It’s been so much fun to have my parents here the past few days!!! They arrived Tuesday afternoon, and Isaac was eagerly waiting and watching for them out the window all afternoon. As soon as they pulled up, we all hugged and were so happy to see each other! We’ve been loving spending time with them and showing them our neighborhood and starting to explore Dublin and the area together.

Yesterday, we went up to the town of Malahide, which is on the coast northeast of the city. It’s got a cute, “posh” village with lots of shops, nice restaurants, and cafes. We didn’t actually have time to explore the village this time, but we definitely want to go back and walk around.

Instead, we spent our morning touring Malahide castle. It’s a beautiful 12th century castle set on 260 acres of beautiful land and gardens. We learned a lot of fascinating history about the castle and its inhabitants. It’s unique because it’s one of the oldest castles in Ireland and was inhabited by the same family — the Talbots — for 800 years! Since it was gradually enlarged over time, we saw different rooms in many different styles, from the original “oak room” (the walls all contained oak carvings) of the 12th century, to the Medieval Great Hall (dining room), to the Georgian drawing rooms. A lot of the decorations came from all around the world, as it was common for aristocrats at the time to tour all around Europe and bring back paintings, rugs, and furniture. Our guide was really dynamic and passionate about the history, so it was actually a really fun and interesting tour. There are even supposedly five ghosts that live in the castle, but we didn’t see or hear any!

Before the tour, we ate brunch at the Avoca Cafe, which is in the castle visitor center. Avoca is a really nice store and cafe, which there are a few branches of around the city, and they have lovely clothes, home wares, candles and soaps, teas and tea sets, toys, books, and jewelry. The store reminds me a bit of Anthropologie from home, with a nice funky sort of feel!

We didn’t have a chance to explore the castle grounds and gardens because we had to rush back to pick Isaac up at school, but we definitely want to go back, especially because there’s supposed to be a nice playground there, which I’m sure Isaac will want to explore.

Later in the afternoon, we took the bus into town. It was my parents’ first double decker bus ride. We got off near O’Connell street, which is one of the main thoroughfares of the city. We saw the General Post Office — the place where the proclamation of Irish independence was read in 1916. The Irish freedom fighters then holed up inside the post office and fought with the British. Today it’s a regular post office, but you can still see bullet holes in the pillars outside the building.

We strolled down O’Connell and across the River Liffey and then walked through the Temple Bar area. It started to rain a bit, so we popped into a pub where we heard live music being played. It was so cool — definitely a highlight of the day and of my time here so far! The musicians played traditional Irish music and people sang and clapped along and came up to the front to dance a jig. It was all quite rollicking! Especially for 4 in the afternoon!

We continued on and walked down Grafton Street a bit, and then met up with Jeff once he was done with work. Ended our day with a delicious Italian meal at a place called Dunne and Crescenzi. Super fresh and delicious food! It was a busy, full day, and I think my parents liked getting to start seeing the sites! More in store over the next week or so while they’re here.