Pleasant National Botanic Gardens in Dublin

The National Botanic Gardens, easily reached by public bus and with free admission, were founded in 1795 5 km from Dublin City Center; the 1883 Great Palm House measures 100 feet long, 80 feet wide and 65 feet tall

The River Tolka forms most of the boundary of the National Botanic Gardens; it's the second largest river in Dublin after the Liffey; in 2011, salmon returned to spawn after more than a 100 year absence and two years later river otters were seen

The cedar of Lebanon, native to Turkey and Lebanon, is a very slow growing tree that retains a compact and dense shape; timber from these trees was used to make the great ocean-going ships of the Phoenicians

Peruvian Lily Freedom (perennial); it was the director of the National Botanic Garden who first noted potato blight in Ireland at Glasnevin on August 20, 1845, and predicted that the impact on the potato crop would lead to famine in Ireland

In 1961 excavations in Dublin revealed the perfectly preserved remains of a Viking village, dating from the 9th and 10th centuries; Viking House, 2014, is an accurate recreation of one of these first Dublin houses based upon the archaeological evidence

The Guinness Book of World Records was originally an initiative from the Brewery’s managing director; it started in 1951 and was supposed to only be a marketing giveaway but went on to be a number best-selling book annually

In the last 20 years, Dublin has become a technology hub with all tech giants such as Google and Facebook basing their European headquarters in Dublin; this is mainly due to the fact that Ireland offered very advantageous tax schemes for companies

There were many greenhouses including the Teak House, Cactus and Succulent House, Alpine House, Orchid House and Water Lily House; Queen Elizabeth II visited pretty much every country in the world but yet had not stepped a foot in Ireland until 2011

Oranges 'n' Lemons Floribunda Rose; I had visited Dublin before so I'd seen the major tourist sights before so I could enjoy lesser known sights this time; even though Ireland is a catholic country, there is no catholic cathedral in Dublin

My tour of Ireland ended in Belfast which has two airports but they have limited service; it was cheaper to take an enjoyable 2 1/2 hour train back to Dublin and depart from here

The sculpture 'What is Life?' by Charles Jencks comprises the DNA double helix surrounded by a rising waveform of RNA molecules; the sculpture was dedicated in 2013 to mark the 60th anniversary of the discovery of the double helix by Watson and Crick

There wasn't a great deal of signage on the plants but the Gardens made for a pleasant place to walk; if you drink alcohol, Dublin might be an attractive destination but I found the countryside much more enjoyable than the Irish cities