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I write this time from Dublin, Ireland.  This has been a wonderful trip met with wonderful people.  After seeing rural life on the west side of the country, we traveled to Dublin to experience city life and see the sites.

Today we visited the Kilmaenham Gaol (Jail) and the Guinness Storehouse.  The Gaol provided a wonderful glimpse into Irish history and why the Irish people wanted to be separate from the British throne.  Much like America, they felt their best interests weren't being served by Britain.  One thing that I thought was ironic was that Ireland has so much more world history than America, but a relatively recent history of being a free country, as they weren't revolutionized until the early 1920's.

The Guinness Storehouse provided a neat experience into the history of how Guinness beer is made.  It is rich with tradition.  Plus, Guinness is celebrating its 250th anniversary this year from when Arthur Guinness used $100 and signed a 9,000 year lease on the land where the storehouse is located in 1759.

We also experienced dinner this evening at a traditional Irish pub called O'Neills.  The pubs, or public houses, also have a wonderful atmosphere.  Nobody is a stranger in a pub.

We will likely visit St. Patrick's Cathedral tomorrow and possibly the National Museum.  The cathedrals are still working churches that have been around for hundreds of years.

One thing I have noticed while traveling around is the street signs.  There are no signs identifying the streets as we're used to in the US.  You have to look for the street signs on the sides of buildings.  Some are very hard to find, making tourist drivers obvious to point out.  Fortunately, we decided to get around Dublin using public transportation and taxis instead of driving ourselves like we did on the west side of the country.

I have one more day for sightseeing before heading home Thursday.  I'll post some pictures later, maybe.

Cheers!