I think I'm getting the knack for driving in city traffic in Ireland, having driven in both Belfast and Dublin. As fun as that sounds...driving a manual transmission car, shifting with the left hand, sitting on the opposite side of the car, driving on the opposite side of the road, dodging taxis, cars parked into the traffic lanes, and big city buses...I think I'm ready for some driving in the countryside.
After eating a hearty breakfast buffet at our castle hotel, we took a trip to downtown Dublin and a visit to St. Stephen's Green Park. After a walk around the park, we drove to a church that our friend Stuart recommended to us, the Grosvenor Road Baptist Church. We were warmly received and enjoyed the service.
By this time, it was lunchtime. We stopped at the store and bought some lunch supplies so we could make our lunch. We may do that since it can be expensive to eat out all the time. For the next three weeks, we'll be staying at B&B's every day so our breakfasts will be provided.
After lunch, we went to Dublin Castle where we were able to sign up for a tour. Dublin Castle has been on this site for hundreds of years. The Vikings controlled it for over 300 years and the English for over 700 years until the independence of Ireland in 1922. Now, it's the seat of government for the Republic of Ireland. The tour was very informative. During the tour, we were surprised to meet up with our friends, Paul and Becky, whom we had spent the past week with on the bike ride. It was purely coincidental that we met since we had said our goodbyes two days ago in Northen Ireland. Small world!
We went back to our hotel for a nap then ending coming back to the same parking lot while we ate at a Mongolian Barbeque. I can see I'm going to have to do some serious bike riding when I get home to work off some of these Irish calories.
I found while traveling in SA that I often incidentally ran into the same travelers farther down the road (in totally different countries even); to me this shows how select a part of those cultures we see, given that travelers in a variety of places are all picking the same places to visit. There are probably some mathematics to this, eh Dad?
ReplyDeleteI think you're right, Son. It seems coincidental but great minds often run on the same channel. :-)
DeleteOr another example: I can't think of the last time I visited Pike Place Market in Seattle; but that area is a kind of "home base" for international travelers. It's where the only hostels that I know about are located. There's also a short list of touristy spots that only come up in conversation when people are talking about where to take someone's out of town relatives. These visitors are visiting places that most of us only see when we're "showing visitors Seattle;" ironically the parts we almost never go ourselves. Traveling can be a bit funny this way - not that landmarks aren't worth seeing because some of them are especially, but I think finding opportunities to hang out with locals at local spots (or homes) is really worthwhile too.
ReplyDeleteI think history is related too. Like when you're visiting a place you want to find places that reflect the history; but when you've lived there for a while you have different pursuits. What do you think Dad?
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