City with a soul

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They have a computer in the lobby which you can use to check your email, but is has a dialup connection. There is a much faster internet service right across the street if you need to really use the internet.

Breakfast is not included in the price. It is available in the pub, but I thought it was expensive. There are plenty of places close by to have breakfast. The location is easy to find as it is across the street from Christ Church Cathedral and down the street from the Dublinia exhibit. If you plan to book, you get a good discount by emailing them first and asking about availability.

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Everything in this place looked delicous. They have a wide range of pastries. I was admiring the raspberry scones, but I couldn't figure out how to carry it with me without it getting smashed and the woman boxed it up for me in a bakery box with a gold ribbon. I would love to have another one of those scones now!

The place is tiny with just a few tables and it is smoke free. You can't imagine how great it smells. Order the tea there, all tea is served in a pot and each pot is different. And it was delicous. The prices were extremely reasonable.

The scenery was spectacular. We were out on a warm, sunny spring day and we saw ewes with their lambs and blooming spring flowers. The first stop was Temair (the Hill of Tara) and our second stop was at Newgrange, an ancient burial mound. At Newgrange we had time to have some lunch and see the presentation in the visitor's centre. By taking this tour, we were guaranteed entrance to Newgrange, which can be crowded. If you'd like to read more about these Tara or Newgrange, check out the journal entries I've written for each.

This is the place where St. Patrick confronted the ancient religion and preached his famous analogy of the shamrock and the Trinity. There's a statue of Patrick commemorating this event. There are ancient objects including the Stone of Destiny and the ancient standing stones as well as the Mound of the Hostages.

In modern history, Tara was the site of one of the greatest crowds ever to gather in Ireland. Daniel O'Connell held one of his "monster rallies" here in 1843 and more than 750,000 people came to hear him speak against union with Great Britain.

We took a guided tour out here as we wanted to visit other sites in the area and did not want to rent a car. I've added a journal entry about the guided tour we took.