Past POIs - Molly Malone Statue [Dublin, Ireland]

We seem to run across a good amount of statues while in Europe and Ireland is no different. Today I will be talking about the Molly Malone statue that we saw while in Dublin.

Oddly, we don't really think much about the statues that we wander by, we normally just snap pictures and just walk on our merry way to the next thing that catches our eye. For today's Past Point of Interest, Molly Malone is a statue based on a song actually and is a popular song in Dublin, commonly referred to as either Cockles and Mussels or In Dublin's Fair City. The statue was unveiled in 1988 and has been moved from it's original location on Grafton Street, Dublin to where it is now, Suffolk Street, Dublin.

Due to people being a bit curious, you will notice that there is a bit of a shine to her breasts. I probably could've learned all this from the plague in front of her now that I look at my picture, but who has the time for that!

Come back next time for another Past Point of Interest!

Past POIs - Kilmainham Gaol [Dublin, Ireland]

Opened in 1796, Kilmainham Gaol was the county gaol for Dublin at the time and it had its doors open until 1924 when it was shut down, now it is open to public tours where you get to walk inside and see and feel what it is like to be inside Kilmainham Gaol.

We visited the gaol in 2016 when we visited Ireland and if you will only be in Dublin, I would say that it is worth a visit. When we were there, they were celebrating the 100th year of the Easter Rising and it was actually fully booked, so we had to make sure that we bought tickets ahead of time, I'm not sure if that is the case anymore, but just a word of caution.

Having visited the Crumlin Road Gaol in Northern Ireland, we were a bit let down by this one. It has to do with the pace in which you are escorted around in my opinion, you were constantly rushed from one point to another. However, there are a lot of cool looking sights if you have never been to a gaol before.

For those interested, visit the official website for more details at http://kilmainhamgaolmuseum.ie/

Come back next Friday for another Past Point of Interest!

Past POIs - Glasnevin Cemetery [Dublin, Ireland]

Glasnevin Cemetery was built in 1828 in Dublin and has some of the famous players from the 1916 uprising which was an important event in Ireland's history. The rising lead to the independence of Ireland from the British.

When you visit, try to sign up for a tour since the tour will guide you around the major sights and you learn a bit about the history behind what happened. Unfortunately for us, we signed up for the wrong tour and it was a bit more history-heavy than we would have preferred. Instead, we were hoping that we would have signed up for a tour that was more about the history of the cemetery itself.

Either way, I think the cemetery is a must see just due to the size and the variety of headstones that are present. Make sure to stop at the Gravediggers pub (or look for John Kavanagh) for a bit to eat since you are here anyways which has been here since 1833!

For more information about the site, visit their official site at http://www.glasnevintrust.ie/

Come back next Friday for another Past Point of Interest!

Past POIs - Guinness Storehouse [Dublin, Ireland]

Located in Dublin Ireland is the Guinness Storehouse which is something that Allison wanted to see, which was odd since she doesn't drink, but continue reading to find out why we ended up going and if it is worthwhile!

The 6 floors of the Guinness Storehouse.

Inside the Guinness Storehouse.

The Guinness Storehouse is 6 floors of Guinness, which is odd, since there is no 6th floor, it goes from 5th to 7th. The site is where they used to make Guinness in the past and now is a museum and tourist attraction dedicated to showing everyone how they make Guinness and what makes it unique. They also go through taste testing where they show you how you are supposed to drink it.

Me with four 1st pour Guinness'

Now, with your ticket is a voucher which gives you one pint of Guinness which is redeemable at the Gravity Bar on the 7th floor or you can go to the 4th floor and learn how to properly pour a pint of Guinness and at the end of the lesson, you get a certificate to acknowledge that you know how to do so. And this certificate is the reason that we came. The lesson is actually pretty neat since you actually need to do two pours in order to make a pint of Guinness and the glasses that they make are actually designed to assist the bartender to show them when they should stop. I thought it was actually quite interesting to learn how it is done. After we finished the lesson, we went to Gravity Bar and the place is packed, it made me glad that we did the lesson instead of trying to grab our pint there. It does provide a very nice view of the surrounding area though.

Our finished products.

We spent roughly 2.5 hours here and the tour is at your own pace. You can purchase tickets online, however the price is the same as if you walk in. Don't worry about the line, the storehouse is really big once you go inside.

Visit the official site for more information at https://www.guinness-storehouse.com/en

Come back next Friday for another Past Point of Interest!

Past POIs - Trinity College Library [Dublin, Ireland]

One of my must-sees while in Dublin, Ireland is the Trinity College Library. While I was there primarily for the Long Room, the Book of Kells exhibit that was there was pretty interesting as well.

Trinity College Library Long Room.

The Trinity College Library is the largest research library of Ireland and is designated as the legal deposit library for the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland, which means that they will get a copy of every book published within those countries. This amounts to over 100,000 new books every year and the library itself contains over 5,000,000 books, manuscripts, maps, and printed music.

Trinity College Library Long Room.

They don't allow photography in the Book of Kells exhibit, however, you can take photos in the Long Room. Admissions grants you access to the Book of Kells exhibit, seeing the Book of Kells itself, and the Long Room.

Your duration of stay depends on how much time you spend in the Book of Kells exhibit and how long you take in the Long Room. We spent about 1 hour here. Make sure to come early since tours happen and they have priority.

For more information, visit the official site at https://www.tcd.ie/visitors/book-of-kells/

Come back next Friday for another Past Point of Interest!

Ireland - Day 11 (Dublin)

Today, Glasnevin Cemetery tour and Kilmainham Gaol as our last day here.

Glasnevin Cemetery.

Glasnevin Cemetery.

Glasnevin Cemetery.

