Planes, Trains and Automobiles

I've had a fun week off work this week!

My husband and I went to Dublin on Monday for a couple of days.  Our journey there involved a train ride to the airport, a flight over to Ireland, and then a bus ride into the centre of Dublin...

We stayed in the heart of the entertainment area, Temple Bar, and had a fantastic time!  We met one of my husband's Irish relatives (second cousin) whilst there, and visited several of Dublin's main attractions:

Kilmainham Jail was very thought-provoking.  The guide was excellent, and provided lots of information about the uprising in 1916 and the Civil War in the 1920s.

Christ Church Cathedral was a lovely piece of architecture, with lots of classical stoneware and tiling inside.

The Ha'penny Bridge is an unusual bridge going over the River Liffey... and people have left padlocks on the bridge - many of which had names and dates on them.

We had a look in the Jervis Shopping Centre, and their Christmas decorations were fabulous!

We couldn't go to Dublin without going in The Temple Bar pub...even though the price of beer was quite ridiculous - nearly 7 Euros for a pint!  The pub was nice, though, with traditional Irish music being played.

We stayed at the Temple Bar Hotel, right in the middle of the Temple Bar area.  It was an excellent hotel, although I needed earplugs during the night due to the noise from the club nearby (I am a light sleeper...).

Our final place to visit in Dublin was the National Leprechaun Museum...It was a bit of fun, and we learned a lot about Irish folklore from the guide!  There was a Giant's living room, where (if you could jump high enough...) you could 'climb' onto the furniture and pretend you're a leprechaun:

We also visited Trinity College, where the Book of Kells is on display, and Dublin Castle.

The rest of the week has been spent shopping for Christmas presents, stitching and relaxing...but the week seems to have passed so quickly, and we're back at work on Monday...

I'll post my usual weekly stitching update tomorrow when I change my rotation piece.

Happy Stitching!