No, YOU'RE a tart!

Yesterday, the bartender at The Stand told us about a lovely fishing village, just northeast of Dublin. So this morning we loaded our bellies with fried breakfast at the B&B and headed up to Howth. 

But, before that lovely ride, Katie verbally accosted a French woman who was staying at our B&B. Let me explain: Upon hearing the woman say "bon jour", Katie proceeded to enthusiastically rattle off every French phrase and word she could think of. The woman was delighted and entertained (...or scared to death - I can't be sure which). Katie ended with the word "fiancé". Then she pointed to me and said "no fiancé", which made the French lady roar with laughter. I, however, simply said when we were out of earshot, "not with that attitude, I'm not."

Back to Howth - Once there, we walked the narrow streets and hiked hidden trails along the rocky and green coast. The lower lands of Howth are the fishing village - but the hills are for the rich - massive houses dotted the coastal cliffs and hills. We met a nice fella from Reno, NV who was riding his bike up the hill - yet another friendly traveler.

Then we drove back to Dublin, parked the car and walked a short distance to St. Patrick's Cathedral. It is a lovely place, built in the tradition of all the glorious European churches. The altar seemed uniquely Irish, in that each seat had a helmet and sword mounted over it - the Irish do love their battles.

Then we walked to the Queen of Tarts (during which we called each other tarts at least a half dozen times). That was a lunch that took nearly two hours. The reason? Well, we had a very spacey waitress and inordinate amounts of food. The restaurant was fresh out of napkins, so we had to hose Katie down after the meal. But, all in all, add this to your list of things to do in Dublin. And try the chocolate, peach and almond tart - you'll think you've died and gone to heaven.

We took the scenic (horribly lost) route back to the hotel - passing gorgeous bridges, the Famine Ship Museum, and Dublin Castle along the way. I love this city ;-)

We napped a few hours. Then we awoke to have dinner at ten - we are oh so European. On the way out, we bumped into a chatty Irishman and a very friendly Chilean, whom Katie accosted - this time in a language she has mastered. He offered her his business card (he may have propositioned her... I can't be sure). She got to accost one more person, a Spaniard, at supper. 

Having seen the big city, old city and fishing village side of the area, we
feel a truer appreciation of it.