Ireland Travel
Once Upon A Time...
We expect to see castles in Ireland, along with other archtypical symbols of a people who have long been considered "a little different" from the rest of Europe. And Ireland is all as you imagine it is... or at least some of it is that way. This Ireland 'castle' is actually Kylemore Abbey, in Galway, on the other side of the Island from Dublin. Certainly, this Celtic stronghold fills the bill as to a fine first impression of the Emerald Isle.
But more than likely, you will come into the Irish Republic on the east side, either by airplane to Shannon Airport 10 miles north of Dublin, or via the ferries that run to Dublin Ireland
from the English and French coasts.
And so you'll come
to Dublin.
DUBLIN is a town in transition. Walk the streets of the central city, and you will find all the charm you wish to see. Some of it is old. Some of it needs refurbishing. Some of it should be just cleaned up a bit and left in all it's Georgian glory as a link to the past. Next door, in some places, you will see brand new spires of technoglass, the new monuments to an e-economy that has brought Dublin great wealth in the past decade. But you won't see many of those on these pages.
In the pictues above, you see a bridge. That is the famous O'Connell Street Bridge that anchors Lower O'Connell Street to the River Liffey. It has been the center of this small capitol city for a long, long time. The River Liffey runs through
Dublin like an ancient dream, reminding the people of Ireland that the reality of life
is more than just buildings.
The rest of the pictures are of places on the quays, which are the streets that run on both sides of the Liffey, and change name about every other block. Note the traffic. This is very, very light for Dublin. Being in transition, there are not enough cabs,
too many cars, buses that try to take up the slack but are hard pressed,
and the new DART transportation system that is absolutely first rate,
but has only one line at present.
The Customs House. Situated just west of O'Connell Street Bridge, it is just at the edge of a string of pubs and small hotels that extend from the city center. The Customs House was badly damaged in 1921, but has been restored and now houses the Irish Department of the Environment. Tours through the more historic portion are available on a walk-in basis, although just looking that the huge structure as you pass by gives you a great sense of what it must have meant in years past.
The Georgian Doors of Dublin Ireland are a trademark of the city. Although common through the colonies in America and elsewhere in the 18th century, the Irish seem to take a special delight in keeping them in first-class shape, and in painting them the brightest of primary colors today. The effect is remarkable. You see them all over Dublin, in small neighborhoods on private doors, at the entrance of bed and breakfasts, hotels and other establishments.
If you are of Irish ancestery in any way (are we not all Irish in some way) it is really fun to see your Family Crest. Click Here and take a look.
The next page is about provisioning in Dublin.
If you'd like to find out about that,
click Here.
Alternately, you can
go on to Galway on the west coast of Ireland, or go up north to Belfast.
here on informationeurope.com.
Travel Europe the way Europeans do
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