Dublin Day 1

Relatively quiet day today. Had a sleep in, then first priority was to find the laundromat. Had a few good clues yesterday, but each one led to a dry cleaner shop. Finally I found one this morning that actually had washing machines, so I thought I was in luck. But they weren't for public consumption. So I asked the lady how much it would cost to do my two bags of washing including my shirts and jeans and various other bits and pieces. She quoted me 11 Euro, so I jumped at it! Getting all my washing done for me was worth every cent.

Having got the essentials of life sorted out, my next task was to orient myself. So I bought a Dublin card for 25 Euro which gave me all day access to the Hop on Hop off bus and free public transport for 3 days. It was a perfect Autumn day here in Dublin. Sun shining brightly. A little chilly but still very pleasant. So I braved the open top deck of the bus. I just sat there for the whole round trip. I didn't hop on and off because I just wanted to get my bearings. There were a few times when I was very tempted to hop off - the Guinness factory and the Jamieson Whisky Distillery. But they are included on my Trafalgar Tour which starts tomorrow night. Aren't you proud of my self discipline...?????


Some of the places we passed were St Stephen's Green (see pic above) Beautiful autumn colours. In the tourist blurb it says this is the biggest town square in Europe. Contrasts against the cobble stones of the Eastern European ones I've seen lately.
Also the usual places like Trinity College, National Gallery, Phoenix Park, Halfpenny Bridge, Temple Bar etc.... Lots of Churches included too.. I was surprised by how many of the big Churches were Protestant. I suppose once again it reflects their occupation by the English. Couldn't believe that their St Patrick's cathedral was Church of Ireland. Seems almost like a sin to a catholic!

In the afternoon I went back into the city to meet up with Mary and Nicky - the sister and brother-in-law of my friend Bernadette. We had coffee in Eason's bookshop. So while I was there I took some pictures of O'Connell Street and the Michael Collins statue.

Michael Collins Statue
O'Connell Street

Tomorrow I hope to go back into town and the central city trick. Grafton Street is the big shopping area, so I hope to have a cruise around there. I meet my new tour friends tomorrow night and we're off on Monday morning. I'd better enjoy the sleepin tomorrow because once you're on the tour, it's back to those early starts.

Thanks to everybody who's still reading. I'm enjoying keeping a track of where I've been. It's good for me to look back too and see the record of my trip.