Wow! It’s been a hectic couple of weeks here at Beastie Towers! Sometimes a project comes along that demands a little extra effort, and that’s why there hasn’t been much activity here on the BeastieBlog lately. I’ll unveil that monster undertaking soon enough, but it seemed a bit much for a Friday… so let’s take a leisurely stroll around Dublin with Tae Beastie instead!
Just over a month ago, I got a request through Etsy for a Beastie with a mug. My tea-loving Barróg Beastie, Tae Beastie, was excited to leave Beastie Towers for pastures new… and when his family-to-be asked for some photos of him in his home town, we were happy to oblige! So here is Tae Beastie’s whistle-stop tour of Dublin, in pictures!
We started off just down the road from Beastie Towers, at the Guinness factory. Guinness is still brewed here on the original site at St James’ Gate, a little west of the city centre, and most days the air in this part of town is filled with the delicious chocolately scent of roasted barley, which gives the beer its dark colour.
As you can see, there’s quite a contrast between the modern high-tech brewery and the older buildings on the site! However, many of the original buildings are still in use – one houses the Storehouse visitor centre, while others have been converted into offices.
After a wander through the lanes and alleys of the old brewery, we started heading for town! There was plenty to see along the way – this part of the city is packed with old churches. I asked Tae Baestie to pose with two of the most well-known… first of all St Audoen’s Church, which was built in 1190 and is the oldest parish church in Dublin (factoids courtesy of Wikipedia). I’ve also heard rumours that it’s haunted!
Next, we passed Christ Church Cathedral, which in Medieval times was right in the very heart of the city.
It’s a fascinating building, with flying buttresses, a crypt and a covered passageway which links the Cathedral to the Synod Hall on the other side of the street. Christ Church stands at the far end of the Temple Bar area, so our next move was to take a stroll through the cobbled back streets!
Temple Bar can be a bit of a tourist trap, but there are a few good pubs around here if you know where to look. I still enjoy an occasional visit to The Porter House or the Palace Bar when I’m in the area. However, most people end up here…
Our walk through Temple Bar brought us out conveniently just in front of Trinity College, home of the Book of Kells. It’s also where I went to university!
This is Front Square, and the archway you can see towards the back of the picture is the main entrance to the College. Outside is one of the busiest roads in the city centre… but once you walk through Front Arch, all the traffic noise just VANISHES. It’s like stepping back in time! Tae Beastie enjoyed posing with the Campanile and this statue of a former Provost, whose expression I just can’t figure out… is he very stern, or does he have a bit of a cheeky glint in his eye?
After that, we made a beeline (or, rather, a Beastieline) for St Stephen’s Green. This park is right in the middle of the south side city centre, and it’s a great place to enjoy the arrival of spring!
Just inside the main entrance at the top of Grafton Street, you’ll find this lovely long avenue of lime trees. I’ll sometimes go out of my way to walk along here, whether it’s to enjoy the shade on a hot summer’s day, or kick through piles of bright yellow heart-shaped leaves in the autumn. Tae Beastie was especially taken with the fresh new foliage… check out those vibrant bright green leaves!
There were also plenty of spring flowers to see…
We managed to get our final pictures just as the sun disappeared behind a cloud, and (luckily) before the rain started. Well, that’s spring in Ireland for you! Later that day, Tae Beastie headed off to his new home in Atlanta, Georgia… let’s hope he’s settling in well in the Peach State!
These adventurous little monsters can’t seem to get enough of life on the high seas! After their recent visit to the National Maritime Museum in Co.Dublin, Paddy and Plunkett have resurfaced in Portsmouth – a city with centuries of naval history to its name. Coming as they do from an island nation, it’s little wonder that they felt immediately at home here – Portsmouth is the only island city in the UK!
Ever eager for excitement, the first thing they did was to climb the Spinnaker Tower (that’s it in the background of the photo) and get a bird’s eye view of the city. This is always especially thrilling for a Beastie, since they spend most of their time significantly closer to the ground. Check out that view!
Mind you, I nearly had kittens when I saw this next photo…
Fortunately there’s a nice thick layer of glass floor to keep the boys airborne – for a moment there I was certain they’d decided to take up BASE jumping!
They made some friends while they were there too!
With all this exploring, the afternoon just zipped by! So much so that… uh oh! Is that the hovercraft heading back to the mainland without them?
