Wow, where to even begin. Well, today we pretty much proved once again that we can conquer any city in about one day no matter how far widespread the attractions or tired we are from jet lag. If it was in Dublin…today…we saw it!!! The kids did amazing. They slept the whole plane ride over, took a nap during the afternoon and were up and at’em and that usual 5:30am this morning (really 12:30AM our time), so that alone was amazing.

Day 2 – We wasted no time and hit the ground running with a traditional Irish breakfast (which I have come to refer to as good ol’ soul food – or Carolina style Chow’ – eggs, bacon, sausage, beans, fruit, potatoes, toast, ahhh – and it just keeps coming). We love it!!

First things first, the kids would not stop talking about the park we went to yesterday, so we decided to hit that up again first thing in the morning. We made a deal – you get the park – mommy and daddy get a grande Pumpkin Spice Latte (PSL) from Starbucks on the way. As we reached the park and said our good morning to the ducks and swans, and preceded to enter the park, Mylan decided his shoes didn’t fit well enough (owey, owey, owey he said over and over again) and he wasn’t taking one more step until it was resolved. They were kind of tight we decided and much to the dismay of Sienna (Mylan – come on, you’re messing it up – we have to go to the park), we hit the Mall across the street (that we found yesterday). Now mind you, Mylan lost his shoes in Venice, Italy last year…twice!!!! So this is starting to become a trend. We think he might secretly have a passion for International Shoe Shopping or something. With a new pair of shoes (and mittens for both kids) we headed back to the park, much to the delight of Sienna…and now Mylan.

With the shoe dilemma resolved and check in the box for the park, we decided to hop the Dublin City tour bus and went straight to the Guinness Warehouse. Fun for the kids, now fun for the parents. Turns out the Guinness Warehouse was fun for all. There was a lot to do for both kids and parents and we ended up having a blast there, including playing in water and barley and a trip to the very top for a pint of Guinness to finish the tour with panoramic views of Dublin and the surrounding Irish countryside.

After the Guinness tour we tried to catch the bus again, but it was packed so we did what any sensible parents would do at that point, we hitched a ride on a horse and buggy tour through Dublin!!!! The kids loved it and they even got to sit on the horse’s (Molly’s) back for a photo shoot right outside St. Patrick’s Cathedral.

After that it was pretty much tighten’ up your walking shoes because we toured St. Patrick’s,  Dublin Castle, Temple Bar, the Ol’ Dublin Library, the Book of Kells, the Oldest Harp in Ireland, and finally a long walk back to the Castle Hotel and dinner. We ended the evening with a traditional Irish meal and our now looking at our two lil’ ones passed out on their respective beds for the night. I think we wore them…and us out for one day.

Tomorrow, it’s off to visit Trim Castle (northwest of Dublin) and then back South to Kilkenny for the evening. Not sure how Internet will be from here on out, but one thing is for sure, many more Irish adventures to come!!!

Good night!