After all the rainy weather we've had in Dublin, we awoke on Saturday to a beautiful day - our last day in Ireland. We checked out of our apartment and then put our luggage in some storage lockers. From there, we left to do some last bit of exploring.
Our first stop was Christ Church Cathedral which was built in 1050 - it obviously has a long history that reflects the struggle between the Catholic and the Angelican Churches - at different points it was a Catholic Church and at other times it was an Angelican Church depending what king was in power.
There is a crypt underneath the cathedral that we toured where we got to read about the famous people buried there so many years ago.
After we left the cathedral, we walked over to the area by Dublin Castle for a picnic lunch. Check out that beautiful sky and warm temperatures!
After lunch, we wandered up to the area near Dublin Castle where people were gathering to wait and hear the official announcement regarding the outcome of the referendum authorizing gay marriage. The vote had been on Friday (the day before). When we left the area at about 2:30, there still hadn't been an official announcement, but the people gathered seemed very excited.
We then walked over to St. Stephen's Green which reminded us of Central Park in New York City - everywhere you looked, men, women, and children were enjoying the beautiful day!
After the park, we did a little shopping including the purchase of some Celtic Whiskey for friends of Dave and Steve.
At about 5 pm, we walked back past the Dublin Castle to see the crowds gathered. Even though there still wasn't an official announcement, the crowd definitely believed the "Yes vote" had prevailed.
We then picked up our luggage and took a bus to the Dublin Airport - once there, we were able to walk to our last night's stay at a hotel next to the terminals where we'd be leaving the next morning.
Andrew left at 4:30 am to fly to Spain where he will travel for a week before going back to Paris for one last week. He will be back in Minneapolis two weeks from today.
Steve, Dave, Greg, and I left at 7:30 am for a flight to Charlotte, North Carolina. Mike picked us up at the airport in Minneapolis at 5 pm. We've had a wonderful trip, and are so grateful that all six of us could spend this time together exploring Ireland!
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