A DAY AT THE DUBLIN ZOO.

We are up and at um, laundry not quite dry so dig out some clothes for the day and head to breakfast. 

The breakfast room is an upstairs bar, rather nice and a full Irish breakfast is served comprised of eggs, bacon (good Bacon), sausages, pudding, toast and beans, all rather well done. 

We are thinking about going to the Dublin Zoo today and it looks to be a couple mile walk or maybe some public transportation.

It was a nice healthy walk to the Dublin Zoo maybe a good 2 plus miles, but that is good for us to work off the Full Irish Breakfast. 

When walking along the River Liffey, one comes to the Famine Memorial. These stark figures depict the ravages of the Great Hunger of 1845-1851. The haunted look tells of a journey both hazardous and unwelcome. The artist is Rowan Gillespie who erected these in1997. 

We arrived at the Zoo at about 1100 and stayed till about 1500. The forecast is for afternoon rain so we planned our return to the hotel via a tram system called LAUS red line tram.   

The Dublin Zoo is very well done and there are some nice exhibits. I did take a lot of photos. Just a thought for anyone planning a wildlife photo trip would be to visit a zoo to hone your skills. I keep forgetting to up my shutter speed on fast moving critters. 

Wellington Monument 

Lions are so kewl

Red Panda 

As we left the zoo, we crossed the street to The Tea Rooms, where we had a toasted sandwiches for lunch.  We then made our way to the LAUS stop and purchased tickets, and soon jumped on board. This is a good way to cross the city and we will use it tomorrow to get to the Guinness Warehouse. 

While in some ways, not all that of an exciting day for most, we do enjoy visiting different city zoos. Zoos can be depressing at times as I wish the animals could be free in their natural habitats. Then I think of the educational opportunities that can be offered and the appreciation one can gain for just seeing these animals. Then there are the breeding programs for the near extinct critters, nothing wrong with there. 

We got back to the Ferryman just as the rain started to fall. Lucky timing on our part. Getting these entries caught up and will head down stairs for a pint, but first, another walkabout was in order. We spent an hour walking in the rain, exploring the neighborhood.  Then down to the pub for a pint and then sandwiches in the room for dinner.