Dublin Castle & Kilmainham Gaol

Monday, July 1st, was our last day in Dublin and it was a beautiful, warm day!  It was like a perfect 70 degrees :)

Taking the Luis into town.

Then hopped on the double decker bus and rode on top since it actually wasn't raining ;)

Gram joined in.

Passed the Spire of Dublin.

And some more colorful doors :)

I seriously love ivy covered buildings.

We had lunch at the Bank Bar & Restaurant.  It was really beautiful.

Beauty boy.

My handsome boys :)

We passed by Christ Church Cathedral on our way to the Dublin Castle.

Guards ;)

We would have loved to have gone inside, but the castle was closed all of June, so we only got to tour the grounds :(

Such a stud ;)

There was a Celtic design on the lawn.

I guess the colorful parts are the parts that have been restored.

I was just having fun getting shots of this bee flittering around.

A little model of the whole thing :)

Then we were off to the Kilmainham Gaol or Jail.

It is a former prison turned museum and represents the struggle for Irish independence.

Model.

Many leaders of Irish rebellions were imprisoned by the British and some executed.

Apparently, during the famine, some people committed crimes in order to be admitted to the prison, simply so they'd be guaranteed a basic diet.

Trent hanging out in a cell.

There was no segregation of prisoners; men, women, and children were imprisoned, up to 5 in each cell, with only a single candle for light and heat that had to last them 2 weeks.

Fourteen leaders of the Easter Rising were shot in the Stonebreakers' Yard.

The Easter Rising (began on Easter and lasted six days) mounted when Irish republicans led an armed insurrection with the aims of ending British rule in Ireland.

After the jail, we walked around Saint Stephen's Green Park at the end of Grafton Street for a little bit.

Kind of a funny picture, but wanted to capture that Aiden and Amber have matching Converse.

It would've been fun to picnic there one of the days.

Later we went to dinner and then headed back to get all packed and leave the next morning.

And I am finally done blogging about our Ireland trip, hallelujah!! But really, it was an incredible trip and I look back on it with such fond memories.  I was telling my grandma that I think I've officially caught the travel bug ;)  She has seriously been like everywhere! Here's to much more exciting travel in the future!