Tuesday – 19 March – First day of Spring
One more sleep until we leave for Ireland! I don’t think I’ll be posting any TWITL entries while we’re away so I thought I’d start this one as my diary on Ireland and then post when we’re back home. So it’s in the moment but you won’t read it until we’re home. Or on our way home. We’ll see.
Thursday – 21 March – Here in Dublin! The bullet points first:
- The flight was LONG but uneventful. The seats across the aisle from us were open so R took that aisle seat and I had our bit of the row to myself. I managed to sleep after dinner (BBQ chicken with rice and corn). I watched Wonka in bits and pieces. Why do I already LOVE that movie?
- Leaving the airport was actually quite easy and we ended up in a taxi to our hotel. Our driver, Edward, was a lovely gentleman of 71 years. He easily chatted with us and told us some of the spots to see then told us a bit about his life. It was a nice drive.
- We checked in at Harrington Hall and I misheard “lift” as “left.” Alas! Our room is one of the two level suites (the bed is in a loft area). It’s rather spiffy!
- Our first pub was The Landmark. I had my first Guinness in Ireland there and managed to split the G. Good on me! Ha! The pub was laid back and casual and I liked that it was our first Irish pub experience. I heard more Irish accents than not so maybe that means we were the only tourists in the place? Who knows!
- Our first eating experience was a place called Eddie Rocket’s City Diner, which I think is a take on Johnny Rockets? I know, I know, American style food for our first food experience in Ireland but we were hungry after our flight so it felt like a safe bet. The burger was fine, I liked the bun, but the service was neglectful at best after the food was delivered.
- We hit the Tesco afterwards for some snacks and drinks. Nothing too perishable as our room does not have a refrigerator.
Friday – 22 March – Bullet points seem to be working so let’s go with that for now.
- We woke up to construction next door, which was rather annoying but we eventually got over it. If we switch rooms, we’ll be closer to the club and the room would be smaller. I think I can deal with the morning noise, now that I know what it is. And ideally, we won’t be in our room so much. But we shall see.
- We headed out while it was still morning (go us!) and checked out the two parks closest to us– Iveagh Gardens and St. Stephens Green Park. I realized as we were walking through that I really like parks, especially parks like these two. They were very lovely. Iveagh Gardens is the smaller of the two and rather quiet. St. Stephens Green Park is the big one and has a couple of listening trails. (QR code and walk along to the audio through your earbuds. We didn’t do that.) St. Stephens is the popular one and there were lots of people milling about. We didn’t go through the whole of each park but I did like them a lot.
- After the parks, we checked out the shopping mall and the shops along Grafton Street. We found Molly Malone then stopped at the pub across for some lunch and Guinness.
- We had lunch at O’Neill’s Pub and Restaurant. I had the Irish Stew and it was AMAZING. Definitely a great choice as my first taste of Irish food (Tayto crisps notwithstanding though those are great too). The whole vibe of the place was great. I could totally hang out there all the time.
- Next stop was Tiger Tattoo. I could not go to Ireland without getting a tattoo and I had the perfect one in mind. We walked in and talked with Ross and I was good to go. We chatted while he created my tattoo and there was a moment or two where I mused on why I liked the pain so much. The tattoo looks great and I am so digging it. This is the first tattoo with color since my other wrist tattoo, which is almost 17 years old. (Wow, that’s a long time!) I wonder if I’ll start not wearing a watch or just switch to wearing it on my right wrist. We shall see!
- My after tattoo drink was had at Cassidy’s. What a neat place! The bartender was friendly and chatted with us a bit. The place filled up as quitting time approached and by the time we left, it was getting lively.
- Our last stop was for dinner and drinks at BrewDog. What a neat place! I had their stout, which has been compared to Guinness. I liked it! Is it on par with Guinness? For me, almost but not quite. For food, I had their wings. SO GOOD! And wow, what a great value. So many wings for the “small” portion. I didn’t finish, alas!
I’m really glad that we didn’t book tours right at the beginning of our time here in Ireland. I feel like we’re easing into being here and I like it. We’re walking around the city and just checking out different things. I like how we didn’t rush too much on this first full day in Ireland.
Saturday – 23 March – Dallied around town and took a fall at Trinity College…
- We headed out late (still suffering from jet lag or perhaps the walking from the day before?), walking out of the hotel in the early afternoon. It was raining but that would be the only time we’d have that bit. We walked to Trinity College, which was busy, of course.
- Trinity College was neat but the tours were sold out (it is Saturday, after all). It was just so cool to be there. We bought tour tickets for Thursday, so we’ll be back!
