Today we got up and had a complimentary breakfast in the pub. It was very filling and healthy. That and a good cup of coffee and we were set for a while.

Today’s destination was on our lists of must-see things. To get there we hopped on a bus near our hotel. We were heading out a ways and it was way too far to walk. We got to our stop, walked a few feet, and walked into the gate of the National Botanic Gardens.

I have always wanted to see one of these places. It was even more spectacular than I imagined. The garden buildings were cast iron and glass and built in the mid-1800s. They have been restored and just seeing them is amazing, but going inside transports you to a different time. It is a wonderful place to spend a day. There is a lot to see and the grounds are beautiful and so relaxing.

It was the perfect day to be here. Great weather to explore, and I still did not see all of it. I will have to come back here next time.

We decided to head back. We spent several hours but were thinking of food plus wanted to avoid the bus at rush hour. We did a little walking around the area while looking for our bus stop. This was an old, historic neighborhood and had a very relaxed feel to it. It is probably a good place to live.

Back to our hotel we ventured. We got there and decided to sightsee more and walk to Christ Church Cathedral. I had been here before but not inside so we went in and straight to the basement before it closed off for services.

It was very dungeon-like as you can see by the pictures. There were many historical and church artifacts.

It is a beautiful place to visit, and the history we saw in the dungeon was interesting.

We walked around the corner near a familiar place we stayed last time that had the courtyard in the back where Handel’s “Messiah” was first publicly performed.

Near that was this place:

Before you get your panties in a bunch, this is NOT racist. Here is a link to see the story behind this pub.

We walked more and saw some more interesting things.

We had discovered a place in an alley that sold pastys – no, not the nipple covers but the Scottish hand pie the miners used to eat. We needed a snack and wanted to try those so we got two – a traditional with beef and potato, and a chicken one. Both were delicious.

We wandered around sightseeing for a while. We went back to the hotel and kicked back a bit.

Later we decided to get a cottage pie for dinner but the place I had one before – a place called “The Shack” in Temple Bar – did not serve them any longer unfortunately. We found one in the aforementioned bar The Storehouse. It was good, but not as good as the other one I had before.

We went for another walk to see a different part of the city at night.

As we were walking around I believe we were close to some docks. A lady who had been around the area for many years was walking past us and struck up a conversation. She was so fun and interesting. I stopped while she chatted with my travel partner and they went on for several minutes. It was another one of those priceless moments while traveling.

Sadly, this is our last night here. We are not going back to Brussels where our adventure started to fly back; we are flying “open-jaw” tickets, which means flying into one city and out of another. This was a big part of our concern with the changes to our itinerary – we HAD to get to Dublin to fly home. It is the best way to make the most of your time on a trip like this.

We do not have to get up really early, but we can not sleep in too much. As always, we packed what we could to have a faster departure.

Leaving someplace you love always sucks.