The Wombat goes to college

The Wombat will soon be finishing his stay in Dublin, so he's been looking around some of the places he hasn't been before. Last week, he finally went to Trinity College.

He decided the queue to see the Book of Kells was sadly just a bit too long.


So he had a wander around the beautiful grounds instead (while dodging groups of tourists and wondering what it was like to be an actual student).

Down the Liffey

The Wombat had a nice wander down the quays in Dublin yesterday.

He wasn't too sure why there are Dutch navy ships moored in the Liffey, but he posed for a photo anyway.


He also posed in front of the distant Aviva stadium (it's the curvy thing on the middle-left) and the entrance to the Grand Canal Dock.


And he got a bit creeped out by the pig-mouse-bear-things statue outside the O2. (Anyone know what they are?) The one on the left was definitely giving him a funny look.

The Wombat meets the almighty Chris Baty again

A few years ago, The Wombat attended the Night of Writing Dangerously as part of National Novel Writing Month, where he met its founder Chris Baty. (Details of that night) Chris has been visiting Ireland, and met up with some NaNoWriMo participants...
And of course, The Wombat insisted on being there again.

The dolly with the trolley

Poor old Molly Malone has been called many things (the dolly with the trolley and the tart with the cart among them). But at least she wasn't being swarmed by the usual big-headed leprechauns on the day The Wombat went to see her.

A day out in Dublin

Determined to get to know Dublin even better, the Wombat went wandering along the River Liffey. He walked down to see the Jeannie Johnston, a replica of one of the ships which carried Irish immigrants to a new life in America.


Finally, he had a surprise encounter with the new President of Ireland, Michael D. Higgins, at the Famine Memorial.

We're going to the zoo, zoo, zoo...

The Wombat is going to be spending quite a lot of time in Dublin for the next year or so (although he hopes to travel to lots of other places too).
Hopefully he won't get lost the way he did last time he visited.

He started his sojourn by going to Phoenix Park, where he was very impressed by the great big obelisk.


He visited Dublin Zoo as well, and although he was disappointed not to see any marsupials like himself during his visit, he did make the acquaintance of a meerkat...


... envied the long legs of the giraffes...


... and decided to keep well away from the big white rhinos.

Drinking Guinness in Dublin

The Wombat's trip to Dublin started off in sober enough fashion, watching the ducks at St Stephen's Green - here he is, cooling off near a fountain (while being careful not to get his fur too wet).


However, a visit to the world-famous Guinness Storehouse led to some hard drinking, as the following photos show. In this one, he's innocently examining the original 9,000 year lease signed by Arthur Guinness, allowing him to build the Guinness brewery at St James's Gate.


But here's The Wombat about to tackle a pint of the black stuff...


And here he is, complete with a frothy moustache, and already eyeing up his second pint.


After consuming more Guinness than was good for him (never mind the slogans), The Wombat then managed to 'lose' himself. But His photographer searched high and low, and thankfully tracked down the errant marsupial before he could do any lasting damage to himself or anything else. Here's a photo of The Wombat in the middle of O'Connell Street, looking properly contrite after a good scolding.


The Wombat apparently suffered a bit of a hangover the next day. And he's no longer allowed to be quite so disapproving of those doped-up wallabies.