s tonight.  The internet is slow, so I’m not not able to post any pictures.  Check back on all of these recent posts because I will be adding pictures later.

Merry Christmas to all!

But before we got to the hotel, we made a stop at Avoca.  We had 2 reasons for stopping.  The Avoca Handweavers, the oldest mill in Ireland – established in 1723.  

Avoca Handweavers

We ate lunch at the cafe at the mill and then did some shopping.

Our second reason for stopping was that the show Ballykissangel was filmed there.  We saw the church, Kathleen’s store, and of course, Fitzgerald’s pub.  

Fitzgerald's

The Wicklow mountains are pretty big and the area reminds someone of Pennsylvania.  From Avoca, we headed on to the hotel in Kilmuckridge, County Wexford.  The internet was down there, so we couldn’t put up much of a post from there.

Waterford Crystal

We got to see the blowers at work, but the cutters were already off for the holiday.  So it was really only 1/2 a tour.

Blower at Work

The crystal is orange hot when it comes out of the oven.  The blowers then stretch and blow the crystal to the proper shape and size.

Adding a Handle

On the way home, we ate in Cahir and saw Cahir Castle.  

Cahir Castle

We had seen a few castles and keeps in ruins during our travels to and from Waterford.  Cahir has some monuments on the square (like almost every other town and village).

World War I Monument in Cahir

We saw some spectacular skies at sunset once we got back to the farmhouse.

Sunset in County Tipperary

Village Green in Blarney

Blarney Castle

It was overcast , but felt pretty warm.  The hardest part was the climb to the top via a small circular staircase in the keep.  There were spectacular views in all directions.

View from the Tower of Blarney Castle

All 5 of us took a turn kissing the stone.  There was a man there to help us reach back to the stone without falling to our deaths!  (Ok, so there was an iron grate there that we couldn’t fit through, but you aren’t thinking about that when the ground enters your line of sight from that high up).  

Kissing the Blarney Stone

The Blarney Stone is at the Top of the Tower above the Windows

After that, we visited the rock gardens on the estate and the cave under the castle.  

Waterfall in the Rock Gardens

Then it was time for lunch.  We ate in the pub on the village green (the yellow building in the picture above) and watched some Soccer (West Brom beat Manchester City 2-1).  

On the way home, we stopped at the Lidl grocery store in Mitchelstown to get some things for breakfast the next day.