St. Patty's in Dublin!

Dublin for St. Patty's weekend, is something everyone should do once, so when my friend Slavi invited me to go, I had to agree.

Even our early morning flight from London didn't stop us from enjoying ourselves in the cute little city that is
Dublin.

The River Liffey that separates Dublin.


The Ha'penny Bridge, named so because of the toll that was once required to pass.

Our first visit of the day was to Dublin Castle

The Records Tower (the circular one) is the only original part.

a courtyard

Eventhough it's March, the sun was out, the weather was decent and the trees were budding.

After the castle we headed to St. Patrick's Cathedral, where Jonathan Swift (the man who wrote Gulliver's Travels) was once Dean.

After a day of culture, we were more than happy to make our way to the Temple Bar area, a street loaded with watering holes.

Slavi and I in the heart of Temple Bar

Apparently the city is always buzzing on the weekends, but this one certainly wins for spirit.

Getting into the spirit of it, I started my Irish drinking with a pint of Guiness.

This is Daniela, showing exactly how I feel about Guiness. One was enough!

We couldn't just drink in Dublin though, we got right into it with our lovely Leprechaun hats.

Unfortunately, after a few hours of drinking my hat didn't hold up.

That would be the rim that is hanging around my neck.

After the first night of drinking we got some more culture. Slavi was initially devastated that Dublin wasn't green, so we took a bus tour through the countryside.

This is a pole at the Reconcilliation Center where peace agreements have been signed by both the Republic and Northern Ireland.

Steps away from the Reconcilliation Center, the German cemetery holds soldiers lost in the war.

hands for peace

But the really great thing about the tour was seeing the beauty that makes up Ireland.

This loch (lake) is on the Guiness estate.

The little white building in the background (behind Slavi's left shoulder) is the Guiness Estate.

We also stopped by a lovely cemetery.

This river is at the meeting of the waters, where 2 rivers meet.

Night #2

started with some pre-drinking in the hotel.

and us pretending to be models. (That's Slavi's friend, Daniela in the middle)

After a bottle of wine, a shot of whiskey and some beer, it was difficult not to have fun.

But before we knew it we were at Dublin airport (after 3 hours of sleep)

watching a man on an ostrich...

and a leprechaun on stilts...

thrilled we'd gone to Dublin, but wishing we'd thought to take the later flight.