East Strand Beach
East Strand looking back towards town
We went for coffee at Cafe 55 Bistro which is situated looking down the beach, and ran into the young couple we had met doing the bus rambler yesterday. From Manchester and travelling around N. Ireland (a 10 minute flight from Belfast) for a week on the bus. He forgot to bring a coat which she thought very funny. Had a good chat with them about travelling.
The next morning we headed back to Dublin on the train. Difficulty buying tickets ahead of time as the the Portrush train station is closed for the winter!!!! Could not book online as their system kept telling us we needed to update our browser - since we both have new phones we guessed this was a tactic to get us to pay the higher rate charged at the station or on the train. It is up to half price if you book online ahead of time. We did discuss this with the conductor we bought our ticket from on the train, and he totally agreed with us and said he hoped they would improve the system next year!
We arrived at Dublin Connolly station at 2:45 and walked over to Blooms Hotel where we had stayed last April. I had arranged to meet Jim O'Dea who is an old friend of my sister Barb. Jim worked as a teacher in Fort St. John for 3 years back in the day Barb worked in Rose Prairie during her first year of teaching. I had met Jim then so it's not surprising that I was worried about recognizing him since it was only 42 years ago!
Jim now works as an independent tour guide, history buff and genealogist - but I didn't know that. After a cup of tea he said "Let's go, I want to show you a few things". Well - he gave us an amazing amount of information and a great tour of St. Patrick's Cathedral which neither of us had been in before, and then for another 2+ hours we walked quickly around a number of neighbourhoods and through St. Stephen's Green. Did you know that in Dublin a red light for pedestrians only means look first, then walk - most Dubliners don't wait for the green light. Only the tourists are left standing on the curb! Who knew??
Irish Family Tree in St. Patrick's, grandparents at top, parents in middle, siblings either side, favorite kid in the middle underneath, other kids beside (probably his sisters) !!!
We finished at 6:45 at The Palace Pub which was jammed but Jim showed us how a true Irishman negotiates the crowded pub. He also demonstrated how to make the Guinness a little less bitter - he added a little swirl of black current syrup from the bar. Quite a different taste, and we both wanted to try it.
Jim has organized a reunion for the O'Dea Clan every other year since 1998, holding it in their ancestral castle in County Clare. They have up to 250 come from far and wide, including Papua New Guinea. The schedule included a costumed reenactment by locals of a historic battle their family had been involved in. And a banquet for 250. Yikes - makes our Harris reunion every 2 years sound like a little dinner party - anyone can do that!!!!
We left Jim after our Guinness and went back to our hotel in Temple Bar area. Anyone who has been to Dublin will know that this area is party central for young folks from all over Europe. It was very hard to get a booking for this weekend so we took this room but when they hand out earplugs at the front counter - take note! Hmmmmmm . . .
Two more days to explore before we get on that plane.
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