Final Day In And Around Dublin
So, again, an incredibly bad Internet connection in our guest house prevented me from uploading pictures and posting to the blog last night so here I am, bright and early, at Schiphol trying to catch up! I do have a 4 hour layover so I need sometime to keep me occupied...although, and don't judge, I did find the wonderful Dutch black liquorice candies in the gift shop that I am now enjoying at 10:00am! Of course, I have been up since 2:45 am so I figure that's okay.
Yesterday was our last day in Dublin and of our trip. We didn't really plan for much but woke up, went to for breakfast and decided to see if there were any half-day trips out of the city. We did find one, a 4 1/2 hour tour of the immediate vicinity to the Malahide Castle and to Howth, a lovely seaside town, along the Irish coast.
I have been quietly lamenting the fact that, while the castles we see and tour are neat, they haven't really been giving me insight into how people lived inside them. However, Malahide was lived in by its original descendants until sometime in the 1970's and then sold by the last living descendant to the tourism agency in order to preserve its history. The castle was open for guided tours, which took us through the receiving hall, the drawing room, the formal dining hall and the bedrooms. We walked up the original cantilevered staircase, built when the castle was erected in the 1400's. It was really quite magnificent, and to think someone fairly recently was able to live in this beautiful building! The Tremblay's who owned the castle originally were very rich and the castle still shows signs of their wealth, through the furniture dating back to King Henry the II, the Italian marble, and the priceless paintings that stand guard over the common rooms.
Additionally, the family had a love of gardens and trees so the grounds are adorned with timeless trees and gorgeously maintained flowers. There is a 800+ year old oak tree and a 450+ year old Jerusalem spruce tree right on site.
An abbey sits beside the castle where the remains of many of the descendants lie.
The view along the coast was also pretty spectacular and we had a wonderful day for the tour. The sun was shining, the air was clear, and the temperature pretty darn warm for September in Ireland (18 degrees). Our guide, Eion, was super, too - he talked the entire trip and told us stories, jokes, and other tidbits of Irish history. The town of Howth was so pretty and quaint - I think it would be great to come back to Ireland and spend a few days in the low-paced world of this seaside, fishing village.
Last night was pretty low key - we hit a pub, O'Shea's, near our guest house for one last Irish pub pint and went to bed early due to our insanely early morning! Our flight left Dublin a little late and Lee had about 45 minutes between landing and departing her flight to Toronto. I haven't heard from her so I guess she made it okay! I had a loooong walk from the gate we arrived at to the one assigned to our flight to Calgary so I was hoping she didn't have quite the same trek!
It's been a fun 10 days and I now know I would like to return to Ireland to see more of the country. Of course, with so many other places to see, I still think it would be ideal to save up and spend a year over in Europe to try to see all the amazing sites and learn more about its rich history and art culture!
(And, I am almost done my liquorice...)
Yesterday was our last day in Dublin and of our trip. We didn't really plan for much but woke up, went to for breakfast and decided to see if there were any half-day trips out of the city. We did find one, a 4 1/2 hour tour of the immediate vicinity to the Malahide Castle and to Howth, a lovely seaside town, along the Irish coast.
I have been quietly lamenting the fact that, while the castles we see and tour are neat, they haven't really been giving me insight into how people lived inside them. However, Malahide was lived in by its original descendants until sometime in the 1970's and then sold by the last living descendant to the tourism agency in order to preserve its history. The castle was open for guided tours, which took us through the receiving hall, the drawing room, the formal dining hall and the bedrooms. We walked up the original cantilevered staircase, built when the castle was erected in the 1400's. It was really quite magnificent, and to think someone fairly recently was able to live in this beautiful building! The Tremblay's who owned the castle originally were very rich and the castle still shows signs of their wealth, through the furniture dating back to King Henry the II, the Italian marble, and the priceless paintings that stand guard over the common rooms.
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| Malahide Castle |
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| Receiving Room - Original Oak Wall Panels, Secret "Monks Passage" presumed to be behind the two panelled doors |
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| Ladies' Drawing Room |
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| Lady of the House's Bedroom |
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| Formal Dining Room |
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| Jerusalem Spruce Tree |
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| Malahide from the Rear |
The view along the coast was also pretty spectacular and we had a wonderful day for the tour. The sun was shining, the air was clear, and the temperature pretty darn warm for September in Ireland (18 degrees). Our guide, Eion, was super, too - he talked the entire trip and told us stories, jokes, and other tidbits of Irish history. The town of Howth was so pretty and quaint - I think it would be great to come back to Ireland and spend a few days in the low-paced world of this seaside, fishing village.
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| Howth Lighthouse |
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| An old abbey in Howth |
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| View of Irish Coast from the Opposite Coast near Howth |
Last night was pretty low key - we hit a pub, O'Shea's, near our guest house for one last Irish pub pint and went to bed early due to our insanely early morning! Our flight left Dublin a little late and Lee had about 45 minutes between landing and departing her flight to Toronto. I haven't heard from her so I guess she made it okay! I had a loooong walk from the gate we arrived at to the one assigned to our flight to Calgary so I was hoping she didn't have quite the same trek!
It's been a fun 10 days and I now know I would like to return to Ireland to see more of the country. Of course, with so many other places to see, I still think it would be ideal to save up and spend a year over in Europe to try to see all the amazing sites and learn more about its rich history and art culture!
(And, I am almost done my liquorice...)
Great posts Daina. Thanks so much for sharing your adventures! Shari
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