Ireland Trip Part 2

 Day 2 in Ireland was tour day.  However, after staying up until 4, we were a little pooped.  So we slept until noon and didn't get on our Hop On Hop Off Bus Tour until the early afternoon. 

 The bus was great and our very first tour guide was really funny. You can see him in very front right seat.  He made fun of the Spire of Dublin or the Monument of Light.  He said, "Look at that monstrosity! It looks like a giant flag pole!" He also said the statue of Sir John Gray was great but currently being used as a lavatory for the birds. 

 Half of the top of the double decker bus was uncovered which was really great the first half of the day when it was nice outside. 

 We hopped off at the first stop for us which was Trinity College.  We wanted to see the Book of Kells but it was closed from 1-4 pm. Waaahhh.  Our tour guide said that in the book (which is the gospel of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John), they drew pictures of what they thought animals looked like that they had never seen.  So they drew lions and tigers and they all looked like dogs because that's all they knew. HA!
So since we couldn't see the book, we walked around the beautiful campus instead.

 Well actually Andrew ran. :) 

 He also reached for the metal orb when he saw this monument.

 I took a picture of us to prove that it was actually sunny and beautiful for a moment in Ireland. 

Did you know that Boston College and Georgia Tech are going to play at Aviva Stadium in Dublin soon?? There were advertisements everywhere. 

 Our bus passed by some Viking tour boat/busses.  They looked like they were having LOTS of fun.  They were wearing Viking Helmets and doing a lot of yelling.

 The next stop was Stephen's Green.  We saw a man basically covered in birds eating things off of him.  So of course, I took a picture.

 But anyway, it is a beautiful park.  We walked through it all and as it turns out, like a lot of Ireland, some major violence took place in that park.  It was a bit unnerving to read about all the battles and death that happened in those very spots. 

 Right next to the park is Stephen's Green Shopping Centre.  Gorgeous! Also, fun fact, did you know this was U2's first gig? It was the dandelion market first and that's where they played. 

Ummmm TK Maxx??? What??? There's a minor story behind it.  Check the link if you are interested.

 The next stop on our tour was Christchurch Cathedral.  Incredible.  My camera cannot do this church justice. 

 I don't remember who this is but look at this gold plated carved out tribute. 

 This book is more than likely older than our country.  I should have taken notes. ;-)

Had to snap a picture of this bible.  Incredibly beautiful.

 The stained glass, the detail of the stone, everything was so cool.

Look at the intricate tile floors. 

 This 3 story ORGAN!

 This church is also known for its crypt.  How creepy right?? I was looking for any Starks that might be buried in there. ;-) Andrew thought it was pretty metal.  ha!

 Apparently it was renovated in the early 2000s and now is part of the site-seeing. 

 I had to take a picture of the cat and rat.  They were alive at one time when the cat chased the rat into the organ and they got stuck.  They became mummified and were found many many years later.  Now they are on display in a super creepy crypt.  Perfect addition. 

PS- I went to the restroom in the crypt.  It was exactly like you would think a crypt bathroom would be. 

 One final shot of the church.  Did I mention there were a few tombs right by the pews? Awkward.

 We hit the next church which was just down the street from Christchurch.  We didn't tour St. Patrick's Cathedral but we did spend a lot of time in the lawn. 

 Moody weather church shot of Andrew. :)

 We hopped back on the bus to continue the tour.  I passed by this poster and had to take a picture.  Instead of calling it Cinderella, they call it, "The Ugly Sisters and Yer Wan!" Huh.  Who woulda thought?

 These were the languages they offered for the tour.  Of course I'm going to look for the American flag but no one actually speaks "American".  Haha!

 Sad news for us.  It started to rain on us while we were on the top of the bus.  At first it wasn't so bad and the umbrella worked.  Then it started to blow and get a little crazy but there were no spaces left for us to sit where there was a roof over our heads.  Not good! Finally we just moved downstairs and found terrible seats to finally get out of the rain.  We tried to make it to the Jameson Factory but it was closed.  We saw a few other things and then hit the Temple Bar area for dinner.  I didn't get any pictures the rest of the night because we were definitely taking it easy that day. We had a big day tomorrow so we went to bed early.  Day 2 complete!