Buswells is perfectly located as it is within short walking distances of Trinity College, Grafton Street, St Stephens Green, & the National Library & Museum, to name just a few. It's an elegant Georgian Hotel with its own Restaurant & Bar & Breakfast Room.
 |
| Buswells Hotel, Molesworth St, Dublin |
We settled into our room at Buswells then headed out for a walk to the Dublin Tourism Centre [Suffolk St] just off Grafton street, to collect our 2 day Hop on Hop Off Bus ticket & our 2 day Dublin Pass ticket, which were kindly provided for us by Tourism Ireland NZ. These two tickets would sort out our transport & get us in to most of the attractions around the city. Perfect!
It was drizzling slightly & we were hungry, so we dropped in to the Avoca Shop & Restaurant, also on Suffolk Street across from the Tourism Centre.
 |
| Avoca Shop & Restaurant, Suffolk St, Dublin |
 |
| Avoca Cafe, Suffolk St, Dublin |
But the real treasure is on the fourth floor in their busy, bright & artsy cafe. The place was heaving with people but despite this we were served quickly by their attentive, uber friendly, predominately male staff. I've talked this place up on purpose, because it really is worth a visit. I can certainly recommend the homemade lemonade if you're thirsty!
The drizzle had abated by the time we left Avoca's so we ambled along to Molly Malone's statue at the end of the street. The bronze statue of Molly Malone commemorates the young woman featured in the local ballad, 'Cockles and Mussels'. As the song goes, this beautiful woman plied her trade as a fishmonger through the streets where her statue now rests, until she suddenly died of a fever.
 |
| Homemade Lemonade, Avoca Restaurant, Dublin |
The drizzle had abated by the time we left Avoca's so we ambled along to Molly Malone's statue at the end of the street. The bronze statue of Molly Malone commemorates the young woman featured in the local ballad, 'Cockles and Mussels'. As the song goes, this beautiful woman plied her trade as a fishmonger through the streets where her statue now rests, until she suddenly died of a fever.
 |
| Molly Malone Statue, cnr Suffolk & Grafton Street, Dublin |
This beautiful bosomy woman is colloquially referred to by the locals as the 'tart with the cart', 'the dish with the fish', 'the trollop with the scallop(s)', 'the dolly with the trolley' & 'the flirt with the skirt'.
One of the things you notice quite quickly about the lovely Molly, is how shiny her bosom is. I suspect it is not merely the natural weathering of bronze & a group of men who surrounded Molly after I took this photo [above], confirmed what we all know to be true about how Molly gets her shine!
 |
| The Much Fondled Molly Malone, Dublin |
Bidding Molly goodbye, we hopped on the Hop On, Hop Off bus to St Patrick's Cathedral
Built in honour of Ireland’s patron saint, St Patrick’s Cathedral stands adjacent to the famous Well where tradition has it St Patrick baptized converts on his visit to Dublin.
 |
| St Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin |
The present building, the largest church in Ireland, was built between 1191 and 1270.
However, because of a major rebuilding in the 1870's prompted by the belief that the cathedral was in imminent danger of collapse, much of the current building and decoration dates from the Victorian era. Though the rebuild ensured the survival of the cathedral, a failure to preserve records of the rebuild means that little is known as to how much of the current building is genuinely medieval and how much is Victorian.
 |
| The Nave, St Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin |
 |
| Stained glass window, St Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin |
 |
| The Nave, St Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin |
In the grounds of St Patrick's Cathedral, is a statue of Sir Benjamin Guinness. Born in Dublin, he was the grandson of the Arthur Guinness who founded the Guinness Brewery in 1759. He joined his father in the business at an early age, and in 1839 took sole control. By 1855, when his father died, Guinness had become the richest man in Ireland, having built up a huge export trade and by continually enlarging his brewery.
 |
| Sir Benjamin Lee Guinness Statue, St Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin |
From 1860 to 1865, Sir Benjamin Guinness undertook, at his own expense, the restoration of the St Patrick's Cathedral, an enterprise that cost over £150,000.
 |
| Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin |
The 'HO-HO' [that's short for Hop On Hop Off] Bus was on it's last circuit when we climbed back aboard, so decided to stay on it till we could get back off near the Temple Bar area. It had crossed our minds that we might be able to get in a tour of the Guinness Storehouse but as we approached the entrance to the Storehouse, we could see a 50 - 75 metre queue stretching from the front entrance, right around the corner on to Grand Canal Place! Obviously, the thousands of tourists in Dublin for St Paddy's Weekend, were getting in some sightseeing tours before the big celebrations tomorrow hence, we found the same at Kilmaninham Gaol with all tours of the Gaol, well booked out.
 |
| The River Liffey, Dublin |
 |
| The Halfpenny Bridge over the River Liffey, Dublin |
 |
| Temple Bar, Dublin |
 |
| Spot the Tourist, Dublin |
 |
| The Old Storehouse Bar & Restaurant, Temple Bar, Dublin |
It was dusk by the time we reached the Temple Bar area & the cobbled streets were packed with people. The soft glowing lights outside The Old Storehouse Bar & the distant sounds of Irish music from within, beckoned us. It was here we stayed for a good meal, lively music & fabulous atmosphere.
St Paddy's Day Eve, The Old Storehouse, Temple Bar, Dublin
 |
| The Temple Bar, Dublin |
No comments:
Post a Comment