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Sometimes I feel like a sloth. Most likely, it is because I am consumed with student life instead of normal life and just try to keep my head buried in the books to stay afloat.
With Easter Break nearing an end here in Galway and everyone returning to work and school next week, the Chef and I decided to take a run up to the Dublin Zoo yesterday with the kids. Once again folks you will notice from the pictures how beautiful the weather in Ireland really is.
Getting out the door and on the road can sometimes take a little longer than expected when you have a few kids. I had planned on being on the road at 7am to get to Dublin Zoo right at 9:30am when the zoo opened. To beat the heat of the day (yeah!) and the crowds. I knew that we were not the only family planning to use up that last 'day' of Easter holidays to the fullest. Sometimes things do not go according to plan. I dealt with it.
We have a new road that takes us all the way to Dublin in less than two hours. This may still seem like quite a haul just to go to the zoo - but Dublin used to be a 3 hour car ride away. With no traffic on the road we lined up for tickets at the Zoo gate at 9:45am. One hour and 45 minutes after leaving our home in Galway. No speeding tickets either!
Dublin Zoo is one of the oldest Zoo's in the world. Opened in 1831 you can still see (above) the original entrance lodge which was built for just 30 Irish pounds back then. If you are interested in reading all about the history of Dublin Zoo then click here!
Situated in Phoenix Park in Dublin the Zoo occupies a hundred acres of land and is nicely laid out. The animals have an abundance of space to roam about and for the most part you do not feel like you are looking at caged animals. Considering the last time I was in Dublin Zoo was over twenty five years ago, I was rather impressed with the over all look and feel of the place. It reminded me a lot of the Zoo in Zurich.
In some cases, we got a little too close for (my) comfort with the larger animals. It did not seem to bother the kids at all. Thank God for protective glass!
For the kids, the mark of a good Zoo depends heavily on two things. (1) The Playground and how long they get to 'play' and (2) the availability of ice-cream, bottled water and toilets on every corner.
They do not look too miserable, so I would say Dublin Zoo scored an 'alright' from the terrible two!
Not to be outshone by his Children, the Chef likes to score the zoo's he visits and he really liked this one. The vegetative growth in Phoenix park is quite spectacular and as Spring is in full bloom right now, it was like walking around in the botanical gardens.
More later on where we lunched in Dublin!
Those are all the WiseWords I have for today!
WiseMóna
