Day 21 of 21 "Last full day in Ireland"

 There is still so much to see and do in Dublin that we had to narrow it down to just 3 places:  St. Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin Castle, and the Winding Stair Bookshop and Cafe. 

We ended up walking six miles to make a total of 101 miles this entire trip. Again, the weather was free of rain, cloudy and slightly windy, pleasant for the amount of walking we did.

We left Wren Urban Nest at 12:30pm and returned at 5:00pm. The trip feels complete. We'll rest up before dinner tonight, again at the Wren, fully pack for the plane ride home tomorrow, and hope to get a good night's sleep tonight. Tomorrow will be a very long day.

Here are a few pictures of today's adventures. I will probably post more after we get home, so for now, I'll call this the short version. A big THANK YOU! to everyone who traveled along with us. It helped me stay accountable to the blog and keep track of all that we did these past 3 weeks. It was also fun to stay in touch with texts. Technology is so amazing. It was as if we were texting each other next door, it's so fast. Have a fun and safe weekend. We'll be jetlagged and doing our best to get back on EST asap.

St. Patrick's Cathedral  so much to see and so little time. We walked by and took a few photos.  

Below is the Dublin Castle.



The Dublin Castle isn't nearly as impressive as the other castles we've seen, and we didn't tour the inside, but it's still a castle with a great deal of history.


The Winding Stair Book Shop and Cafe was really two separate places next door to each other. There was a very small bookshop where we bought the classic "Death of a Naturalist" by Seamus Heaney recommended by the English teacher we met on the train. Next to the shop was a narrow winding staircase that took us up 3 flights that offered a fantastic view of one of the bridges across the River Liffey. The Winding Stair is one of the oldest restaurants in Dublin. They had an extensive wine list and wonderful ambiance, but we weren't ready to eat or drink, so we just looked around and continued on our walk through Dublin.


The two pictures above were taken inside the Church Cafe Bar and Restaurant.  Patrick had heard about this bar and wanted to order "a pint of plain" and sit awhile.  I found the (sometimes) elusive Dingle Gin on the shelf, but I'm pacing myself today and passed on the adult beverage. While we were there we learned that this is the church where Arthur Guinness, founder of Guinness brewery, married Olivia back in 1761 when it was St. Mary's Church. It's a beautiful venue.

I'm relying on website links to offer more pictures and tell more of the story today, so click away if you'd like more info. 

There's a saying, "When you start looking like your passport photo, it's time to go home." Today is the day it all caught up with me. Maybe someday we can come back to the Emerald Isle and be brave enough to rent a car. There is so much more to see off the public transportation path, and for this trip, we wouldn't have done it any other way. We loved every minute. 🍀

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