Having left SFO at 10 am on July 3, we arrived in Ireland at 10 am, July 4, via Washington DC so we had two plane flights. Despite missing a night of sleep, it was a beautiful day in Dublin. The weather was sunny and warm! Here are some highlights:
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Boxty – a nice pub lunch at a place recommended to us by Lauren Michelle.
Parks – the parks are beautiful. We walked and walked, through Temple Bar, Trinity, Grafton and St Stephen’s Green, where this picture was taken.
Hop On / Hop Off Buses – we took a big loop around the city to get our bearings.
Musical Pub Crawl – Two excellent musicians walked a large group of us to three different pubs where they played Irish follk songs and told stories of the origins of Irish music and instruments. They asked for volunteers to get up a sing a song, and of course, Sue volunteered her husband! Ted’s choice, since it was the Fourth of July, was Yankee Doodle Dandy, and Ted got the entire crowd singing along with him.
Lauren Michelle Stevens – we met up with her later this evening and enjoyed time talking. Lauren Michelle is a girl from our church, who is spending this year in Dublin as a nanny.
Sam McGuire Cup held by Ted – The cup that is awarded to winners of the All-Ireland Senior Gaelic Football Championship was making the rounds, while we were in the Quay’s Pub! Ted got to hold the cup in his hands. Look for a Facebook pic from Sue on that in the near future!
All in all, the first day was filled with fun and adventure. A nice start to our vacation.
Wow. Living vicariously.