Welcome to Ireland! This is both my second trip to the Emerald Isle and a rather spontaneous trip, having only booked my flights about three weeks ago. I didn’t have time to plan a big trip this summer, nor did I really feel like that this year. Since I’ve been to Ireland before and done a road trip around the country, I knew the pressure would be off to try to see and do everything. I am staying in Dublin for six nights and plan a couple of days in the city and a few day trips out of the city.
I was welcomed aboard my jetBlue flight with a (sadly warm) glass of champagne and soon I was putting my seat into bed mode and sleeping. Yes, I actually managed a couple hours of sleep this time, thanks to a mostly smooth flight across the Atlantic. I woke up in time for breakfast, and had a passable (though boring) chia seed pudding and a strawberry cream croissant. I knew I would need another breakfast once I arrived in Dublin.
Typically overcast skies greeted me in Dublin, where I spent about 20 minutes going through immigration (if you’re looking for the slowest line – anywhere – just follow me!) and collecting my luggage before taking the Dublin Express bus to the city center. Let me tell you, it was freezing when I arrived. The temperature was 60 degrees, but the wind was whipping and the feels-like temperature was only in the mid-50s. The bus dropped me off about 10 minutes away from my hotel, where I left my luggage before heading out for the day.
My first stop was at Iveagh Gardens, much less visited than the nearby St. Stephen’s Green, and which I find more inviting. I wandered around Iveagh Gardens and then St. Stephen’s Green, all the while listening to my stomach complain that it was hungry.
Food was obviously next on the agenda. Beanhive is a tiny place on Dawson Street, known for both their coffee and their muffins. I had both, in the form of a white chocolate raspberry muffin and an iced mocha. I knew I would be eating an early dinner so that was plenty of fuel to get me through the afternoon.
After my snack/lunch, I followed Rick Steves’ audio walking tour around Dublin. The tour started at St. Stephen’s Green and ended at Ha’Penny Bridge near Temple Bar. The walk passed Grafton Street, Trinity College (more on that tomorrow), Dublin Castle, and Christ Church Cathedral.
The only longer stop I made along the walk was at Christ Church Cathedral, where I was convinced to join the 3PM tour of the belfry. The price seemed a bit steep at an extra €15, but I figured, “when in Dublin…”. Little did I know that the tour actually included the rest of the cathedral as well as the crypt. The tour guide was phenomenal and the highlight was climbing the bell tower and ringing the cathedral bells, a sound which rings out across the city. Well worth the cost, especially since the tour only occurs once a day.
By the time I reached Ha’Penny Bridge, I was spent. On my last visit to Dublin in 2015, I gave up my seat on my flight home and got to spend an extra night in Dublin. I spent that night at Oliver St. John Gogarty’s Pub in Temple Bar, which was where I chose to spend my first night in Dublin on this visit. Gogarty’s has live Irish music all afternoon and into the wee hours of the morning. I took a table in the back to enjoy the music, a cheeseburger, and a half pint of Bulmer’s cider.
I forwent dessert in favor of a Diet Coke and Cadbury Starbar (I would describe it as a 100 Grand but with peanuts) before heading back to my hotel and calling it a night.
Traveling with Laura 