Malahide Castle

Boy howdy did we ever finally get some sleep last night! After three nights of very little sleep we fell into deep comas. By the time we finally woke up the day was half gone, but our bodies were thankful. We took our leisure over the small bit of the morning that was still left, then went out to explore some of the area north of the river. It’s an area of pedestrian malls and is obviously where the locals shop as opposed to the area south of the river, which is full of bars, restaurants, tourist shops, and museums.

Our afternoon was occupied with a bus tour out to Malahide Castle and Howth, a fishing town on the coast. Our motivation for taking the tour was that Howth is supposed to have lots of good fish and chips places.

Malahide Castle was just a 30 minute drive from downtown but it was located on extensive, beautiful grounds. Parts of the Castle date to the 12th century and the remaining grounds cover 260 acres. It now belongs to the state and it was great to see the massive lawns being enjoyed by so many people on such a beautiful, sunny day.

Family polishing their pet ostrich?

Ceiling decor

On a chest

Loved this banister detail

We did enjoy the story behind why pineapples are considered the symbol of hospitality. It all has to do with impressing your guests in the 17th and 18th century when pineapples were extremely rare and therefore expensive. It was a sign of your wealth to display a pineapple at a dinner party, but you certainly wouldn’t consume it. It was just for show and there was a good chance that pineapple had been rented out previously to someone of lesser means so they could impress their friends. We never did find out how many times a pineapple might be rented out before it was actually sold, but they were likely rotten by the time they were eaten, and there certainly wasn’t enough to share around a whole dinner party.

Old chapel

Guarding the old chapel

After another 30 minute ride we pulled into the coastal town of Howth. As we drove in, we went by the ruins of St Mary’s Abbey which looked intriguing but the bus continued down the hill and down to the pier at the other end of town. We learned we only had 30 minutes, not enough time to get to the abbey and back, so we wandered down the pier and looked at fishing boats and fish and chip shops that we did not have enough time to patronize. (Disappointing, as one of the reasons for the trip was having heard about the great fish and chips in Howth.) We did admire the views out over the water at the islands in the distance. The forecast of rain was completely wrong and the sunlit views of the water on the drive back to Dublin were beautiful.

Howth marina — guess they are Man U fans

Howth lighthouse

We did finally manage to satisfy the craving for fish and chips back in Dublin.

Driving back to Dublin