12th July. In Dublin's Fair City!

On Thursday we explored Dublin. There were lots of busking musicians along Grafton Street, and everyone was fascinated by this living sculpture. When anyone gave them some money, the whole group bowed in unison.

Oscar Wilde was reclining on a stone in the park.

We took the guided tour around Trinity College, guided in a very entertaining way by Niall, one of the 16,000 students at this University. Many of the buildings, like this examination hall, have been there for a very long time.

The bell tower dominates the main quadrangle of Trinity College. Apologies for the angle. It does stand up straight!

There was a splendid maple tree beyond the bell tower.

This sculpture, called Sphere with Sphere, is in the college grounds, and we found it fascinating.

Beyond the Sphere with Sphere can be seen the Old Library, which was built between 1712 and 1732. There has been a library here since Trinity College was founded by charter of Queen Elizabeth in 1592. The college library has a stock of nearly three million books, housed in eight buildings. Inside the Old Library is The Long Room, which houses around 200,000 of the Library's oldest books, all categorised by size to fit the shelves efficiently. Can you spot Andy in the crowd?
The Book of Kells is also kept within this building. It was written over 1000 years ago, and has been at Trinity College since 1661.

Trinity College is a blend of old and new architecture. The building on the left has been likened to The Hanging Gardens of Babylon.

Andy went on sentry duty outside Dublin Castle.

Our next stop was Christ Church Cathedral, which was an impressive building. Immediately outside, in the grounds of the cathedral, were several food stalls, which reminded us of the story in the Bible, of traders in the temple grounds!

These Irish doors are very traditional.

Next we crossed to the north of the River Liffey to see O'Connell Street, with its many stores and decorated buildings.

The detail on the frieze was wonderful.

This pub is in the Temple Bar area, which is definitely the part of Dublin for a good night out!

This sculpture of Famine Victims, on the north bank of the Liffey, was very poignant.

We were surprised to see the Viking Splash tour bus cruising round the harbour. Yes, that is a head of a swimming boy just under the bridge! We are glad that our part of the harbour is secure.

Five minutes later the bus was back on the road, to continue its tour of Dublin.

Last night we had been to see Riverdance at the Gaiety Theatre, which was quite a long walk away. Tonight it is a two minute walk round the harbour to the Bord Gais Energy Theatre to see Phantom of the Opera! Both productions were wonderful.