Dublin!

Hi all!
I spent this past weekend outside of France, for the first time since arriving here in mid-September.  My friend Alex and I flew into Dublin on Friday morning and back to Paris on Monday night (yesterday).  It was our first time visiting Ireland, and it was a lot of fun!  We stayed with an American who's living there for a couple of months, and whose house is about a half an hour's walk from the city center, so that was quite convenient, if not luxurious.  The weather in Dublin was much colder than it has been in Paris, which was a bit of a shock--day and night, it hovered just above freezing.  Brr!  This warm fall in Paris has clearly weakened my tolerance for cold!  Despite the cold (and the fact that they drive on the LEFT in Ireland, which is just strange), I really enjoyed my time in Ireland!  And we didn't just see Dublin, although we spent the majority of our time there: we spent Sunday on a very nice bus tour of County Wicklow to see the mountains outside of Dublin.  The countryside is beautiful and still very green, even in December, and Dublin is a very homey little city, and both in the country and in the city the locals were super friendly!  We packed a LOT into our four days in Ireland, so I'm not going to give a detailed account here: it would take too long!  I'm just going to give a brief overview and then post the photos; I'll include a bit more information in their captions.  But overall, it was a great trip and I definitely plan on returning to Dublin at some point in the future!

The River Liffey cuts Dublin in two from east to west.

Christchurch 

City Hall

We had a nice lunch at this vegetarian restaurant downtown.

This is where we stayed, north of the river in the Arbour Hill neighborhood.

a Christmas market in Tallagh, a suburb of Dublin 

hot chocolate--perfect on a cold Dublin afternoon

Part of Dublin Castle, which is the former base of British rule.

The other part of Dublin Castle... the tower is the only medieval part remaining.
The chapel is more recent.

The back of Dublin Castle--I like the colors!
Note the tree with flowers in bloom!  I don't get it!

The Temple Bar in the Temple Bar district of Dublin.

an example of the Christmas cheer we saw all over the city

Dublin's original Parliament building now houses the Bank of Ireland.

Trinity College

Grafton Street as seen from St. Stephen's green

St. Stephen's green, where flowers and palm trees were flourishing,
despite the cold temperatures!  (I don't understand how.)

White hot chocolate!

the origins of our white hot chocolate

We visited another Christmas market near Dublin's port.

Many homes in Dublin have these signs on their doors.
I wonder how effective they are...

Mulligan's Pub, where we had a lovely dinner!

I should have come to Dublin for Thanksgiving!
That's green beans, garlic mashed potatoes,
a nut loaf, and onion gravy.  MMM!

the inside of Mulligan's

traditional musicians at Hughes, another pub

Hughes from the outside

the Spire, on O'Connell St 

Sugarloaf Mountain

some of the beautiful Irish countryside

me, enjoying the fresh air

the source of the River Liffey

The lake owned by Guinness, which provides the water for their beer.

me, taking in the greenness of it all

We stopped here for morning tea.

Nothing says delicious like a freshly baked scone with jam!

The café where we ate said scones and tea, in Roundwood.

the entrance to an old (9th-12th century) Irish village

There was a giant old tower there...

...and a very old cathedral.

There were actually a bunch of chapels there.
(It was primarily run by monks.)

St. Kevin's pillar.  If you can reach your arms around it, you get a wish!
(I guess I don't get a wish.  Oh well.)

Glen Da Loch, the Valley of Two Lakes
(Here I am in front of one of them.)

the pub in Avoca where we ate lunch

the inside of the pub

We got to take a tour of Ireland's oldest mill!

We saw lots of sheep in the countryside, too!

a blanket in the making

the Guinness Factory

The Guinness Storehouse, which we toured.

how Guinness is made

our complimentary pints

a view of Dublin from the Guinness Gravity Bar

me enjoying my Guinness

We had a nice lunch in this little pub.

The inside of St. Michan's church... 

...known for its crypts!

The doors are tiny!
We got to touch an 800-year-old mummy!
(But we couldn't take photos...)

St. Michan's from the outside