Dublin! (with a stop in Paris)

I was lucky enough to be able to meet up with some good friends in Dublin for a gathering the first weekend of October organized through the website we all frequent. I had found out about the trip in 2014 and immediately asked Carlos if I could go - it had been ages since I had seen some of them, and I had always wanted to go to Dublin. Fortunately everything worked out, and I was able to get cheap tickets through Aer Lingus. And since some of my friends were going to be flying via Paris, a few of us arranged to meet and stay there and then fly out together.

View of Paris (and Eiffel Tower!) from Tour Montparnasse.
It was neat to see the Paris skyline with the Eiffel Tower
instead of from it.

St Sulpice. The last time I had been they were renovating
the façade - it was so nice to see it without tarps and
scaffolding!

Luxembourg Gardens

The Panthéon. Sadly we arrived
minutes after the last entry slot. Oh
well, there's always next time!

Instead, we went just a few streets over to Eglise St Etienne-
Du-Mont. Beautiful stonework and stained glass!

Shrine to relics of St Geneviève

For a random visit, it was pretty spectacular!

A funky building not far from Notre
Dame

Windy!

Couldn't resist.

Panoramic view in Trinity College courtyard

One of the buildings at Trinity College

No pictures of the Book of Kells,
but the Trinity College Library
made up for that!

What an amazing room. The smell of old books, the sense of
being somewhere that knowlege was almost tangible...
an amazing place!

Selling cockles and mussles with
Molly Malone

Oh, Dublin

The famous Temple Bar

Anyone remember this Guinness ad?

Free pints! We also did the Guinness
tasting workshop, which I enjoyed.
It was neat to learn the right way to
drink Guinness to be able to enjoy
it properly

Yum. Best pint I ever tasted. They
do say that Guiness tastes better in
Dublin - I definitely enjoyed it.

The White House? Where the Irish President lives

Ha'Penny Bridge

Floor tiles in St Patrick's Cathedral

Beautiful

Banners and hatchments of the Knights of Saint Patrick,
an order founded in 1783

The brass lectern shows an eagle atop
a globe. Is it sad I immediately thought
of Dumbledore's lectern in the Great Hall?

I had a great time in Dublin, though I wish I could have had more time to visit other sights AND spend time with my friends. Fortunately there are direct flights from Bordeaux to Dublin, so perhaps I'll be able to go back again sometime and explore some more!