We used the new motorway to drive to Dublin. The only problem we had was at the end when we saw the sign for the park and ride a bit too late to use it. Fortunately we had no problem getting a park in a parking building but it wasn't cheap. As we left Dublin about 5 hours later we passed a few trams and then saw the park and ride at what seemed to be the end of the line.

We were lucky with the weather because the forecast had been poor but we didn’t get any rain . It was cold but we were dressed for the conditions so that wasn’t an issue. We did consider doing a 'hop on hop off bus trip’ but they seemed to offer heaps of deals with extra trips and 2 day options and the basic trip was relatively expensive. In the end we decided we would prefer to see what we could by walking.

There were a number of churches and cathedrals in the area we were in. Christchurch Cathedral had a lot of work happening in its grounds. Nearby were the remains of the chapter house of Augustinian canons who were on the site from 1163 to 1537. The new digging was going slowly because there were also 2 officials checking for archeological remains. We didn’t go inside but did read that Strongbow was buried in the cathedral in 1176. The original tomb was destroyed when the wall above and roof collapsed in 1562.

The civic offices are nearby. We had read that the excavations unearthed some priceless artifacts from the Viking era of Dublin history and many concerned historians and conservationists tried to block the construction of the offices . The citizens of Dublin were divided on the issue and this delayed the construction for quite a few years. In the end a compromise (or Irish solution!) was reached and we saw the new glass building.

We walked through the main shopping area. There were some different stores and also a lot of stalls in the street selling flowers. John even bought some shirts at Marks and Spencer.

We only saw part of Dublin but there were a number of sculptures. We saw Molly Malone and there were some buskers trying to piggy back on her to get donations by playing at the site. Nearby was the best living statue we have seen. Good enough to take a photo of and hence give a donation to. I also liked one showing children which was made for the millennium.

We went to Dublin Castle but didn’t do the tour as it was about an hour. The castle is not always open for tourists as it is used for State occasions as well . We went into the Chapel Royal, which had wonderful oak woodwork, stained glass and an organ. It was built in 1814 in gothic style. There are a number of museums in the buildings as well.

We enjoyed visiting the castle grounds. The centre was grass but with a brick pattern that we saw children having fun following. Around the edge were a lot of seats and sculptures. The grounds were not big which I thought made them especially nice to visit because they were accessible.

We did a cache here and it has an interesting note. There are ancient tunnels under the city which can be traced back to the major sites like this one. It is rumoured that there is even a wide passageway which travels from Dublin Castle all the way to the centre of the Phoenix Park which is several miles west of here. It is interesting to note the "official" silence on such matters when discussion takes place about creating an underground Metro system for a city that has badly needed one for the last 30 years.

All through the city it was clear that Guinness is based here. Every pub had Guinness signage and all the souvenir shops had Guinness items.

We had a good run back on the new motorway which has just been completed.

We then had tea at ‘Geoffs’, a pub in Waterford. We ended up sitting in the same bay as a couple from Queensland who were driving around Ireland. They started talking to us after we asked about internet – the password was ‘welcometothe bestpubinireland’. They managed to log on before us as we were not sure if capitals etc were required. The waiter in our area had been to NZ and Australia so had a chat when in the area. However he had gone when I went to pay and I ended up being overcharged. When I went back to query the total it turned out that the woman had charged us for a different table but was happy to give us the refund.