Touring Dublin ...Again

We had a great day riding around Dublin on the Hop-On-Hop-Off bus visiting some of the key sites.  First we went to the fabulous Dublin Castle and had a wonderful guide who gave us a thumbnail history of Ireland.  The Irish are wonderful story tellers.  We were sad when it ended.  The castle was initially the site of a Viking town, then a Norman town, then English, now Irish.  Fascinating stuff.

The English viceroys who ruled Ireland until 1922 lived in the Castle.  It is now government offices.

Then we went to the Guinness Storehouse which is a multi-story museum all about how they make Guinness Stout.   At the end of the self-guided tour, you get a pint of Guinness and get to enjoy it in a wonderful roof-top bar with a 360 degree view of the city.

Our Tucson friends, Lyn and Herb, along with Jon K. from Raleigh are with us now.  We managed to consume quite a few Guinness pints among us.  Once they draw the pint from the keg, you have to wait a full two minutes.  Then they top off the glass and give it to you. Not a bad way to spend the afternoon.

We staggered out of there, hopped back on the bus

and rode a bit to the Kilmainham Gaol (jail).  It was pretty gruesome and depressing to see the old prison where so many were executed and punished.  The history of the Irish fight for independence from England was long and bloody.

By this point we were exhausted and it was late - sight-seeing places close at 5 and the bus stops running at 6.  We walked around a while and then took the tram home, stopping at the grocery store to secure the makings of dinner.  Another wonderful, full day in Dublin.  Very fun to have friends with us to share it all.