Pond Skipping: To the beach

So it really wouldn't be a day in Europe if I didn't get on a train now, would it? Last night I read through a bunch of suggestions that Brian had sent to me, and one of them was to take the DART (commuter train) out to Killiney to see the coastline and the beach. After so much time in the cities, that sounded pretty great.

Before heading out of the city though, I wanted to check out Temple Bar a bit more. I took a long walk around pretty early this morning, and everything was still closed (including three different record stores that I found). But it was peaceful and nice. I then walked to the Westin, where I had discovered they carried the channel that airs American sports -- like basketball. :) Yes, their bar is open tonight. So I'm hoping to catch the KU game around 10 p.m. here. Wish me luck.

After confirming the basketball stuff, I found the train station and boarded for Killiney.

While on the train, I saw this from the window, which I think was a bit tinted, creating the strange coloring. Anyway, I was so jealous. What a nice way to spend a Sunday morning!

Also on the train we passed a bunch of houses/yards and parks in the suburbs. I saw two basketball "courts" among all of the soccer and field hockey fields. But they didn't have any concrete. It was just two hoops in a field of grass. I imagine they haven't quite figured out how to dribble yet...

After arriving at my station, I just walked up and down the beach, taking photos of the scenery. It was warm out (probably in the 50s) and a slight breeze. The coast smelled really fresh.

The tour book says that a lot of celebrities live in this area, including Bono and Tom Cruise. No celebrity sightings to report, but I did like looking at the homes in the area. Here is one I saw near the coast.

I also saw a lot of dogs on the beach, which was a nice treat. It really made me miss my own pups back home. Anyway, this dog was hilarious. He reminded me so much of Memphis. He was running along the beach, and then he found a crab (I think). He would dig after it in the sand, and then it would pop up and run away, dog in chase, then it would dive down into the sand and he would dig and bark furiously after it. This went on and on for a bit -- really fun to watch. Here's a photo of him running after his owners after realizing how far they had gotten during his crab distraction.