We'll meet at Coffeeangel on Trinity street.  We will walk past St Andrew's Church and the Molly Malone Statue and arrive at the top of Grafton Street.  Grafton Street is the most famous shopping area in Dublin.  There are shops of all types here.  You can get your Irish goods, your souvenirs, and your picnic fixins.  Don't worry about getting seperated, we'll all meet back up at the lower end of the street at St Stephen's Green for Saturday in the park picnic.
For our virtual 'Break Bread & Share Wine" event, we are opening a bottle of Chronic Cellars Purple Paradise.  If you have a bottle, crack it open and give it a taste.  Then add your comments about the wine to your comments about Ephesians 2, Dublin, Costa Rican Coffee, or any of the B.S. that we covered this week.

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Today is the day for a side-trip.  The island of Ireland is small enough that you could comfortably make a day-trip to any one site anywhere in the country.  There are many great choices, in fact, after getting a taste of Ireland in this week A'Way, you'll likely want to see more.  Dublin could easily serve as a home-base for a week of day-trips to various parts of the country.  Today, Way Anchor Travel recommends an excursion north to Belfast, Northern Ireland and the natural phenomenon known as the giant's causeway. 
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Giant's Causeway & Belfast City Tour  
Top Dublin Day Trips & Excursions

The story of Finn McCool is not even slightly accurate.  Long ago, stories were created to explain the unexplained.  Taking a look at these legends gives us a slight insiders view to the people of Ireland.  No one in Ireland still believes these tales, but a lot of people know them.  Today we getparabolical.

Here's an article for a bit more information on Belfast and Northern Ireland, our recommended day-trip.

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This morning, we'll meet up on the north side of Liffey River at Mochaland Cafe.  Once everyone who wants coffee, has coffee we'll head across the Liffey into the Temble Bar area.  There are several bars with the word "temple" in their names, but there is just one "Temple Bar" that your likely to recognize from postcards.  In the evenings this is a rowdy area with many tourists and few locals, but since we are here in the morning, it is much quieter and most of the people we see are actually Irish, who are busy cleaning up from the night before and restocking for the night to come.  From The Temple Bar, we proceed on to the base of O'Connell Street to the O'Connell Monument.  Here we will likely meet up with a few of the late sleepers from our group, perhaps some may have visited the Temple Bar last night.  From here, you can choose to continue up O'Connell Street, one of the most Iconic streets in Dublin, or continue walking along the Liffey River to the EPIC Museum.  The Irish Emigration Museum delves into the past of Ireland's diaspora in brilliant interactive detail. The state-of-the-art visitor experience explores the inspiring journeys of over 10 million people who left Ireland's shores throughout history.  Today's back story looks to the point in history when so many Irish soldiers left Ireland to join the armies of many other countries, including an Irish brigade that fought in the U.S. Civil War.

Kaph to the Kastle 
We'll meet up this morning at a great little independent coffee shop called Kaph.  From Kaph we will make our way leisurely past City Hall to the Dublin Castle courtyard.  This is a great launching point for today's site=seeing.  You'll likely want to tour the castle and the history museum at next-door city hall.  About a block to the west is Dublin's oldest and grandest cathedral, Christchurch.  About 3 blocks to the east is Dublin's number one attraction, The Book of Kells at Trinity College.  To the north about 2 blocks is the famous Temple Bar.
Today, our back story covers it all:  a tale of royalty, governance of early Dublin, and the founding of Christchurch.  We even slip in a brief mention of the Book of Kells.

We meet at the Craft Coffee Roaster just across the street from the Brazen Head Restaurant.  Some of our group has chosen to sleep in.  That's O.K. the Way Anchor Week A'Way is flexible, we'll see them a bit later.  Coffee in hand, we stroll through the yet-to-be tourist filled streets of Dublin.  We'll arrive in St. Patrick's Park park just before St. Patrick's Cathedral opens.  Others from our group will meet us here.  Some may depart to see sights of their own choosing.  Most of us will choose to see St. Patrick's Cathedral, our entry is included on our passes and there shouldn't be a crowd at this time of the day.
You have the choice to see/do what you want.  Check out all the options available with the Dublin Pass
St. Patrick's Cathedral could very well be the History of Ireland museum.  The history of English and Irish royalty, Irish military banners, awards, and tributes, literary tributes, and acknowledgements to donors from the past 1000 years are all crammed into this cathedral.  The back stories of all these items could entertain a traveler for a very long time.  Today we're going to focus on just one.  There is a simple wooden door (it was once the door to the chapter house inside St. Patrick's Cathedral) in which a rectangular hole has been chopped.  Why is this damaged piece of building material being saved and honored?

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We arrive in Dublin and are shuttled to our hotel by our prearranged transfer.  We'll meet up with our host and the rest of the group at the Brazen Head, a very old and very Irish establishment, where we can partake of some traditional Irish food and a pint or two of traditional Irish beer.  We see tomorrow morning's meet-up spot for coffee is just across the street.

Saint Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland, is perhaps the most well-known patron saint for any country.  Everyone knows the story of Saint Patrick and Ireland.  Rather, everyone knows stories of Saint Patrick.  In truth, very little is known about Saint Patrick, but the stories and legends abound.  For many of these legends to be accurate, Patrick would have had to have had magical powers.  But since legends are basically made up stories, i find it doubtful that Patrick had the kind of magic these legends claim.  However, we do know that a few things that Patrick accomplished and we can certainly see the legacy  he has left.  I think that Patrick possessed the power of a certain "magic" word, and his secret power was the power of persuasion.

Ephesians 2
1 And you were dead in your trespasses and sins,  2 in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience.  3 Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest.  4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us,  5 even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved),  6 and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,  7 so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.  8 For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God;  9 not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.  10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.

Day 1 (Monday March 4)  We arrive in Dublin and transfer to our chosen hotel.  We meet our host and the rest of the travelers on the tour.  We consider the possibilities for the sites we will dive into over the next three days with the Dublin Pass​
BS:  The Life of St. Patrick
Day 2 (Tuesday March 5)  Meet for coffee - explore the city with the Dublin Pass - evening stroll and sharing
BS:  The Door of Reconciliation @ St Patrick's Cathedral
Day 3  (Wednesday March 6)  Meet for coffee - explore the city with the Dublin Pass - evening stroll and sharing
​BS:  "A Big Bad Bully Builds A Basilica" the story of King Sitric @ Christchurch Cathedral
Day 4  (Thursday March 7) Meet for coffee - explore the city with the Dublin Pass - evening stroll and sharing
BS:  "The Rock of Lymric"
Day 5  (Friday March 8) Side-trip to the Giant's Causeway in Northern Ireland
BS:  "The Legend of Finn McCool"
Day 6  (Saturday March 9) Meet for coffee - shop for souvenirs and picnic fixins - group "break bread and share wine" event 
For our virtual event, we will be tasting "Chronic Cellars Purple Paradise" wine from the "Revel Wine Club"
Buy a bottle of Purple Paradise
Join the Way Anchor - Revel Wine Club
Day 7  (Sunday March 10) Attend church service at your place of choice - transfer to the departure point for your next adventure.
​Our next virtual adventure is a Week A'Way in Rome

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