April 30, 2023
We sailed into Dun Laoghaire early this morning. Dun is a suburb from Dublin. This port is also a tender port. Smaller cruise ships are still able to land in Dublin. Also, apparently the dock in Dublin is owned by a Chinese firm and the cost to dock there are very high I am told. For today we have a tour booked to the Malahide Castle and then on to the town of Howth for lunch in an old Irish Pub.Around 8:30 we left the Dun pier on the bus, driving through some of the main area of Dublin on our way to the Castle. When we got outside the City , the landscape changed to fertile farm land for the production of vegetables. Our Irish guide talked non stop about Irish history. We were glad to get off the bus at the Malahide Castle, 260 acre property which consists of gardens and sports fields. The Castle dates back to the 1170’s The tour through the castle was impressive all furniture and painting in the rooms dating back several Hundreds of years. After the Castle visit, we headed for the town of Howth. The country side consists out of lots of bike pads and walking trails connecting Dublin to the suburbs. There are very few people living downtown. Most live in the suburbs and commute into the City for work by train or bicycle. By now we had entered the small seaside town of Howth for our lunch. We got off the bus at the Irish pub for our lunch. The lunch consisted of corned beef and cabbage with mashed potatoes, a pint of Guinness and Irish coffee for dessert. We were entertained by an Irish band accompanied by Irish dancers. By 3:00 we got back on the bus continuing our site seeing tour with our nonstop talking Irish guide. He pointed out the large number of people employed by large IT companies like Google and Facebook. Several IT companies have their European head quarters in Dublin. After touring through Dublin for an hour or so we got back at the pier in Dun for our tender ride back to the ship. For tonight we were going to be entertained by Irish musicians and dancers on the ship.For tomorrow we are scheduled for the City of Cork.
Cheers
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