Today was another weird sleeping schedule. I slept really soundly for the first couple of hours and then woke up in the middle of the night and spent the rest of the time tossing and turning, shifting in and out of consciousness.
We woke up a little late, and debated on what to do today. We had originally planned to head over to the Kilmainham jail, but we didn’t really have clear directions and it also involved taking a bus. Since we didn’t want to head out on our own/take a bus until we had some clear directions, we decided to change it up a bit and visit Dublin Castle and St. Patrick’s Cathedral today instead of tomorrow, since they were only a fairly short hike away (and it was raining…poo.).
First up, Dublin Castle. It’s situated right in Dublin center, and if you weren’t looking for it you probably wouldn’t even know it was there. Most of the actual “castle” exterior isn’t there, as most of it was destroyed in a fire in the 1800’s. (learned that on the tour!). But, there is still one part of the original castle still standing which you can see as you first walk in. After the fire, government buildings were constructed in place of where the original castle.
We decided to pay for the tour, so we walked around inside for around an hour, getting to visit the various government rooms. They’re all very lavishly decorated, with gold leaf and intricate stucco on the ceilings. And, they have some STUNNING chandeliers. We even got to see the original throne, and learned that most of the Tudors series is actually filmed right in that building. I’m going to have to rent one of the seasons from Blockbuster and see haha.
After we toured the more “modern” government building, the tour guide took us outside and across the court yard and led us down underground. There we were able to see some original parts of the castle that were found and preserved during the excavation. It was really neat to see the original walls of the castle, and to learn some of the tricks of the trade on how and why things were constructed. For example, we got to see an original stone staircase that used to lead down into one of the rivers/canals. Small boats used to bring supplies from larger ships to the back of the castle on this waterway, and the stairs led from the waterway into the castle. They were pretty narrow, and the guide explained that they were designed that way as a defense system. With narrow stairways, only one person could use them at a time and it discouraged a large group from attacking the castle via the stairway.
When we finished there the tourguide took us deeper down and showed us part of the original river that used to run near the castle and actually still runs through most of Dublin, even though most of Dublin has been built on top of it, hiding it from view. Apparently most people that live in Dublin don’t even know it exists.
It was cool to learn some of the back history of Ireland and to even learn how Dublin got it’s name. I’d explain it, but it’s kind of a long story and if you really want to know, you should just Google it. ☺
When we finished there, we zipped up our raincoats, put away our cameras, and started on the hike across town to head over to St. Patrick’s Cathedral. On the way we stumbled upon a cute little café called the Sunrise Café tucked away in a small alleyway. Since we were both pretty soaked by then and hungry, we decided to stop and have some lunch and a hot beverage. It was delicious! I had an oriental chicken wrap with a hot chocolate and Amanda had a Chicken/tomato/pesto/mozzarella sandwich. It was a nice break from the rain, and I was a little sad to have to go back out into the rain.
We walked across town and finally made it to St. Patrick’s Cathedral. It was beautiful. Growing up Catholic, I’d heard about the Cathedral and had always wanted to see it, even though I really don’t practice any more. Inside was amazing, with intricate stained glass windows, very old church relics, and an elaborate altar. It just had this very peaceful feeling about it, and it was a great time to just walk around, read about the history, and just take a few minutes for inner meditation.
I think the absolute best part, though, was when some of the choirboys started to practice right before we left. I am in LOVE with acapella music and large choir vocals. If you’ve never heard anything like that, especially choirboys, I suggest you google it and listen to it. It’s nothing short of beautiful. I loved it, they sounded beautiful. I really didn’t want to leave, I wanted to sit there and listen to them for as long as I could, but it looked like they were beginning to close up and usher people out, so Amanda and I packed up and left.
When we arrived back at the apartment I took a much needed shower and we got read to head out for dinner. Amanda, Melinda, and I went out to this place called the Baggot Inn, famous for their burgers AND their super awesome bar tables that have draft taps RIGHT IN THEM! The tables have built in kegs of Carlsburg and Guiness in them, with little meters on them for when you use them. The one drawback is that you do have to have a credit card and be pre-authorized for 50 Euros, just in case you don’t pay. Luckily I had my debit card so I put that down on our account. The waiter brought us a dozen or so glasses, turned on the taps, and we were good to go! It was kind of cool being able to pour our own beer like that.
I have to say that I wasn’t really impressed with the burgers. Irish beef is definitely different from US beef (as I’d been warned) and I’m not really fan of it. The burger kind of tasted like meatloaf in a weird way. Any of you that know me know that I despise meatloaf. Buh. I ate about half of the burger and was basically done with it. But hey, the chips/fries were good! Haha
Our waiter was really nice and friendly and joked with us throughout the night, and the three of us just had a good time eating food, enjoying our drinks, and talking/laughing. Although, the one thing that did get us was the meter on the drafts. The whole time we thought we had found the jackpot for beer, as it it only took what looked like 1 Euro to fill a pint glass, compared to 4 or 5 Euros anywhere else in Dublin. We were amazed, how did more people not know about this? Haha, the joke was on us. Apparently, it was measuring “units”, not Euros. We ended up with a MUCH bigger bill than we thought, but it actually didn’t work out to be much more than 30 Euros for each person for dinner, dessert, and drinks. A little on the expensive side, but not too bad.
When we were finished, we headed back to the apartment to call it a night!
I’d upload photos to go along with this, but the Internet is being quite dodgy right now. If it’s more reliable tomorrow I’ll be sure to add some photos go along. Tomorrow’s agenda includes the Kilmainham jail possibly and the Guinness Factory, and then Thursday all three of us are taking the train to Cork to visit the Blarney castle and kiss the Blarney stone. Then, it’s back to the states on Friday ☹
It seems like time is passing so fast, and even though it feels like we just got here it’s almost time to leave. I’m sad, but I know I’ll be back to Ireland. I have to. There’s a feeling I got when I came here, a part of me felt like I was home in a sense. I think I can safely say, I love Ireland. <3
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