Kiz_Paws Bag Of Trix

[What I Saw Moments Before Landing At Heathrow]

As promised, a bit of a blurb on my London/Dublin trip taken in June.

My husband was on a business trip, and we headed for London for four days, then off to Dublin for a couple of days, then back to London for about four more days.

George Bush was visiting London while we were there, and there was a lot of hustle and bustle, and beefed up policing; which is understandable. There was a street demonstration, people are the same everywhere, je suppose. At any rate, we did the usual tourist-ish stuff -- checked out Buckingham Palace - but were not invited to go in, can you believe

We also toured the Winston Churchill Museum, which was very interesting -- I liked it a lot. We went to the Tower of London, which had so much history; the buildings themselves date back centuries! There we saw the Queen's jewellery, and even crowns that were worn by previous monarchy -- that was very cool.

We also went to the Hard Rock Cafe, London -- where I got to see, first hand, a guitar that my dear Kurt Cobain actually played, and his white funky sunglasses -- woot! That was behind glass casing for obvious reasons. But also there was Jimi Hendrix's guitar, a guitar signed by all of the Sex Pistols, and much much more! I took pictures of all my favorites, they allowed it. But I won't post 'em, due to possible complications regarding famous people/copyright and all that jazz.

We went to the Salvador Dalí museum and spent a whole afternoon mulling over paintings, sculpture and sketches. As well, an added bonus was a small gallery in the same museum, with an assortment of treats from Pablo Picasso.

Oh, and the food. Yes the food... **drools**

I broke from my vegetarian diet (smack! the shame of it), so that I could try an assortment of food that I had only read/heard about. The famous "Bangers & Mash" were as legendary as they say. Trust me.

The English tradition, Fish 'n Chips, were even more delicious than I ever imagined. Believe me, we ate till the proverbial cows came home...

London was fast, exciting, and the people were incredibly stylish. I don't think I saw one woman without high heels on, whether she was sporting blue jeans or a dress! I was fascinated by all of it. The underground transport was awesome, we have nothing like that here in the quiet Prairies, lol. The Tube, is what they refer to it as. I can still hear that woman's voice warning, "Mind The Gap" (if you've been there, you'll hear it now, too!).

Our time in Dublin was in a quiet area called Dún Laoghaire (pronounced Done Leery). What a beautiful place it was! It is about 12 Km south of Dublin's city center, and is a major port of entry from Britain. I spent long hours walking along the coastline, everything is bluer than blue. And combined with the true green of the vegetation, it is absolutely heaven.

The food in Dún Laoghaire was fabulous, too. I tried a few traditional Irish dishes, including Pork & Cabbage, and both my husband and I were positive that we gained a few extra pounds to tote back to our wheatfields back home, lol.

I didn't see a lot of dogs/dog-walkers in London, but in Dún Laoghaire -- hundreds!! I happily chatted with many people, who were more than friendly and helpful to a tourist. I missed my Pepper so much, so it was great that I could stop and love up a doggy while I waited the hours for my hubby to rejoin me (in Dublin, his hours were occupied by business from early morning to dinner time. He would take the city transport, The Dart, to Black Rock, a community close to Dún Laoghaire, and I'd have my days to shop and wander around, taking in the beauty and the culture.

From our hotel in Dún Laoghaire one evening, my husband and I hopped in a taxi and went to the Temple Bar area in Dublin. Wikipedia will explain this: What Is Temple Bar?. The place where we dined and then partied it up was at the Oliver St. John Gogarty. And oh man, did we party -- traditional Irish Bands kept us entertained till the wee hours of the morning and I vaguely remember getting back to the hotel ...

What FUN!!

Well, that is my travelog for today, and now a few pictures.
ONE

TWO

THREE

FOUR

FIVE

SIX

ONE: While on a double decker bus (yay), we toured some of the London streets, and this is just a sample of some awesome architecture, Queen Anne, I believe?

TWO: A sight when you go on the "Tower of London" tour

THREE: Dún Laoghaire view (such a pretty walk it is, to walk along the water's edge)

FOUR: More Dún Laoghaire

FIVE: ditto

SIX: I called this photo "Garden In A Boat" -- a find at a local park in Dún Laoghaire (see how beautiful it all is?)

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Thanks so much for dropping in!

Your K♥zzo