Now for the second part of the trip -- Dublin city! I turned in my rental car and met up with the Education First group for the 'work' part of the trip...courtesy of NMSU/FLiP!
We're in Temple Bar area - downtown happenin' street in Dublin. (Thankfully I asked in advance for a quiet room to the back up off the main street/bars or else I would have heard partying all night ;)!) We had a really nice afternoon guided city walk and then dinner out - followed by a pint and traditional Irish music on Temple Bar. This is a happy place indeed!
Our guide Matt explaining about Georgian architecture
The infamous Molly Malone
Beautiful pedestrian streets
Megalothic Ireland, displayed in the National Museum. Here also were 'bog people' - amazingly well-preserved remains of people excavated from the bogs of Ireland.
The National Museum - 10 minutes walk from the hotel.
Everything was within 10 minutes. Cool city!
On the walk back - site of the Viking amphibious tour
Stop for lunch at the Stags Head
The best damn seafood chowder (and brown bread) on the planet
Back to temple bar - this is my favorite bar...upstairs where the traditional
music was played. 60 second walk to the hotel
Crazy fun streets of Temple Bar area. Stag and Hen parties everywhere! Pretty fun
Day 2 in Dublin:
Saturday was socked in/raining - a good day for a bus tour around the city with some stops at St. Patrick's Cathedral, Trinity College, and Powerscourt Garden (about a half hour south of the city).
The bus! Great city tour by our favorite guide Matt
Most photographed door in Ireland
Beautiful St. Patrick's Cathedral
Trinity College
Incredible collection and displays
Powerscourt Garden with Wicklow Mountains in the background :)
The beautiful gardens
Main estate buildings in the background
Roses with fresh rain on the pedals. Ahhhh
First and second prize for the most fragrant roses.
This whole garden was paradise for the senses
The best...the BEST tea and scones at Powerscourt.
Mixed berry scone with raspberry preserves and cream... (huge smile on my face right now)
...we were in heaven... :)
Day 3 in Dublin:
Sunday was our 'work day' in Dublin where 25 of us discussed faculty-led course abroad. Great ideas and insights during the morning sessions. The mid-afternoon: a Guiness Brewery tour and a song and story-telling dinner to wrap up the night. What a great experience all around!
The group at Guiness Brewery
The perfect pint
Gravity Bar - above the Brewery
Oldest bar in Dublin - dinner, stories and music :)
Dinner: traditional Irish stew and hard cider. :)
Gorgeous sunset on the River Liffey - steps away from Temple bar
One last circuit of the Temple Bar madness and music
