April 5th-7th - Dublin

The 5th of April brought us another good breakfast (I really loved the fresh fruit), and some good conversation with some of the other guests. We checked out, dropped our bags over at the Kilronan House, then went to return the car rental (Dan Dooley has a location on Westland Row), then went sightseeing. We purchased tickets for the Dublin Bus Hop on/Hop off bus (a ticket is good for 24hrs, unlimited use during that period) and went for a ride around the city. We did a full loop to see where we would want to return, then we got off at Trinity College. We saw the Book of Kells, luckily before the groups of international students came in so we weren't rushed or crowded. We walked down to the Tourism Center on Suffolk Street (inside what used to be St Andrews Church), took the Hop on/Hop off bus back to St Stephen's Green which we then walked through to go back to the Kilronan House (about a 15 minute walk). We checked in and were given room 12 (Mom & Dad) and room 15 (me). I was supposed to get a single ensuite room, but was informed that they upgraded me to a double. Very nice rooms. Mom & Dad were in the new section in a room with skylights, while I was in the original section of the house (my room had the toilet/shower in the bathroom but the sink was in the bedroom area). We settled in, had a coffee, relaxed for a little bit, then were off again. We walked back to the St Stephen's Green Hop on/Hop off stop and took it to O'Connell Street. We walked around but most of the stores were already closed. We had made reservations for dinner at the Knightsbridge Bar (at the Arlington Hotel) as they had a show with live music and dancing, and decided to head over there. This show is definately geared towards tourists, but the food was good and the entertainment was enjoyable. We then took a cab back to the Kilronan House.
Thursday started out with some great choices for breakfast, a nice variety. We again got onto the Dublin Bus at the St Stephen's Green stop and headed over to St Patrick's Cathedral. That was breathtaking! The only thing that we thought looked out of place was the gift shop inside (that didn't stop us from buying things though). We then walked over to the Temple Bar district, saw the Liffey River and the Ha' Penny bridge, walked past Trinity College, down to Grafton Street, and then ended up back at the Kilronan House. We got directions from Alex to the Harcourt Launderette and Dry Cleaners where we went to do laundry and were able to get onto the internet at the same time. Dinner was at Kitty's Bistro on Merrion Row (another recommendation from Alex).
We began our last full day in Dublin with breakfast at the B & B and then headed out to the LUAS station (Dublin's state of the art light rail transit system) and took a ride on it - between the St Stephen's Green station and the Sandyford station (roundtrip $3.90EUR per person). We explored the St Stephen's Green Shopping Centre, then Mom went to Dublina (an exhibit that portrays life in medieval Dublin), Dad did the Viking Tour of Dublin in a WWII vintage amphibious military vehicle called "Ducks" (http://www.vikingsplashtours.com/), and I looked at the Christchurch Cathedral, then hung out in the lobby of the Jury's Inn Christchurch waiting for my parents. I was able to have a coffee, sit on a comfy couch and stay dry while I waited (there were a few showers during the time I waited). We walked back through the city, ending up in Merrion Square taking pictures of the Oscar Wilde statue (getting caught in a rain storm on our walk). Dinner was at Foley's on Merrion Row, and then we headed back to the Kilronan House to pack up our stuff.