On to Dublin

April 27-28

Today we had to have our suitcases out for pickup by 7:00. We had breakfast and were aboard the bus by 8:00 for our trip to Dublin. It was drizzling as we left so we took advantage of it and got some extra shut eye.

We stopped at the Rock of Cashel. This is the ancient seat of the Kings of Ireland. It is also the place where Saint Patrick is reputed to have converted the Irish Kings to Christianity. We had a guided tour of the ruins.

We ate our lunch of a baggette with chicken and cheese while others from the group tried out a local pub. We then continued on to Dublin and our hotel.

We freshened up and at 5:45 proceeded to the Cooks Academy where we all worked together to prepare our meal. They divided us into groups of 8 and each person worked on a part of the meal. Since it was a type of ice breaker Coleen and I were in different groups. We each had the same job for our group and that was to chop the cabbage, carrot, and onions and then cook them. We also had honey glazed ham, scones, roasted potatoes, apple cake and a salad. It was really quite fun.

Saturday we got to sleep in a bit as we were staying in Dublin. The bus left at 9 and took us on a tour of the city. 

We stopped at St. Patrick's Cathedral and got a tour of the inside as well. It has been a place of worship since the time of the Vikings and was a Catholic place of worship until the time of King Henry VIII. Jonathan Swift is buried there and we saw the plaque in the floor.

We continued on to Phoenix Park which is two and a half times bigger than Central Park in New York City.

We returned to our hotel and Coleen rested as her cold was bothering her. At 2:45 we got back on the bus and went for a tour of the Guinness brewery. It was a special tour and we even got a pint when we were finished. We went to the top where there is a great view of Dublin but it was Saturday and it was crowded.

 Our last adventure in Dublin was an Irish Dinner followed by a music program called The Irish House Party. It was at a small local hotel the Lansdowne about a 15 minute walk from where we were staying. The dinner was very good and the music and dance was like a local get together by friends in a pub. We all had a good time and walked back together.