Today we set out to see the last quarter of Dublin that we hadn't yet got to - the north east. Lots of old buildings and churches, but more significant was the Guinness Brewery and Storehouse, and the Kilmainham Goal. The goal is principally remembered as the place where the 15 instigators of the Easter Rebellion in 1916 that ultimately led to Irish independence years later were shot by the British as traitors. It's also the old goal used in lots of movies such as The Italian Job (original), and even a U2 video. The tour lasted over an hour, but it seemed to go by in a snap.
Then on to Phoenix Park, reputed to be the oldest municipal park in Europe. We saw, amongst other things, the huge Wellington monument (British built of course), the zoo, the president's palace, the US Embassy (in the middle of the park!), and the spot where more than 1/3 of Ireland's population turned up to watch Pope John Paul II celebrate mass (and still they didn't get a cathedral).
Walked all the way back down the Liffey River past the courts to the city where we had fish and chips in a pub for tea. Calculated that we walked around 12 km today.
Dublin goes onto the list of cities I'd love to come back to. Lots of history and pride, friendly people, decent infrastructure and reasonable prices. The Big Mac index is about AU$8.50, though other food seems quite reasonably priced.
The web's original travel blog
