Dublin...Wales...Chester

 A 200-year-old footbridge across the River Liffey, in Dublin. Our hotel and some shopping was on the "near" side, and the entertainment district and restaurants on the "far" side.

 The entertainment district in Dublin is called the Temple Bar area: lots of small narrow streets filled with pubs and restaurants. Most of it is closed to cars. It seemed to be a good mix of tourists and locals.

 We seemed to be fascinated with ancient architecture...this is St. Patrick's cathedral in Dublin.

 I liked this signpost because it shows how everything is written in both English and Irish. Kind of reminded me of Quebec!

 A beautiful iron gate guarding an inner quadrangle, or garden, near Trinity College.

 Another shot of the Temple Bar area, and the pedestrian mall.

 Then we left Dublin and took a ferry across to northern Wales. This is a little post office in a town you may have heard of, which boasts the longest name in the world. We didn't try to pronounce it, but we did get our passports stamped. :)

 Across the street from the post office was my most exciting moment that day: a little shop that actually sold wool! I wanted to have a memento from these British Isles that have been famous for their sheep and wool for centuries. In my hand are the shop's last two skeins of a beige (undyed) handspun yarn, 70% Leicester wool and 30% silk. Right now it is on my needles, destined to become a hat & scarf set.

 From Wales we visited the city of Chester, England, where many examples of medieval architecture have been left untouched.

 These photos don't show the ground floor shops, which are recessed under the second floor tudor-style upper storeys. We had a lovely lunch in one of them.