Pamela Louderback, Day 71

Happy New Year!  Most of the city of Belfast was closed save shopping centers and the occasional eatery.  The train schedule was running on a holiday limited schedule as well.  Only two trains were scheduled to Dublin (1:00 pm and 4:00 pm) so we took the earlier train.  Paul and Kat fly out of Dublin tomorrow afternoon so we booked a hotel in the Temple Bar district.  Once we got to Dublin, we took in a few of the City Centre sights around the Temple Bar area -- heart of Dublin's artistic and cultural centre. 

We stayed at the Blooms Hotel which is located at the heart of Temple Bar.  It was the perfect place to stay given its in the middle of two major shopping areas, and is close to all major theatres and concert venues.  It's also home to the VAT House Bar -- a traditional Irish bar with live music daily, and club -- the famouse nightspot in Dublin.  There's an annual Temple Bar Tradfest (January 26-30, 2011) http://www.templebartrad.com/  and most of the musical performers usually stay at the Blooms. 

After walking around the shop district and taking in some of the chic and trendy shops around the Temple Bar we checked out the Wax Museum which was conveniently located around the corner from our hotel.  We finished out the evening with a visit to the VAT House Bar for some traditional music and drinks on the house (one voucher per person)!  Revelers partied on until the wee hours of the morning at Club M -- one of Dublin's longest established night spots and renowned for its "Party Nights" -- and since Club M is located within Blooms Hotel, there was inevitable noise from the nightclub --and not much sleep for me.

Guinness Storehouse and National Wax Museum area one block from our hotel

Below are some photos taken at the National Wax Museum -- four floors of discovery and entertainment. 
It offers a journey through Irish cultural history, has a children's zone of discovery, and a science section that celebrates Irish scientific inventors, designers, and scientists.  There were plenty of interactive experiments and models that I found very interesting.

Exploring the "Time Vault of Irish History" section where you meet famous figures

from the Bronze Age right up to the Good Friday agreement. 

Famous poets and writers can be found in the Irish writers room -- Oscar Wilde - one of my favorites

Queen Elizabeth display  

Figures in Irish Mythology room included Cu Chullain and Roisin Dubh

When the expression of Irish patroitic poetry and song was outlawed during Ireland's troubled past, the Irish bards would disguise their nationalistic verse as love songs.  In the figure of Roisin Dubh, a Gaelic poem, the name became a poetic symbol of Ireland, reflecting the Irish tradition of disguising outlawed patroitic verse as love songs where she is told not to be downhearted for her friends are returning from abroad to come to her aid. 

Some photos from the Children's Enchanted World with magical tunnels, cartoon heroes and a year round cinema.  Here is Gollum from Lord of the Rings fame.

The Simpsons on the left, Teletubbies on the right, and a magical staircase up to Beauty and the Beast.

Evil Witch figure

Jack and the Bean Stalk



 Housed in the basement is the Chamber of Horros rooms with Freddy Kruger, Hannibal Lector, and others

My favorite area - the Science and Discovery Room -- here Kat is using a machine that allows you to view your veins by placing your arm through the box.