- And the Fall. The Fall went like this– we were walking out and I slipped on something and fell forward. Skinned my left knee and my right arm/wrist seems rather ginger. I can type so maybe it’s not so bad? But it also feels super awkward to do normal things, like eat crisps. What the heck? Hopefully I didn’t do too much damage. I was able to walk around so whew! Not sure what’s going to happen with the arm. I think it’s a little swollen. Alas.
- We walked with a protest (now that’s something I’ve NEVER done) before passing through the Temple Bar area. We didn’t stop in anywhere there though we did move for the livecam so I could record my screen as evidence that we were there. We crossed the Ha’penny Bridge to visit north of the River Liffey.
- The Lotts Cafe Bar – We were hungry and I went for the Smoked Salmon & Poached Eggs. SO GOOD. The place was nice and perhaps slightly fancy, which was fine. The food was good and I had my day’s Guinness there.
- We walked around and actually checked out a mall. Since it’s Saturday, it was busy and it felt like Christmas time in an American mall (back in the day). We also walked into a Filipino place called Filipino Bakery and Cafe. I know, right? I wish I had been hungry enough to try something. It smelled good in there and the workers all looked Filipino and I heard the language spoken.
- Our next stop was O’Riordans. We had drinks while watching Ireland play Belgium in soccer. It ended in a tie. But it was a nice spot to watch the match.
- We had more drinks at Cassidy’s (sitting in the same spot as our first time in), then headed to Tesco to get some snacks for the room. A nice full day!
Sunday – 24 March
Today we took the Rural Pub Tour and it was great! We walked to Dublin Castle to meet the tour and then we went into the Dublin countryside. We checked out three pubs and they were all pretty cool. Our guide Shane was great. He gave us great historical bits and on the way back to Dublin, we sang songs to pass the time. Good times!
- The Merry Ploughboy – Our first stop! I had the Sullivans Irish Ale (red). It was good! The vibe of the place was very homey/comfy. We were only there for an hour but I enjoyed that hour there.
- Johnnie Fox’s – Our second and longest stop! I had the Bulmers Cider to go with my Beef and Guinness Pie. DELICIOUS!
- The Blue Light – And the last stop. We drank our pints outside and it was quite brisk! The view was lovely though so it wasn’t a big deal sitting out in that cool breeze.
Tomorrow is our tour to the Cliffs of Moher and Galway. A nice long day. Should be fun!
Monday – 25 March
Our day started early! We woke up at 4:30 AM to get to St. Stephens Green North by 6:45 AM. This was our first tour with Paddywagon Tours to the Cliffs of Moher and Galway from Dublin. The drive was long but it gave us all a chance to nap since it was so early.
- Galway – The weather was cold and a bit rainy but we didn’t mind. We had a quick bite at McDonalds (I know, I know) then headed to the Claddagh Jewellers store. Of course I had to get a Claddagh ring for myself. An actual Claddagh from Ireland!
- Cliffs of Moher – It was a long and twisty drive to the cliffs but lo, it was worth it. Such a beautiful spot! It was cold and windy but clear enough see the cliffs. We only walked the one side but it was enough. I’m so glad that we were able to see it and feel it. We hit the gift shop while we were there and we did buy some items.
- We had lunch at Frantic Chefs which was just the right amount of food and time to rest up for the long drive back to Dublin. I slept a lot on the way back but did wake up to take some shots from the drive of the setting sun.
- Tapped – We had drinks and dinner. I almost forgot to have my daily Guinness but luckily remembered near the end of my first drink. Whew! I had a chicken Caesar salad, which hit the spot.
Tuesday – 26 March
- Our taxi driver asked why we were going to that tourist trap! All in good fun (but so true too). Yes, we took a taxi there. Probably should have taken a taxi back too because, whew, we got in a lot of steps today!
- The Guinness Storehouse is massive! We had a 12 PM ticket, along with the Stoutie, which we just had to do! It was all very fascinating but I think we’re just happy to have gotten to it, since we drink Guinness and we had to learn more about it.
- The Gravity Bar is neat-oh but alas, we weren’t able to get a seat. Still, even standing it’s pretty impressive to see Dublin in such a way.
The rest of the day went like so…
- We finally had our boxty! I had the Gaelic Boxty (oops, it was plus 9 euro), which was DELICIOUS. The service was amazing. Everyone should go to Gallagher’s Boxty House. Such a treat!
- The Temple Bar – You know we had to do this. Lord, that bar is full and loud yet we got a couple of good seats and were able to enjoy some live music. Loud and busy vibe for sure. If you must do it, do it, right? We also found ourselves on the livecam and I recorded us while we were there. Because of course.
- After the Temple Bar, we walked the long walk and ended up at Sinnotts Bar for a pint. It was a good resting place. I had a Heineken 0.0 because I realized while drinking my Baileys coffee at the Temple Bar that I need to pace myself on the alcohol. Ye gods.
- A quick stop to the Circle K and the Rolling Donut and we were back to our room to rest.
We have a day tour tomorrow so must rest for that now…
Wednesday – 27 March
Today’s bus tour took us to Kilkenny and Wicklow!
- We went to County Wicklow first, to the Glendalough Valley. This involved a lot of walking– 3 miles for us! But it was lovely and beautiful and the weather changed at least three times while we were walking. I tell ya, this Irish weather is full of surprises! We saw a rainbow while we were walking. I feel like it means something to see a rainbow in Ireland.
- In Kilkenny, we visited the Kilkenny Castle. My first time in a castle! It was very cool and I was most impressed with the Picture Gallery Wing. I felt like I was walking into a room from a Jane Austen novel. It was amazing.
- We had a snacky lunch at the bar in the Kilkenny Hibernian. A kindly gentleman chatted us up when we were just leaving. He was so lovely. He said he lived just down the road, so he was a local.
- The drive back to Dublin was uneventful and after getting dropped off, we went to the Bleeding Horse for drinks and dinner. I had pork belly and it was so good! A lovely young woman started singing behind us and she was pretty good! (I’m pretty sure it’s Brí. Giving her a follow.)
We’ve been here a week! It’s nice being away from work for sure. And I love that we’re in Ireland.
Thursday – 28 March
Today was an easy day. We had one thing to do– Trinity College Dublin and the Book of Kells experience. And lo, it was an experience. (Oh, and the spot of my fall? It had a cone citing under maintenance. So maybe I wasn’t the first or the last to trip and fall?)
- The Book of Kells experience was cool. I loved going through the Long Room. It wasn’t as crowded as I’ve seen in videos and doing the self-guided tour kept it at our own pace. Very much enjoyed it!
- We had lunch and drinks at The Brazen Head. Bangers and mash, finally. And it was so good! The people seated around us that I could hear all had American accents until some Spainards, I think, were later seated. So, tourist trap? Worth it! The food was good.
- Our last stop was Darkey Kelly’s! I had a cider then a Bailey’s coffee. Both yummy. Another pub with a definite vibe. We sat at the bar and just chilled. The best!
We have one more full day of Ireland. We’re set to hit Jameson tomorrow then some shopping. It should be another easy day. I love being here but I’m also ready to be home once more.
Friday – 29 March
Our last full day in Ireland and we’re already back in our room. We might head out somewhere for dinner but basically it’s packing and such ahead of us.
- Jameson Distillery Bow Street – The tour was fantastic! I really enjoyed learning more about Jameson and its history and sampling the different versions of Jameson. A great tour to end our time in Ireland.
- We ate lunch and then did some shopping after the tour. We bought a lot of stuff and hopefully enough for folks back home. It was fun to pick out stuff.
I have enjoyed our time here in Ireland and I think we spent our days well. We probably overwhelmed ourselves in some respects but it’s been a good time.
I’ll write more after we’re home, I think. And add pictures as well.
Sunday – 31 March – Happy Easter!
And just like that, we’re home again. We’re unpacked and not looking forward to going back to work tomorrow. By the time you read this, I will have added pictures to each day for some visuals of our time in Ireland.
Yesterday was our travel day. We woke up at 6:30 AM and checked out by 8:30 AM or so. We arrived at the airport early but with the business of checking in our luggage, going through security, then US pre-clearance/customs, we actually didn’t have a lot of time to wait for our flight. We spent a lot of time in the plane between waiting to take off, the ten hour or so flight, then landing and riding to our gate. I watched The Marvels, Ready Player One, and some of Wonka (again). I didn’t sleep very much on the plane at all. I was so glad when we were finally in our car and heading home.
Considering the fact that we’re not “city” people, we spent most of the time in Dublin and didn’t mind it at all. Dublin is very walkable and when you don’t feel like walking, it’s easy to use the FreeNow app to get a taxi. I feel like we experienced Dublin as the modern city it is and it was fun. Loved all the pubs we visited. The people were welcoming, the service was friendly. Our hotel, while not modern, was clean and comfortable. Our suite was a great place to hang out and we got sucked into watching some of the game shows that play on the RTE channels.
I’m so glad for our time in Ireland. What a great way to celebrate our 30th wedding anniversary…
