The photos below are what we saw.
We went
to the local farmer's market at St. George's. There was
the usual stuff including arts and crafts.
This is
the second special frame we have seen for carving ham; the other
was in Aldwych.
I gave
the meat vendor the once-over and if I had a cooking method, I
would have bought the pork chops.
There
were large displays of cheeses and preserves.
There
was a face painter and this little girl got the full treatment.
We were
at the market about an hour and then we left to walk about the
streets searching for a place to eat. It was windy and
cold and lightly raining.
We
walked past a novel looking structure so we decided to
investigate. The structure turned out to be a modern mall
in between old buildings.
The
interior of the structure had a unique stair, elevator,
escalator mechanism.
The roof
support structure was a grid of structural members.
There
was an observation platform at the top of the structure, but it
was closed since it was early in the day on Sunday.
Only
about half of the stores in the mall were open, so we went back
out on the streets and saw this local fire and rescue
truck. Volvo, Scania and DAF are the preferred truck
brands in Ireland.
Despite
the strong winds we decided to walk out on one of the bridges
over the river to get a view.
I can
not imagine what this sign really means. Later I
discovered that it means that ships will become grounded at low
tide.
From the
center of the bridge we could see this interesting modern
statue. After the bridge we walked back into the city and
found the Malmaison Hotel serving brunch. They were able to
seat us and we had a great meal. When we finished brunch,
we taxied back to the hotel to get our stuff and then headed to
the train station to queue up for the ride to Dublin.
At the
train station, we spotted a steamer in active use pulling
passengers. It was not our train, but on the track next to
us in the station.
This
style of steam engine is uniquely British.
The
fellow up top is the fireman and was working the coal with a
pick and a shovel. We left the station before the steamer
did, so we did not see it in action. The ride to Dublin
was a few hours and it was pleasant enough.
When we
arrived at Dublin, we went to the ATM to get a few Euros and
then took a taxi to the Clontarf Castle Hotel. The inside
reception area was truly unique.
Additions
have been made to the walls over the centuries. Note the
different stone types in the wall and the names on the banners.
The
castle recently received a $10M renovation. The
rooms were modern and nice.
Another
view of the interior of the room. The hotel was fully
booked the nights we stayed there and the restaurant and bar
were super-busy.
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Photos and Text Copyright Bill Caid 2015, all rights
reserved.
For your enjoyment only, not for commercial use.