Dublin

Our first stop enroute to the wedding... Dublin. We were jet-lagged and on a mission to keep moving. We arrived at about 9am, managed to find out luggage and the ride to the hotel. Our rooms weren't ready, so we quickly freshened up and took a cab downtown.

Then... we discovered Dublin traffic (horrible!) and an annoyingly rude cab driver. Once we were out of the cab, however, things got much better. We walked around the old town, found the River Liffey, and had a nice lunch. We walked to Dublinia, a "hands-on" historical museum which we loved. While there, Mom and Dad found themselves tired out, so they took a cab back to the hotel. Amazingly, Alex, Stefan and I still had energy. We had a quick stop outside the museum by a beautiful cathedral, and then walked many, many blocks to the Guiness brewery. (note: I was so impressed on this trip with Alex's ability to keep up with us... granted, he had his "five-year-old-moments" but overall he proved to be an amazing traveller)

The Guiness brewery was phenominal. Expensive, yes, but filled with great displays. The building itself was worth the visit--the inside was open up to the top (6 stories) with exhibits all throughout. For instance, to show the ingrediants of Guiness, they had a huge vat full of barley (that you could reach in and touch) and they had a large waterfall inside the building that you could walk under. Once you completed the 6 story tour, you got your complimentary pint of Guiness (or glass of soda, in Alex's case). The bar was on the 7th floor and had a fantastic 360 degree view of the city. The price of admission was worth it for that experience alone.

Then we took a cab back to the another part of town (a nice cab driver this time!), bought some Irish books (including one called "Baby Brains" which I read to Alex every night of the trip!), had some ice cream, walked through a market, did some window shopping (or, at least, I did!), and generally wondered around feeling content. Throughout the entire day, I had a sort-of giddy-wow-I'm-back-in-Europe feeling, where the street signs and cobble-stone streets and the shape of the houses and the double-decker busses would make me very happy. This giddy feeling was, in no doubt, fueled by the jet-lag. But, that being said, it felt SO GOOD to be back in Europe.

Once we started to feel a little worn out, we located one of those amazing European grocery stores underneath a shopping mall and bought some important provisions: strawberries, kinder-eggs, almonds, and beer... perfect travel food! For those not aware, kinder-eggs are an egg made of chocolate with a toy inside... usually something you have to put together... a big hit with Alex---and me!

Then it was a cab back to the hotel, a dinner with Mom and Dad, and then a very satisfying shower and sleep... before getting up to start the final leg to Lithuania!

Alex (being Alex) and I at the River Liffey:

Sir Alex outside the Dublinia museum:

A dragon inside the Dublinia museum:

Goofing off in the museum:Vikings in the gift shop (I think Alex was just told that he wasn't going to be allowed to get a sword):
The museum was attached to this cathedral:Alex, upon discovering he wasn't allowed to jump around on the stones:
The top of the Guiness brewery: