Valentine's Day

Valentine’s day is getting closer and closer.  Whether you like it or not, shops will be taken over by teddy-bears, red hearts, chocolate boxes and roses.  

The origin of this day is very romantic and goes back to the Roman Empire.

Claudius the Emperor forbid marriages because he thought that married men would refuse to go to war (but we think that some might have been happy to do so ;) However a catholic bishop Valentine decided to secretly marry couples, and he soon ended up in prison.  He was sentenced to death and while waiting he fell in love with the jailer’s daughter. They were exchanging letters and the last one, sent to her before his execution, was signed: from your Valentine.

Valentine’s day became popular in the 1700’s when craftsmen started to produce special cards made of ribbon, satin and lace. They were quite expensive until one clever American woman, Ms Esther Howland, started her own Valentine’s business producing the cards for 1 cent only.

St Valentine’s Day is not that widely celebrated like it is in America. According to some surveys over 15% of American single women will send flowers to themselves just to pretend that they have a boyfriend.  More than 9 million pet owners are going to buy Valentine’s gifts for their pets.  Also over $1 billion worth of chocolate will be purchased.

14^th of February is also one of the most popular days to get engaged (after Christmas). Good luck then and we wish you all a lot of love J

Jack Vettriano "Dancing to the end of love"

Congratulations to Dublin Zoo

Congratulations to Dublin ZOO which attracted over 1 million visitors in 2011.

Among the new attractions last year was the opening of the Gorilla Rainforest which became highly popular.

The Zoo welcomed 42 new “arrivals” including a giraffe calf, a baby hippo, two red panda cubs and two baby gorillas.

The director, Mr Oosterweghel says:

“Over past two decades, Dublin Zoo has transformed into a worldclass centre of learning about wildlife and conservation that immerses its visitors in a truly unforgettable experience.”

You might not know that:

-          The Zoo was opened on 1.09.1831, the animals were donated by London Zoo

-          President of the USA, Ulisses Grant (after leaving office) was among the celebrities who came to see Dublin's world-famous lions in the 19th century

-          On 17 June 1903 an elephant named Sita killed her keeper while he nursed her injured foot

-          During the First World War the situation in the zoo was very bad. Meat ran out during the Easter Rising of 1916. In order to keep the lions and tigers  alive, some of the other animals in the zoo were killed

-          Slats (1917-1928) was the first lion  used as a mascot for the Hollywood film studio Metro Goldwyn –Mayer

It is very easy to get to the Zoo from our hotel – simply take Luas and get off at Heuston Station, from where you can have a short walk to the Phenix Park.