Today was our last day in Ireland ... so what did we do? Bought our weight in souvenirs to bring home to all of you!! haha
We slept in this morning, avoiding most of the morning rain, and started off the day with a walk to the bus stop. A short ride later we were in Dublin city centre where we grabbed lunch and did some shopping. We were operating on a super leisurely pace today; we had no agenda and were in no hurry. After picking out a few items we ambled to the post office -- not to send post cards, but to look through the GPO 1916 Easter Rising Museum.
There isn't a lot of advertising or hype for this museum, but it was definitely a good one. For those who don't know: in 1916, the Republican Party in Ireland decided that the time had come to no longer simply ask and petition the United Kingdom for their independence but to take it. The Irish Volunteers, Irish Citizen Army, and the Cumann na nBan (the last being an all women group of rebels) joined forces to take over Dublin (as well as a few other key places throughout Ireland) and (in theory) lead the revolution that would result in the independent Republic of Ireland. I'm not going to say it didn't work -- I mean, I am sitting in the Republic of Ireland right now; but it didn't turn out the way the leaders had hoped (partly because the rising only lasted six days before the British put the kibosh on it and mostly because the seven rising leaders were improvised and executed within a month of their defeat). However, the executions backfired, and instead of viewing the rising as a failure, the Irish people began to sympathize with the rebels. Eventually this lead to the Irish War for Independence.
After the museum and more wandering we ate dinner on Gardner Street and then took the bus back to our hotel.
I am a photo failure today -- but here are a few that best summarize our trip:
We enjoyed your trip as well. We are also looking forward to your return. Love you!
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