Day 5

With just a few days left of our trip, all of us stayed in Dublin with the exception of Sister Mary O.  She was the only Saint to hop the tour bus for Belfast. 

Belfast is located on the Irish Sea, and is Northern Ireland’s capital with a population of 500,000.  It’s an exciting mix of new and old, marked by Victorian and Edwardian architecture. 

In Belfast Sister Mary O. toured the remnants of Europe’s largest ship building yards including the still working Harland & Wolff shipyard, where the infamous Titanic was built.  She also spent free time strolling down the famous shopping street, Royal Avenue, dotted with department stores, bustling city squares, friendly pubs, and notable museums. 

The rest of us enjoyed the day of sightseeing and shopping in Dublin.  Our hotel is located in a wonderful part of town close to the Cathedral District, two public parks (Merrion Square and St. Stephen’s Green), Trinity College, the Viking/Medieval Area, as well as various museums and art galleries and a fantastic shopping area up and down Grafton Street leading up to Stephen’s Green Shopping Centre which is home to the largest indoor clock in Europe. 

Beautiful fresh flowers are for sale throughout Dublin

Beautiful architectural buildings are everywhere in Dublin

Building with the domed top is a fantastic shopping mall that many of us visited :-)

While touring Trinity College again today, I noticed a bunch of student organizations promoting their clubs to all students in a courtyard area.  This is very similar to our CSS Student Activities Fair which was just held on campus last week. 

Students promoting their clubs and organizations at Trinity College

Most of us met in the hotel pub at 5:30 in order to for a much anticipated and advertised Worldwide Guiness Toast to Arthur at 5:59 p.m.  Sister arrived a little later than that from Belfast - so of course we all had to toast again!

Promotion for Worldwide Guiness Toast to Arthur

Us toasting Arthur at 5:59 p.m. - from left to right Mary Schwanke, me, Judy Bonovetz, Greg Bonovetz, Coleen Wood, Penny Hatcher, Larry Schwanke.

Tomorrow, our last day of touring, we will travel through the spectacular Dublin and Wicklow mountains to Glendalough, the “glen of the two lakes.” This verdant valley, surrounded by mountain vistas, is considered one of the most picturesque in Ireland.  I’m sure many photos will be taken and shared.