VIKING SPLASH TOUR

Stephanie at coffee before our tour.

Viking Duck!

Meeting point. Was worried that the tour was cancel because it started late.

Stephanie and I ready for the tour!

It reads, "goats are accepted as tips, but cash is better" haha!

Stephanie and her Viking helmet!

Christchurch. Built in 1038.

Apartment building in area that Jonathan Swift was born and raised. On the top are little emblems that tell the story of "Gulliver's' Travels".

Christchurch

Area known as "The Liberties". In Medieval times, this area would be outside the city walls. Because these people lived outside city walls, they did not have to pay taxes. This meant that people outside the city walls were usually poor and at a greater risk of danger. Inside the city walls you were safer because since you paid taxes, you had guards to protect you.

This is the last Dutch structure in the city.

St. Patrick's Cathedral

An apartment complex in which Arthur Guinness, the creator of Guinness, built for his employees. He also gave money to restore St. Patrick's Cathedral.

River Liffey

The 4 Courts. This is Ireland's judicial system. It is the home of the Supreme Court; the High Court and Dublin Circuit Court. Until 2010, it was also the home for the Central Criminal Court.

Blurry picture of the River Liffey

Bono's, from U2, hotel.

Where the River Liffey meets the ocean.

The Ha'Penny Bridge. It was built in the 1800's and cost a half penny to cross it. That is how it got its name.

The beginnings of Grafton Street. It is a very, very popular shopping area. I hate it because it is so crowded all the time!

The back of Molly Malone statue. She is famous for being in an Irish folk song. She is a fictional character and the song tells how she would bring her fish and other goods to sell in Dublin. She also worked at night.... on the streets. She died at a young age due to a fever. The song has become the unofficial anthem of Dublin.

Georgian architecture. You can't really tell, but the doors are wider then normal. This is because back in those days, women wore big dresses and the doors had to be made wider to accommodate their dresses.

Some doors of the Georgian houses at a lamp on them. If you had this, you were responsible for putting a candle in there to light up the night.

Georgian area

Viking helmets!

Bad picture of the Georgian Mile. This is a street in which there was a lot of Georgian style houses. The government did destroy a lot of them and opened up a museum in an effort to apologize. At the museum you can learn more about the Georgian era.

Old English barracks.

Old English barracks.

Ship in the Grand Canal.

Area around Grand Canal.

The Grand Canal.

We are in the water!

The Irish Eye

Aparment buildings.

This wall is right by where U2 records its albums. On the wall is graffiti saying how amazing U2 is.

Cool house by the water.

New theater. Designed by a New York artist. The red poles are s uppose to be trees and the green is suppose to represent grass. It is an urban forest.

This bridge is the only location known in the world in which a tram ran into a boat.

Aparment building. These units cost 2 million Euro.

Cement boat. It is 60 years old.

Church

This little boat survived 55 hours on a stormy sea to rescue a crew of 8 that was stuck out at sea. The crew made it and everyone got home safely. Instead of being in a museum, this boat is rotting on the sea.

Where the city buses go when they are not on duty.

A building I find interesting.

Victorian bridge.

Love this statue.

Where the civil servants work.

Where the Duke of Wellington lived.

Our sweet ride.

Statue by St. Stephen's Green at our meeting point.

Building in Viking area.

The Vikings would leave a long stone in areas that they settled. Vikings use to live around this area.

Christchurch- another Viking area.

Stephanie getting her refunds from the bus company!

I am not going to lie. I love tours! I love tours because they give you information. And I love information.

My friend Stephanie really wanted to do the Viking Splash Tour in Dublin. I guess back home they are called the Duck Tours. What is so great about these tours is that you can go into the water!

The pictures tell of what I saw and learned. It was very fascinating!

The Viking Splash Tour was excellent. The tour started at St. Stephen's Green. I think it was a good idea for it to start in a central location where it is easy for people to find.

The tour started late and Stephanie and I feared that it wasn't going to happen since we were the first tour of the day. Maybe they didn't get enough people?

Once it got started, there was no stopping the fun! Our tour guide was excellent. He was very knowledgeable and made some very good jokes!

We went all over town. Though I had been to most of the sites before, it was great to learn more about them. And it is great for people who are just visiting town for a short time.

Of course the best part was going into the water! We went around the Grand Canal and saw some very interesting buildings!

The whole tour was around 1 hour and 15 minutes long. It went by so fast!

I would recommend that anyone visiting Dublin should take a Viking Splash Tour. It is a great way to get the lay out of the land, whether you are staying in town for a couple of days or for a longer time.