Final Day

Unfortunately, it's our final day in Dublin.  We continued our exploration of the city on foot, first wandering the paths in St. Stephen's Green.  This is a lovely city park that provides a welcome oasis in the middle of the hustle and bustle of Dublin.  When we first visited here in 2004, our hotel was right next to the Green.  Back then, we spent much of our time crossing the park to see the sights.  I now remember why we liked it so much.

St. Patrick's Cathedral

There are two main cathedrals in Dublin -- St. Patrick's and Christchurch  St. Patrick's is considered the National Cathedral of Ireland and is also the largest in Ireland.  Christchurch is older than St. Patrick's, but not as large.  Each are part of the Church of Ireland, members of the Anglican community.  Both cathedrals have great architecture and a rich history. Jonathan Swift, author of Gulliver's Travels, was dean of St. Patrick's for a number of years in the 1700s.

Christchurch Cathedral

After touring St. Patrick's, we went to Christchurch and listened to a concert by the choir from Clarion University in Pennsylvania.  Wendy took a guided tour of the belfry and crypt while we did the concert.  I enjoyed the singing, but the acoustics weren't as rich as what we heard in St. Giles in Edinburgh.

We finished our day touring the National Museum of Archaeology and spent our final night back at Gogarty's pub listening to more traditional Irish music.  It's been a fantastic trip, but two weeks has gone by way too fast.  I guess it's time to start planning our next adventure.