Wednesday August 24

After a lovely breakfast we headed into Dublin. There is a bus stop just outside our B&B. All the buses that stop there can take one to downtown Dublin. Nice and convenient.

We spent the day riding around on a Hop-on Hop-off bus seeing the sights. We also did a lot of walking. It was wonderful to see downtown Dublin and hear about its rich history. We saw Dublin Castle then walked up to Christchurch Cathedral. It is an Anglican Cathedral. It was beautiful. Restoration was done on the Crypt in 2000. This was a very interesting part beneath the cathedral. I had a nice soup there for lunch.

After lunch we went next door to see a museum were we saw exhibits about Viking and Medieval Dublin. This was housed in an extra part or the cathedral. It was amazing to see the influence the Vikings had on Ireland. The top floor of the museum was all about archaeology. The whole place was child friendly. We are sure glad we did not live in these eras.

Now tired with sore feet we hopped on the bus to travel to the Kilmainham Gaol. We got there in time for the 3pm tour. It was built in 1796 and closed in 1924. It had a fascinating history. When first built it was considered a new type of prison where inmates had their own cells. However like all prisons it became over crowded. Many executions took place here the last being in 1916. The 14 executions that took place then changed Irish history as it lead to the final separation from England. Now we were very tired so had supper downtown then headed back to the B&B.

Tomorrow we are going out to Malahide Castle for the day then hope to see RiverDance in the evening. Will probably not post for a few days as we will not have internet access.