Sunday, 18 February

This was, sadly, our last day in Dublin. We both loved seeing our friends again, and Dublin is spectacular. Next time we visit Ireland, we would like to see more of the country side. It looks incredibly lovely and well worth the visit. Maybe we'll be able to see it on our way out of Europe, our maybe on a different trip...
As it was a uncommonly sunny day for a British Isles' winter, Justin decided to take us back over to Saint Stephen's Green Park. When the weather is nice, local artists hang their artwork out for sale. There are little brass numbers all along the fence, and artists have to apply to get one of these coveted spots. The artwork was spectacular, and if we had had unlimited supplies of money, I would have bought quite a bit of artwork... or at least one. But alas, we have not yet planted the money tree that my parents were always talking about. Even if we didn't buy anything, it was great to wander the streets looking at all the artwork. Its here that we encountered the most odd man. The was in front of us, browsing through the different paintings. Mike noticed him first and, of course, pointed him out to Justin and I. He was walking along and when something interested him, would stop, put his thumb in his mouth and touch the painting. If it was my artwork, I would have smacked him. As is, I don't think anyone even told him to stop.

We strolled through the park again on our way to the next stop of the day. It has amazed us how green everything is in February. The grass is green, and we even were able to smell fresh cut grass... in February!! I think that the smell of fresh cut grass is my favorite. And the flowers are all in bloom, there are buds on trees... its lovely. If they only had snow for a week or so, I would be right on board to move here. I suppose if we were a little more north than Glasgow, we could have just that. But, yes mama, its too far away from our families and friends. So... unless you guys all are willing to move over here, I suppose we'll just move back to the States.
After our leisurely stroll through St Stephen's Green, we headed to another park. Justin could not remember the name of it, and took to calling it the "Hidden Garden" because it is just that. While St Stephen's Green is in the hub of the busy part of Dublin, this park is off a little side street tucked in the city. Unless you know where it is, you'll pass it by, therefore its tourist free. It was absolutely beautiful as well. This old statue was just one of many we saw in this park.

After the park, it was off to the mall to finish our souvenir shopping. I, of course, had to try Irish ice cream. Not as spectacular as Chile's ice cream, but it was tasty. Its hard to measure up to Chile's ice cream though. I still think its the best in the world, and would travel there just to have more of it. Two and a half months of having it at least once a day was not enough for me... But, anyway, this man was sitting outside the mall. The dog was not real, it would have been really neat if it was, but I doubt that any dog would sit absolutely still until told to do so. Especially with hoards of people passing by. But you put money in his hat, the music would start and he would start dancing all around. It was great!

By this time, our trip was coming to an end. We headed back to Justin's to make sure all our crap was in the bag to go home. But on the way we got distracted, yet again, by rugby. It was not the same group playing (thankfully) as before, and they were much better. The boys in red and black are Trinity's team, and they were quite good. Unfortunately not as good as the other team, but such is life. On the Trinity team there was this wee boy though. Honestly, he looked like he was about my height (which is 5'2.5'') and tiny. I have no idea how he did it, but he got knocked over and popped right back up... amazing.

Before we left, Mike had to have one more Irish Guinness. So, we stopped in this very Dublin pub, O'Donoghue's. They were getting set up for live music. If we only had one more night, it would have been amazing to listen to them play, but something for next time I suppose. The pub was great, and is in all the tourist books. One thing that they are famous is for the band the Dubliners starting there, so the place is decorated with loads of pictures of them playing there. Because it is in all the tourist books, at one point all these irritating tourist came in, gathered all around near us, starting taking pictures (with flash... so irritating to be blinded while you are sitting having a pint), walking around exploring and then JUST LEFT! Never bought a thing. So rude and irritating. How can you honestly experience something if you just walk in, take a picture and leave? AND isn't it rude to the establishment? People these days...