I am from Coimbra, Portugal, and am currently teaching in a school in Soure, about 30 km away from Coimbra. I have been a teacher of English for over 20 years and have already taught different levels and age groups. After all this time I can say I love working with adult groups because there are no coursebooks and I can create my own resources.
I am an avid reader, a blogger and very curious about free tools and their implementation in the classroom.
In our fourth day in Ireland we made another tour, this time not north but southbound, namely to Kilkenny, a popular tourist destination due to its historic buildings such as the well-preserved medieval Castle, seat of the Butler family.
In Kilkenny: The Rafter Dempsey's Restaurant
Once inside we were guided through the different rooms by Isabel Silva from Pinto Lopes Viagens, SA. Needing a refreshment and some nourishment, we all headed afterwards to Dempsey Bar / Restaurant where, as usual, we had a comforting meal.
Rapeseed flowers
After lunch, back to the bus and this time not to Wicklow as planned but to Bray, an Irish Sea Coastal resort only 30 minutes South of Dublin.
Either North or South, Ireland has indeed a wonderful and relaxing landscape: huge areas of green fields with cows and sheep only occasionaly swapped by yellow fields of rapeseed flowers used to produce biofuel - bright yellow flowers for green energy, folks :)!
In Bray, we all decided to eat pancakes - that's right, pancakes! What a queue for a pancake to warm us in that windy and cold afternoon!!! After a stroll, a pancake and, again, some pictures, we returned to Dublin, where we arrived earlier than the previous day and willing to enjoy our last evening out together.
Remember: it was Saturday when pubs / bars are usually open till later (in Ireland only till 11pm.!!!) and we wouldn't take the risk of coming back to Portugal without going to Hard Rock Cafe Dublin - at least for some shopping, right? Therefore, as soon as we could, we left Jurys Inn, went to Hard Rock Cafe, did some shopping and inevitably... took more pictures! Though excited, our bodies demanded some rest and our luggage asked to be packed... around midnight, decent folks as we are, we came back to fulfill our duties ;))
Enjoy some pictures now:
After a great breakfast, our planned visits in Dublin started: first Phoenix Park with its tall obelisk of 63 meters erected by Lord Chesterfield in 1747 to commemorate the victories of Duke of Wellington; then, all agreed to move on to IMMA (Irish Museum of Modern Art) which, besides the permanent collection, is now hosting a temporary exhibition on Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera - at least for myself, it was really a much better choice than visiting Guinness Storehouse, the largest brewer of stout in the world - next time for sure!!!
We had lunch in a traditional Irish pub in the heart of Temple Bar called Gallagher's Boxty House. For most of us, our meal consisted of 3 course menu: Soup of the Day, Pork and Apple Sausages with Mash and Gravy and, for dessert, Bread and Butter Pudding served wit Custard. Hummm! Tasty!!
After that relaxing time and tasty meal, we headed to St Patrick's Cathedral, founded in 1191 and headed by a Dean, an office which has existed since 1219, the most famous holder being Jonathan Swift ; St Patrick's has one of the largest Organs in Ireland with over 4,000 pipes!
Our next stop was at Trinity College Dublin - a must see when in Dublin: visitors enter through the Library Shop and proceed to the Book of Kells "Turning Darkness into Light" exhibition; then to the Treasury where the Book of Kells and other related manuscripts are on view; then proceed upstairs to the magnificent Long Room which houses 200,000 of the Library’s oldest books in its oak bookcases. An inspiring place with so many old books and lined marble busts of philosophers, writers and men connected with Trinity College (again, Jonathan Swift). Ahhh: it includes other treasures such as the oldest Harp and a copy of the 1916 Proclamation of the Irish Republic.
Molly Malone Statue
As we still had some time off before dinner, we had a look at some stores and bought our first gifts along Grafton Street, a pedestrian street. Before returning to Jurys Inn another sight worth being mentioned: the statue of Molly Malone pushing her wheelbarrow... it's hard to miss it on the corner of Grafton Street and Nassau Street, this female character known to be a fishmonger by day and a prostitute by night.
Our day was not over yet, though!!! After dinner we went to Hard Rock Cafe Dublin in Fleet Street (Temple Bar area) but... guess what? It was already closing time and we couldn't get in! It was just 10 p.m., can you believe that???? Well, we couldn't miss a bit so we still had a walk around Temple Bar, the Bohemian Dublin, with its lively nightlife and medieval street pattern, with many narrow cobbled streets.
What a day, hem? Long, tiring but ALL was worthwhile :)
Now enjoy some pictures of the places I've just mentioned!
