I recently spent a few days in Dublin, Ireland and enjoyed it very much. I would love to go back to see the attractions that I missed. There’s a lot to see, the people are friendly and the Guinness flows! I find that the best way to introduce yourself to a new city if you only have a short time is to take a sightseeing tour on an open top bus. We boarded one of the Hop On Hop Off buses with an informative driver/guide who even sang some traditional songs for us.

Our bus took us past the major features of the city, including Phoenix Park, where the President of Ireland and the US Ambassador have their residences. The main thoroughfare is called O’Connell Street and it’s dominated by the Spire of Dublin, a stainless steel spire that reaches 390 feet (120 meters) and tapers to a point. It was commissioned to celebrate the Millennium but was finished three years too late! The General Post Office building with its imposing Georgian façade is also on this street. It was the headquarters of the rebel leaders of the 1916 Easter Uprising when there was a street battle in the campaign for independence from the UK. Bullet holes can still be seen in the building’s columns.

There are some fine churches in the city, the oldest of which is Christ Church Cathedral, an Anglican cathedral dating back to the 11th century. We also took in the National Museum of Ireland, where we saw exhibits tracing Irish history, and the National Gallery of Ireland, that includes many Irish artists in its collection. Ireland has produced several writers over the years and some were alumni of Trinity College, including Jonathan Swift, Bram Stoker, Oscar Wilde, and Samuel Beckett. The public is allowed to view the Long Room at the library there. We also saw the Book of Kells exhibition, which displays pages from the beautifully illustrated gospels that Celtic monks created in the 8th century.

Dublin is a terrific place for those interested in history but it’s a modern city too with first class shopping, entertainment, and restaurants. We visited the Temple Bar area, a vibrant network of streets teeming with pubs with live music and traditional and modern cuisine. We found a pub with a traditional band playing old favorites on a banjo, fiddle and tin whistle. Irish food is simple, nourishing and tasty. I enjoyed the Irish Stew and the Boxty, which is a potato pancake with various fillings.

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Ireland is a welcoming place, but on the expensive side at the moment, because of the exchange rate on the Euro currency. It has such a fascinating cultural heritage and it is keen to preserve its identity. We were pleased to see that all signs are printed in Gaelic as well as English.

Transport Facts:
Dublin has the one airport with good bus connections between the airport and the city center. The carrier airline is Aer Lingus, which flies to Dublin from various European cities and from the USA. Other scheduled services include American Airlines from Chicago-O’Hare, Delta Airlines from Atlanta and New York-JFK, US Airways from Philadelphia, and Air Canada from Toronto-Pearson.

There are also ferry services from Dublin to Wales and England.