Last Look at Dublin...

...And My Last Post on Ireland!

I spent our final two days in Ireland hanging out in
Lucan and getting ready to leave. There wasn't that
much to do, but I was still all over the place like I
always seem to be during a big move. David just loves
that about me! Anyway, I calmed down that Tuesday
evening when we had dinner with Deirdre and Mark
in Maynooth at a fabulous Italian place. It was a nice
send off.

The day before all that was the last Monday in August,
and that was also my last trip into Dublin. I went into
town early-ish that day to get my hair color done, and
then, I just went walking. It was a really fun outing. I
covered a lot of the city -- poking around and taking a
nice, long last look through my camera. It wanted to
rain all day, but aside from a few sprinkels, it held off
until just before I got on the bus to come back to Lucan.
The photo gods were with me!

Dublin is a really fun city that I'm so glad I've had a
chance to get to know. And I hope you enjoy the last
look at Dublin that I'll be able to bring you...


A sign on Dame Street


Lunchtime at St. Steven's Green


This building top statue leans on a harp, the symbol
of Ireland.


The man to the right is selling these little dancing, singing
leprichons. The man to the left stopped to chat.


Just a little architectural detail.


Street signs directing people to the three main areas for
shopping, eating and drinking. Grafton and Henry Streets
along with the Temple Bar area.


My name : )


Statues on Dame Street


A sign outside Hard Rock Cafe in Temple Bar. Makes me
laugh everytime I see it.


The milk man was here. This was sitting outside a shop
that morning waiting to be brought inside.


Lantern outside The Bank of Ireland


Shopping Center. I think this one is called
PowersCourt. Not 100% sure about that
though. It's right by St. Steven's Green
on the south side of the keys.


I was crouched down to get a picture when these kids
drove up and were all about getting in front of the camera.
They wanted to know if they were going to be on a website.
This site won't get much traffic, but here they are!


A buidling I liked.


Tourists who just got into town.






This is where I got my hair done while I was here. They gave
the best head massages during shampoo time. It'll be back to
the student salon for me in the states!


Ardmac, the company David has been working for out here,
had signs up around a construction site in Dublin. This
particular site is a bank with a courtyard area in front where
a lot of people meetup.


A man, probably around 22 years of age, sits on the
Ha'Penney Bridge in the morning collecting change.


These lampposts are all over town. The
shamrock featured here was used by
St. Patrick to explain the Trinity. He said
if a shamrock could have three clovers,
then God could have three beings.


Girl on the street. Just a little fashion peak.
This is a fairly typical outfit on the 20-something
woman here.


I took this for David.


This is on the outside of a coffee shop
next to where I pick up the bus to go back
to Dublin.


Four bikers speed by the crosswalk
at the edge of Grafton Street


Building top against the sky


This is the doorman at Brown Thomas, a department
store in Dublin. I can't really think of a time I've been
in town that he was not there. Always with a smile.


Court building


Cross in the sky


Bike rack outside of St. Steven's Green


Another shot of the same bike rack in black and white


Bus stop sign


Side street


Guinness Factory


This store is almost comparable to Crate and Barrel.
Cute stuff.


The leaves were just barely starting to change colors
as we were leaving. A few had already fallen and
collected here on the bridge.


Horse drawn carriage ride, anyone?


This man sits outside in the same spot everyday
with his open briefcase, collecting change.


Launderette. I think I shared before that
you drop your clothes off here if you want
to have them washed and dried. Ireland
doesn't have laundry mats where you can
go in and do your own laundry like we have
inthe states.


Lamp posts on Dame Street


This is Sweet Molly Malone. She sold fish from
her cart by day and was a prostitute by night.
She was sometimes called the tart with the cart.
The drivers on the Dublin Bus Tour like to say
that she was celibate. She'd sell-a-bit here and
sell-a-bit there.


There's a lot to look at in Dublin! This is a view from the
south side of the keys overlooking O'Connell Street.


Pub painter


Apparently Neil eats poo. Good to know.
This was graffiti on the base of a lamp post.
I'm sure anyone who noticed me taking this
picture thought I was some kind of sick-o.


Shoe store sign


For the life of me I cannot think of the name of this building
right now, but it's by Fitzsimons Hotel and Temple Bar. The
relief design around it is pretty cool.


A closer look at the relief shown above.


This is the only pet store we saw in and around Dublin, and
it's tiny compared to what we're use to in the states. No
PetSmart here! I popped in one day to see what they had,
back when we thought we'd be sending Killian over to join
us. They had maybe three kinds of dog food to choose from.
And that's probably all they need, but it's different than in
the states where there are 15 brands and 10 varieties
within each brand. We're so spoiled in America!!


A street artist sets up to create a murral on the sidewalk
across from Trinity College in Dublin. He builds a
perimeter of bags, soda bottles and bowls for change to
protect his work from pedestrains' footprints as they
walk by.


This is a look at what he was creating. It's called 'Girl in
a Boat'.


The Ryder Cup is coming! The Ryder Cup is coming!
This sign is in Collins Barracks in front of the National
Museum of Decorative Arts and History where they'll
have a special showcase related to the Ryder Cup which
is coming to the area in September.


A man loads his papers for delivery in the back
of his bike and heads through his route, stopping
here at a news stand on Graffton.


Another shot in black and white. For some reason, this was
among my favorite shots of the day.


Clever name for a pub, huh?


Sculpture outside Dublin City Council Building


Sign in the ad shell at the bus stop...
The last time I picked up the bus while I
was in Ireland. Ads here crack me up!
Their television commercials especially.

And that concludes my last day in Dublin
and my last blog post on Ireland! I can't
believe it's over. We really enjoyed our time
here, and I'm so happy this is part of 'our story'
now. I think we both learned a lot throughout
the last six months -- what it's like to live in
another country and adapt to another culture.
Also, having something to directly compare the
United States to has helped us understand our
own country and culture better. And, as we
have everytime we've moved togethyer, we've
learned a lot about ourselves both individually
and as a couple.

We both appreciate everything the people at
Ardmac did to make our visit in Ireland a very
special one. And also, thanks to both PCI
and Ardmac for the opportunity. Cheers!!