The Emerald Island of Ireland is a small country with a big reputation. The capital is Dublin and the population is 4,833,000 people that speak English and Irish Gaelic. It is an ancient landscape with the friendliest and most welcoming people. As well as being the capital, Dublin is the largest city and home to Guinness beer. Most times, it will be served room temperature. You can find world-class museums, entertainment, excellent hotels, and fine dining and most of all – Celtic music and dance. Many pubs advertise that Guinness is good for you.
What do the Irish like to eat? Hearty bacon (it has to be better than what we are getting onboard), cabbage, seafood chowder, smoked salmon, and soda bread. The special ingredients are baking soda and buttermilk.
What do they like to drink? Guinness is the number one brew, chased down with a smoky whisky, commonly called a Boiler Maker where we come from. Ireland is also known for shamrocks, harps, potatoes, leprechauns, the band U2, and everything "green", the Irish jig and Riverdance.
A random fact: Until the 19th century, Ireland's flag was blue, where the flag of St. Patrick featured a gold harp on blue back round. And that's Ireland in a nutshell.
Everything was wet on our veranda when we woke up this morning. But the rain had stopped, and the clouds appeared to be breaking up. For a change, the temperature was in the 50's and the extreme chill was gone out of the wind. Actually, there was hardly any wind at all.
Originally, we were to be docked near Dublin, but that was changed well before the cruise began. We were now dropping anchor in the bay outside of Dun Laoghaire, a vibrant seaside town that offered seaside views, marine activities, and some fine seafood dining. So instead of having a shuttle to downtown Dublin, we would have to take a train to access the big city. We opted to stay in town since we have been to Dublin several times on past trips.
Tendering the tour groups to shore was delayed around 9am, as Ian announced to the folks to please not block the hallways and stairs to deck A. Normally the shore excursion groups seldom listen to that information. Things must have improved because close to 10am, open tenders were available.
As we have been doing, we stayed onboard until 11am before going down to the boat. By then, we actually had sun on our veranda, and the temperature had heated up nicely. It would not last long, but it reminded us of how much we have missed the warmer weather. Anyway, we reached the tender landing onshore within 15 or 20 minutes, and were off to explore a new area. But first, we needed a lesson on how to pronounce this town. Spelled strangely, it is pronounced "Dun Leery". Simple, and it was written on a sign board on our way out to the parking lot. And the population here is 26,525 people. At the end of the lot was a convenient Information Booth with a lot of helpful maps and brochures. This was where the folks who wanted to take the train to Dublin would get instructions of where to catch the train. It was basically around the corner, where a station agent was helping people pay for their transfer using the kiosk. Greg and Heo went to Dublin by train and said there was a special price today which was 5 Euros for a round trip. Really reasonable they thought.
Just as we were walking uphill to the main street, we ran into Rich and Peg, who were already on their way back to the ship. They always like to get off early, but today was Sunday, and too early meant not much was opened. They suggested walking the two main streets in town, then go to People's Park at the beginning of George's Street Upper. And that's about what we did. The main street going uphill brought us past County Hall, the Pavilion Theater, past a church with a very tall steeple, and one of the nicer hotels, the Royal Marine Hotel. On George Street, we turned right and walked past numerous shops, cafes, restaurants, and pubs. Small stores and businesses were located there as well. Except for coffee shops, none of the restaurants or most of the pubs were not opened for business until later, like 3pm.
We got as far as St. Michael's Hospital, then turned back to go the other way. We passed by the local shopping center, which looked like a mall. Going inside, we found three levels of some shops, cafes, and services like beauty parlors and a barber. Little was open since it was Sunday. And just like yesterday, tomorrow will be a Bank Holiday with most everything closed. We were told it was like May Day as well as a memorial day, like Veteran's Day at home.
Continuing up this street, we ended up at People's Park, which opened in 1890. Every Sunday, there is a busy market with tent vendors selling hot food, bakery goods, souvenirs, fresh produce, and locally made arts and crafts. And busy it was. There is a children's park, and lawn areas where the kids could play soccer. Many families were out with their young children, enjoying the day regardless of the cool weather. Any day without a lot of rain is a good day here. We did have a few sprinkles but not enough to take shelter.
Intending on finding a place for lunch, we changed our minds when we saw the one and only possible pizza shop overflowing with guests. If we had more time, we could have walked to Sandycove Beach where the author James Joyce did much of his writing. A tower originally built to counter the threat of an attack by Napoleon has been turned into a museum in James Joyce memory along with artifacts and documents. Admission is free by the way. Reportedly there were a lot more cafes, restaurants, pubs and shops up this way.
We made our way back to the pier, and got back to the ship by 2pm just in time to order a nice lunch from room service. Forgot to mention the ship's tours offered today. The longest one went to the Dublin coast and Irish traditions for $210 for 7 ¾ hours. Easy Dublin was $60 for 3 ½ hours, while a walk through Dublin was $90 for 4 ½ hours. Three tours that were $100 were a river cruise and city sights for 4 ½ hours, a Guinness Experience for 4 ½ hours, or the Teeling Distillery and panoramic Dublin for 4 ½ hours. The Irish immigration story was $110 for 4 ½ hours.
Showers came and went in the distance, presenting some very nice rainbows right outside our veranda. We also watch intently as two of the tender boats were lifted back to their position….not always an easy task for the crew. This should be the final port we will need to use them.
Dinner time came quickly, and all of us were present. Greg and Heo shared their day in Dublin with us, and we informed them of what they missed in Dun Laoghaire today. Barb had stayed onboard as had Woody. Tendering ashore is not the easiest thing for either of them to do. For dinner we had one cheese and beer soup, and one shrimp appetizer with a Caesar salad. Mains for us were the chef's alternate cheeseburgers with French fries. Our dinners arrived late because they had waited to cook the fries last, keeping them piping hot. Our meals looked way better than the cod fish entrees. Chocolate frozen yogurt and strawberry sherbet finished our meal.
Tonight there was a traditional Irish show featuring dancers and musicians from town. They had two performances this evening so they must be staying overnight and going off tomorrow. Not a bad deal for them.
The last port in Ireland will be Cobh for Cork . We shall stay in Cohh having been to Cork several times.
Bill & Mary Ann
