Many of you know that I was blessed enough to make a third trip to Sweden. Along with Sweden, I decided to make a 1 1/2 day side trip to Ireland. When else would I get the chance to go to Ireland, for just a couple hundred dollars.
I had posted some pictures on Facebook, but there are stories that I was unable to tell with just pictures. So here are some of the stories, with more pictures of course.
I left Kansas City on May 27. The flight to Chicago went smoothly. I knew I would only have about 30 minutes to get to the next gate, so in Chicago I hustled to get there. I had decided to only take a carry on (messenger bag) and a hiking back pack, which counted as my large carry on. No checked luggage. I'm still not sure if that was a good idea or not. It got really heavy when I had to move quickly, or go up hill, or just anytime really.
Back to the flights. I made it to the gate about 5 minutes before they started loading the plane. Whew. As a storm started to roll into Chicago, the plane was delayed for about 30 minutes. Making my supper start late (I wanted to go to sleep as soon as I could, but was starving.) This did however let me watch a movie. Other than the time issue, the flight went pretty well, but I didn't sleep well. That would make for a long next day.
I got into Heathrow about 9:20am (30 minutes late), which gave me only 30 minutes to get through the maze of hallways and 4 security check points. At times I was literally running in the airport and that backpack was getting heavier and heavier. But I got to the gate and got on the plane. Yes, I was the gross, sweaty, smelly person on that flight.
*Funny side note about flying into Heathrow. I had chosen Ireland over England, because flying to Ireland was cheaper (even though I had a connecting flight in London). Hmmm. I don't get it. I flew over Ireland 2 hours before I got on a flight to fly to Ireland. I think something is messed up there.
I finally got into Dublin airport about 11am on Wednesday, May 28. By the time I took the bus to Dublin city center I had about 4 1/2 hours before my bus to Belfast. Luckily the bus station had lockers. I felt so much lighter with out my bags.
The main thing in Dublin I wanted to see, was Dublin Castle. So that was stop one. (I mostly used my feet as transportation around the cities that I visited). So off I went.
Dublin Castle! It was established by English King John in 1204 AD, on the corner of the Viking town Dyflinn. I'm a sucker for this type of history. In this picture you see the Cathedral and one of the towers.
The beauty of this cathedral was amazing to see. I could have spent a lot of time in reflection and ah, but I knew I only had a limited amount of time to see more of the city.
This was the gardens of the castle. The building across from the garden in the above picture was the stables. I spent some time sitting on a bench (eating my lunch of a couple of granola bars and Slim Jims).
I was told (and believe it to be true) that it is very rare to see the sky so blue. It was perfect temperature the entire day. Where I was standing to take this picture was in front of the Chester Beatty Library. I somehow did not get a picture of this. I ducked into the library, and wish now I would have gone up to the roof, but at the time I just wanted to walk around the city more.
This is where my walking tour really began. Stay tuned for those pictures.
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