May 4 - Dublin

Our b&b is called Ariel House. With our still off sleeping habits it's hard to get up in time for breakfast, but we make it. I choose fruit and pancakes. Love those b&b breakfasts, but no desire to try a full Irish one. All that sausage and pudding things don't appeal to me at all. I'm a breakfast traditionalist, MY traditions, that is!

Then we take the DART, the Dublin light rail into the city, only 2 stops away. We wander through Trinity College, go to the Book of Kells exhibit and the old Library. The Kells exhibit is good. Besides displaying the beautifully illuminated manuscripts, there is a clear explanation of how and why these books were made, which makes it much more interesting. The old library is so beautiful! Yards and yards of books in a gracefully arched space.

Back in the gift shop Lee buys a Trinity College baseball cap for, our first official souvineer of the trip, but more a purchase of necessity than desire, since he forgot to bring a hat and his head is feeling bare.

Next we stroll through the Temple Bar area (mostly bars) and Dublin castle, whose tower (although not the right one, that tower is actually somewhere on the coast) has me thinking of Stephen Dedalus and the beginning of Ulysses.

Then we walk over to to St. Patrick's cathedral, smaller and a bit more decrepit than St. Paul's. There's no mention of snakes but there is a memorial to Jonathan Swift, who was a health nut that bathed and exercised when such activities we're considered unnecessary.

Finally we head over to Grafton street, a shopping and restaurant area for coffee, cakes, and Irish berets for both of us. Its darn cold in Dublin and we both need something to cover our heads. My hat is a wool tam that I end up really liking and wearing all the time. We walk through St. stephen's Green and Marston Place on our way back on the train, beautiful bits of greenery in a somewhat grey city. We have time to rest a bit before eating at the Lobster Pot, another wonderful restaurant close to our b&b.

May 3rd- London to Dublin

One last run in Battersea Park, dry the last of our clothes, eat the last of our food. Back to the Mason Arms for one more lunch and then it's off to Heathrow and Dublin. Funny how in just a few days a city like London can start to become comfortable. Just enought time to get a general sense of what it's about, enough to wish we could come back often and explore more thoroughly.

Quite a flog to get to our flight, but we knew it woud be. Only 1 hour+ a bit to get to Dublin. A much smaller airport, more casual security. We get a cute little Mercedes for our car and decide that perhaps its best after all for Lee to be the only driver which save us 20 euros a day, and both our nerves. I can drive on the left from our years in Hong Kong, but the thought fills me with anxiety. I make a much better navigator than driver.

We have a gps, plug in the address of our b&b, and an easy 30 minute drive later there we are at Ariel House. Its outside the little town of Ballsbridge right outside Dublin City. Dublin is much smaller and more compact than London. By the time we check in its almost 8, so we walk the 5 minutes to the town center and eat at a little French place, French Paradox, where they squeeze us in at the bar even though we don't have a reservation. Flights of wine, I especially like the white, a Spanish allbino, and a light red Cabernet. Duck terrine, leek soup. One of the best restaurants we've eaten at this trip!