Bumped into Dublin

The Temple Bar area of Dublin is popular with tourists, but watch out:
The bars raise their Guinness prices as the night wears on.

We took a different route to the U.S. this fall. Foregoing our usual itinerary that takes us from Bordeaux to Amsterdam to Salt Lake City to Reno, we found a great fare on Aer Lingus and decided to give it a try. The itinerary requires us to spend a night in Dublin both en route to San Francisco and again on the way back to France. Thanks to what I call a happy inconvenience, we incur an unexpected delay and end up having an adventure as well as dodging a few fires.

Posing on the Ha'Penny Bridge, Ken is happy how great our surprise extra day
in Dublin has turned out. 

The Ha'Penny Bridge in Dublin was built in Shropshire,
England, in 1816 and was originally called the Wellington
(as in 'Duke of') Bridge. For more than 100 years,
those crossing the bridge over the River Liffey were
charged a toll of one ha'penny.

Our flight from Bordeaux to Dublin is uneventful, and both our room and our Airbnb host are very nice. We arrive too late in the day to take the bus into downtown Dublin, so we grab a bite at a convenient but uninspiring American-style diner.

The next morning, we arrive back at the airport and are told that our flight to San Francisco has been over-sold and we have been bumped. At first, I am indignant and a bit rude to the bearer of bad news: an Aer Lingus customer service representative (and saint) named Chloe. But as it turns out, I couldn't have ended up more satisfied.

Molly Malone, of 'Cockles and Mussels' fame is a popular statue in Dublin.
For some odd reason, it's apparently acceptable to grope her. The song is the
city's unofficial anthem.

I strongly suspect that these blokes are brothers, busking in Dublin.

Aer Lingus puts us up in a nearby hotel, which we arrive at just in time for a traditional Irish Sunday roast dinner. The receptionist asks what time we would like dinner that evening and reminds us that the next morning's breakfast is also included. The food is delicious, and oh, did I mention that Aer Lingus also paid us 600 euros each for our inconvenience? (This is the law, but it's still a delightful consolation prize as it nearly covers the cost of our airline tickets).

We are urged to go to O'Neill's in Dublin for good food and music,
but we aren't able to stay up late enough. Maybe on our next visit. 

The old and the new provide an interesting contrast in Dublin. 

We also get to spend a lovely sunny afternoon in Dublin (we're told it's the first day without rain in many weeks). And finally, arriving one day late in San Francisco means that we missed the wild fires that had caused traffic havoc the day before. 

Ken stands beside Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin's oldest working structure.

The bronze sculpture entitled 'Homeless Jesus' was installed in the garden of 
Dublin's Christ Church Cathedral in 2015. The same sculpture by
Canadian artist Timothy Schmalz are located in several cities in the U.S.,
Canada, and Europe.

I am sharing pictures here that were taken on that beautiful afternoon, along with some that were taken six weeks later when we passed through Dublin on our return. On that day, we take a pleasant free walking tour of the city, which helps to fill in the gaps on the sites we had seen on our earlier visit. And when we arrive at the airport the next morning for our flight to Bordeaux, I am able to find and thank Chloe for her patience and professionalism. 

Although Dublin Castle is not particularly fancy, it is still a popular tourist
destination. It was the seat of the British government's administration in Ireland
until 1922, and it now contains government offices and ceremonial halls.

Saint Patrick watches over the portal of Dublin Castle's
Chapel Royal.

Trinity College Dublin is home to this bronze sculpture by Arnaldo Pomodoro,
called 'Sphere Within Sphere' ('Sfera con sfera').

If our train from Bordeaux to Marmande hadn't been been cancelled because of les grèves, I would have been able to declare our three-day voyage home practically perfect. Thank goodness for good friends like Paul who drives to the airport to pick us up. Cheers, or as they say in Ireland, mianta!

We duck inside this galleria in Dublin for a coffee and a quick browse.

Dublin's main shopping street is decorated for the holidays.

The lawn Dubh Linn Garden contains a Celtic knot pattern. The park is the site
of the original dubh linn or 'black pool', which gave Dublin its name. The Vikings
anchored their ships here, and today the lawn is used as a helicopter landing
pad for VIPs, few of whom get bumped from their original flights.