This is not an April fools post ;)

Beautiful weekend in Dublin – the sun was shining and the temp was in the high 40’s low 50’s. It was welcome weather with after a dreary week of overcast skies drizzle and chilly temps. So we got all our stuff together, jumped on the train and headed back downtown. There is a lot to see in Dublin and like the rest of Europe all of it’s old! Back home there are those old houses we all grew up in that were built in the 50’s and are in desperate need of remodeling. Here it’s more like St Patricks Cathedral (see right) that was built in 1191 ….hmmm… 300 years before Columbus even “discovered” America so I guess it’s a little older. The Cathedral is quite beautiful; aside from the many staues and monuments one finds in most old churches it also houses a carved stone that was said to cover a well St Patrick used to baptize converts – it’s estimated the carvings are made sometime around the year 800 AD. Speaking of 9^th century we also saw the book of kells. This is a bible containing the gospels and was painstakingly copied and illustrated (by hand of course) by the monks of Iona in the early 800s! Where is the book located, well at Trinity college in the 200,000 volume library that was built in the 1700’s -- of course. We also had a chance to see the remains of the Dublin Castle from medevil times when it was a walled city. There is a long and rich history of conquest in Ireland and Dublin was forever a city under siege.

While we are taking in all these new experiences and culture it’s nice to have a little piece of home every now again. A subway does nicely in this regard for lunch. While they look a little different on the outside the food is exactly the same on the inside!

After a ride through town on the double decker bus (always a fav of the kids) and a walk along the Liffe river we headed back to the train through the park at St. Stephens. Here we took a rest and the kids joined a game of tag – they were quick to learn the new rules of the game called “alaveo”, and of course they now know in Ireland when it’s your turn to chase your not “it”, your “on”. Well back to work (and school) on Monday, I hope the weather holds. Click here for A few more picts if you are interested.