Started the day with Glasnevin tour which was about the 1916 Rising which after the tour, we still didn't quite understand much. 9:30am was the start of the tour and it lasted for 1.5 hours, it was too specific for us and since we did not know the history being the 1916, it didn't help us much at all. There is a general history tour, so that might have been better. The cemetery itself is really neat though, and hearing a bit of the history of it, the significance, and the cemetery itself, I thought was very neat and well worth visiting if you can. The tour cost us €24 for both. You can walk the cemetery for free and there is a parking lot nearby with cheap parking (I think it was €2 for 3 hours).

National Botanic Gardens.

Crostinis at The Gravediggers.

Pasta Bake at The Gravediggers.

Lunch will be at The Gravediggers which is nearby, however since we were still to early for lunch, we walked to the National Botanic Gardens next door for a little bit. The Gardens are very nice looking and very big, it is unfortunately that we didn't have more time to spend here.

The Gravediggers is the local pub which has been here for over 100 years! We ordered the pasta bake and the crostinis. It cost us just over €11, the portions are reflective of the cost, they were both smaller than what we have been used to seeing, however, the crostinis was really nice. The pasta bake was skippable. The menu changes daily, so you might not see what we ordered. Next to the restaurant is their pub and you should step inside for a look, it is really old and you can see how things were back in the day.

Kilmainham Gaol.

Kilmainham Gaol.

Kilmainham Gaol is next and we were there for the 2:45pm tour. If you need parking, park at the nearby Museum of Modern Art since there is no actual parking on site. It is about a 10 minute walk away and it cost about €3 for 3 hours if I remember correctly.

Kilmainham Gaol.

The Gaol was a bit boring compared to Crumlin Gaol. Kilmainham had a lot of history behind the 1916 Rising members, which again, we weren't very familiar with, so the tour was a bit lost on us. The interior was bigger in the hall area, which you can see from the photos, but the tour itself was quick, happened every 15 minutes, and we were done in 1 hour exactly. It seemed more rushed than Crumlin which might be why I was disappointed with this one.

Cottage Pie at Madigan's.

Gaelic Chicken at Madigan's.

With the Gaol finished, we decided to do some shopping in the shopping area and we ended up at Madigan's for dinner. Ordered the Gaelic Chicken and the Cottage Pie. The food was okay, nothing special. Cost us just under €28.

Sweet Republic.

We wandered the area a bit and ended up at Sweet Republic for dessert. We got a milkshake and an ice cream for €7.20. The ice cream here is REALLY big, so don't be scared by the price.

Overall, based on today's experience, if we had learned a bit about the 1916 Rising, we might have appreciated things more, but since we didn't, it felt a bit disappointing.

Tomorrow, we fly back to Toronto, so this will be my last daily post.

Ireland - Day 9 (Dublin)

Today, we visit the English Market in Cork, Rock of Cashel on the way to Dublin and Dublin itself as our final stop.

Breakfast at The Kingsley.

Breakfast at The Kingsley.

Breakfast at The Kingsley.

Breakfast at The Kingsley.

Breakfast at The Kingsley.

View from Breakfast at The Kingsley.

View from Breakfast at The Kingsley.

Breakfast at The Kingsley.

Time to check out the breakfast at The Kingsley! Included is the regular Irish Breakfast, however, all the items are on hot plates, but you can get it cooked to order as well. There are also a bunch of dishes that you can order off the menu and it is included, there are some items that a supplement charge to them though. There are a wide variety of breakfast cereals, mini pastries, fruit, and even a cold meat and cheese tray. I was very impressed and it comes with a really nice view of the river.

English Market at Cork.

English Market at Cork.

English Market at Cork.

English Market at Cork.

English Market at Cork.

English Market at Cork.

First stop, the English Market, it is located in the downtown area, but since we stayed a bit out of the way, we drove and parked at the Paul St parking lot, just off of the river. The English Market is over 100 years old and has lots of things to buy from treats to groceries. If you haven't been to a market, you should check it out. I don't think that it is very different from markets that I have visited before, but the variety of things there was neat to see.

Rock of Cashel.

Rock of Cashel.

Rock of Cashel.

Next stop, Rock of Cashel, which was arrived at by 12:00pm. We lucked out and made it for the tour at 12:30pm. The tour itself lasted about an hour and provides a lot of history of the site and it is a free tour. They talk about the past, how the restoration happened and the burials that still happen to this day. You also get a very nice view of the surrounding area since you are on top of a hill with no obstructions. There is a parking lot there, but it was full by the time we arrived. Luckily, there is plenty of nearby street parking, make sure to arrive back in time since you could only pay for two hours maximum. We finished the tour and Rock of Cashel itself by 2:00pm.

Lamb Burger at Cafe Hanz.

Crab, smoked salmon, shrimp and fennel salad at Cafe Hanz (Starter portion).

A short walk from Rock of Cashel (under 5 minutes) if Cafe Hanz which we stopped at for lunch. We ordered the lamb burger and a salad for €22. The food was quite good and is recommended by Michelin. It is a small shop though, so there might be a wait and the service was a bit slow.

Our loot!

Our loot!

After lunch, we drove the rest of the way to Dublin and made it to our hotel, Sandymount Hotel, by 5:00pm. We got room 122 and it is really really far away. The hallways were narrow, however, the room size was actually quite decent. Breakfast is not included in our stay, parking is included, and it is about a 15-20 minute walk from the city center.

Beef Rib Burger at Mulligan's.

Fish and Chips at Mulligan's.

We got some information about the area from the receptionist, unpacked and walked to Mulligan's for dinner, a pub that was a short walk away. We ordered the fish and chips and the beef rib burger and they were both okay. Nothing fancy, just under €30. We walked to boardwalk area for a bit after dinner and headed back to the hotel and called it a night.

Tomorrow, we visit Trinity College and wander the city center area.