Tuesday/ Dublin – Willem's Planet

We arrived at the port of Dublin early morning. The cruise ship had to be navigated into a narrow passageway to the harbour, and then manoeuvred around by almost 180 degrees to berth it for its departure Tuesday night. Our excursion for the day took us to an estate and garden called Powerscourt in the southern outskirts of the city for the morning, and then we were brought back to downtown Dublin and left to our own devices to find a pub for lunch, take in the scenery and do some shopping. It was raining on and off, but we still managed a good amount of walking around between the rain showers. I was impressed with the mix of old and new buildings. The commercial property development on the north side of the river came to an abrupt halt with the 2008 financial crises, however. Several new buildings are sitting idle and waiting for tenants. We are sailing across the Celtic Sea to the United Kingdom for an arrival at Liverpool on Wednesday.

IMG_9578 sm — These cute characters are artwork at a waterfront property. There are several new commercial properties, but look in the background for the ‘Offices to Let’ sign. Several of them are empty and looking for tenants.

IMG_7430 sm — Here’s my Dublin souvenir : a mini paperweight with a three-leaf clover. It’s actually a gift meant for Irish people that have returned to the country for ‘The 2013 Gathering’ : an effort by the authorities and tourism office to lure back emigrants to come and visit and maybe even stay permanently. After 2008’s financial crisis there has been a net loss of young people every year again for the country.

IMG_9550 sm — This is a red brick building that still stands and has surely seen many tenants over a century or two. I did not make a note of the street, but it is in downtown Dublin.

IMG_9531 sm — It’s raining, but we can still check out the beautiful 18th century brick buildings with their brightly painted doors and window decorations from where we sit in the bus. This is downtown Dublin.

IMG_9426 sm — The Samuel Beckett bridge over the river Liffey that runs through the city opened in 2009 and can rotate out of the way to let ships through. It is designed to look resemble a harp, one of Ireland’s national symbols.

3 Replies to “Tuesday/ Dublin”

Looks like you are having lots of fun. Thanks for the daily postings. It makes us feel like we are there with you. Watching on the ships cam each day as well. Steve & Ken

Steve shared your blog with me. You do such a beautiful job with pictures and descriptions, thus making us feel like we are part of the trip in this way.Can tell by your smiling faces you are all having a good time.
Thanks for sharing.

Keep on enjoying.

Sincerely,
Steve’s Mom Pat

willemsworld says:

July 11, 2013 at 8:01 pm

hi Pat,
(This is a very late reply). Thanks for your message! We’re back in Seattle now but we had a great time. We would have love to have you and Ken and Steve with us as well, but it was not to be this time.

best regards,
Willem

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3 Replies to “Tuesday/ Dublin”

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