Day 4

 

Day 4 -- Howth

We originally planned to take a Hop on-Hop off tour around Dublin, but we got off at the wrong bus stop, right in front of the train station so we changed the plan and took the train to Howth, a fishing village north of Dublin. It was a good day to go there because it was a rare sunny day. Howth is a very picturesque village and a real, working fishing port. A woman in the Tourist Information gave us a map and directed us to some sights. The biggest attraction of Howth (other than the seafood) is the cliffs walk between the village and the Summit. It’s about 6 km and traverses the hills around Howth, providing b











eautiful views. She advised us to take the bus to the Summit and then take the walk downhill, much easier than in the opposite direction.  We started the exploration from the abbey, which we found with some difficulty after inquiring at the garda (police) station. The abbey is a relic/ruins from the 11th century, in the middle of a cemetery on a hill overlooking the harbor.  Then we took a bus to the Summit and did the walk. The views were lovely, and there were many people on the trail.  The walk back to the village along a trail took about 1 hour.  After lunch and walk on the pier, we took train back to hotel.

Al decided that he wanted to go back to Hawksmoor for dinner so he called and made reservations for 7 pm. We went to the city earlier and walked around Grafton street and surrounding streets. It was insanely busy there. It looked like half of Dubliners were in the pubs drinking. Streets were blocked with people congregating outside with drinks in their hands… You could barely pass by. Somehow we made it to the restaurant, a much more civilized place, and had another great Irish meal .

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