One thing that I enjoyed very much about our trip to Ireland and Scotland was the chance to visit historical places.  Castles in particular never get old to me so when our new friends offered to show us some of the sights including a castle I was totally excited!  Dublin has many beautiful places to see, the city itself is filled with history and beauty so going anywhere is an adventure.  This day Dublin Castle was the main event !  I love to see the various towers of such structures even those things which the locals would consider common strike me because it just doesn’t seem common to me at all .  This fellow doesn’t seem impressed with his surrounding at all .  What castle would be complete without towers like this ?  Magnificent clock towers were often the subject of my photographs…I hope you can bear with me as I feed my fetish .  Here’s a better shot of lady justice .  She’s a fine lady don’t you think ?  Here’s another angle of the clock tower …such an awesome thing to see!  The other side of the tower had a warrior next to a defeated lion .  I backed away some to frame this shot through some arches .  Not all was serious and quiet…oh no, not with RD along !  Cobblestone roads are one more thing that’s common there that I never get tired of !  I wonder if Gabby will ever learn to just suck it up and let a picture be taken of her… .  A person learns to appreciate a few minutes of sunshine when it shows up in Ireland…I thought it provided a beautiful backdrop to this cross on the roof .  I’ve seen all sorts of gargoyle type faces but this guy reminded me more of Burger King …yep, still creepy!  I’ve heard of going a little grey on the side burns but green ?  I mean, how Irish can ya get?  LOL!  This kind of shot I have taken from Lovely.  She loves reflection shots which normally I wouldn’t think of but this time I got one that I really like…this is Gabby in the parking lot …don’t you love her little rain boots?  Before the trip we prayed so much about locks being opened so when I saw this I immediately thought of all our prayers …this looks pretty imposing but so did our circumstances before the trip…there were locks in the way but God opened each and every one!  I’m a weapons fanatic…I love them both old and new.  I could almost imagine someone behind this window with a crossbow !  This shot was taken from a garden area in the castle…I thought the contrast between old and new structures was interesting .  Mysterious garden paths…that end in modern art ?  Hmm, okay then.  Here is Danielle who turned 14 on this trip with Gabby and our dear Nigerian friend Esther.  Having her and Ade (her husband) with us made the whole trip even better!  Isn’t this what you think a castle should look like ?  Here is the princess in her castle .  Here is both the queen and the royal photographer !  Lovely and some nice knockers …wait, what were you thinking?  LOL…I meant the door really I did …c’mon people focus !  Okay, moving on…this was an interesting tower I thought .  Here’s a gate near the exit from the castle .  There were some lonely paths near the exit .  More cobblestone streets led us away from the castle at last .  The castle walls lead out and blend in again with the city…another mix of the old and newer structures…I just love this shot .  I will end this blog this week with a shot of the seal of the great city of Dublin .  The tour will continue later next time.  Again I can’t thank everyone enough for their prayers.  God is so miraculous and so able and so willing to make things happen.  He always keeps His promises and He is so incredibly faithful!