Dublin - vikings

Yesterday in Dublin was a rest day. Shane went to Trinity College for work so the girls and I hung out at our 'house'....we did some school-work, walked to the village and went and fed the swans...quite peaceful really.

Our 'house'...not quite as beautiful as many others in the village - but its fine for us!

In the evening after Shane came back - we walked up to the village and went to the local pub for a drink (or two)...

One of the things I love about Dublin (and this may be the case across all of Ireland) - are the flowers. They are in full bloom and they are EVERYWHERE! Most of the lamp-posts in the villages are covered in them and even some buildings....it is just a beautiful to see the colours...

It is nice to see a splash of brightness on an otherwise grey day.....

























Today - marks 3 weeks since we left for this adventure. In many ways it has gone so quickly but when I look back at all the things we have seen and done it does feel much longer....

This morning dawned bright and clear (we are now up 'early' at around 8am!). By 9am a fog had rolled in but it didn't seem like rain so we headed into the city to do some more exploring.

First stop was (of course) the playground at St Stephens Green. Since discovering it (and the baskety-swings/spinners) the girls have been desperate to go back. This time, on a Wednesday morning, the playground was almost deserted so the girls could go crazy on all the equipment.

Once that was out of their system we headed for the National Museum of Ireland (History and Archaeology). We chose this because the kids were keen to learn a bit about Vikings because about every 2 minutes in Dublin it seems we see a "Viking Splash" tour bus drive past. The Viking Splash bus is this monstrous yellow thing that drives around town (and eventually drives into the river Liffey that runs through Dublin) and everyone who goes on the bus has to wear viking helmets and yell loudly at people as they drive past. Must get a photo which might help explain it!

Anyway - the girls have been asking about Vikings (or "MyKings" as Eloise calls them) so we thought the museum was a good place to learn. It was a nice little museum that has a good display of viking stuff (although no helmets which left Neve slightly disappointed). Neve liked the viking model house and the dressed up figures. Eloise liked drawing on the children's activity sheets.

Neve practising to be a 'lady'

Viking model house with Neve pulling a 'viking face'



















After the museum we walked through town, to see Dublin Castle.

We walked past the Cathedral and then into 'Temple Bar' - an older area of Dublin that is famous for all of its pubs and nightlife. Not sure we will make it here in the evenings, however it is still a great place to go during the day and we grabbed some chips for lunch and sat down on some steps and listened to some buskers playing.

A stroll along the river-front and we were back at the dart station ready to come home. Neve is getting good at using the Dart and feels very grown up with her own ticket to insert into the machine.

Tomorrow we are hiring a car to venture further into Ireland....still not sure of the itinerary yet but will see where the road takes us.

3 weeks down - 10 weeks to go!!!!!