So today, a group of my friends from class and I decided to tour the Aras an Uachtarain, or the residence of the President of Ireland, which is located in Phoenix Park. The park is one of, if not the largest city park in the world, and it is completely surrounded by a perimeter wall, which is six miles in length. It is home to many monuments, attractions, a herd of wild deer, and the residences of both the Irish President and the US Ambassador to Ireland.
The excursion started off on an interesting note when myself and two of my friends wound up locked in a Spar (a mini-mart store) when they were changing money in an ATM. After that, we hopped on the tram and made it to the park, where we had a bit of a walk before the house. This is where the adventure really gets interesting. After meeting up with a friend in the park, we made it to the gate to the Aras an Uachtarain, only to find out that it is not the pedestrian gate. The security office told us where to go and we headed off in that direction, only to miss our next turn and continued to walk the wrong way. After several minutes of walking, a park ranger tried to give us directions, but those proved to not be all that helpful. Long story short, we finally found the visitors center where you pick up a bus that brings you to the Aras an Uachtarain, and just in time, as we caught the very last tour of the day. All in all, we walked over 5 miles getting to and from and around the park. The tour of the residence was very good, and the person leading the tour was very informative, I would definitely recommend this to anyone visiting Dublin, and its free!
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| Entrance to Phoenix Park |
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| Wellington Monument |
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| The Aras an Uachtarain |
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| Papal Cross |
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