Dublin May 26-27

The flight to Dublin was in a BAE 146 that carries 100 passengers.  First time in a long time we boarded a plane using outside stairs. The weather was still beautiful for the flight across the Irish Sea. After landing we boarded a local bus to the center of Dublin.

Chatted along the route with a very personable young Irish couple. He had spent 3 months working in Boston, loves Boston sports teams and would like to go back sometime. He is from Galway, she from Limerick.....pretty Irish, eh?
They were shocked when we told them about our 12,000 mile roadtrip across the US.....to go that distamce in Ireland, they would have to make the drive  between Galway and Dublin 100 times!!!

After deboarding the bus at O'Connell St., we started schlepping our stuff to the Grafton Capitol Hotel on Lower Stephens.  Luckily we found it, checked in and finally found a bed....for two nights!    It was 7PM Irish time!  We were exhausted but exhilarated!

Not too exhausted to go to bed immediately!  We went across the street to The Hairy Lemon for a pint of Guinness and some pub food. I ordered fish and chips and Peter resisted the pasta on the menu
and had bangers and mash. The Hairy Lemon is a classic, noisy, crowded, friendly pub!  Just what we needed before retiring for the night. First time in a bed in 32 hours!  We slept long and well!  Peter thought it was the best sleep he'd had in many years.

Monday morning was a little frustrating. I tried to blog from the hotel but the wi-fi was spotty. So we found the nearest Starbucks (Yay, Starbucks!), finally started the blog successfully and had coffee.

By this time it was noon so we quickly found a tour bus and spent the afternoon visiting the sites of Dublin and orienting ourselves to the city.  Like many other cities, Dublin is split by a river, the Liffey.

We "hopped off" the your bus twice. Our first stop was St. Patrick's Cathedral which is 800 years old and is the largest in Ireland. The Wisconsin Lutheran Choir was in concert on the altar. I was surprised that it is an Anglican Church but St. Patrick DID bring CHRISTIANITY to Ireland!

Our second "hop off" was at the Kilmainham Gaol.  First we had lunch in the very busy Tea Room.  We ate delicious vegetarian quiche served with a salad and then had a guided tour of the jail.  The tour was fascinating; the plight of the Irish seeking freedom is daunting. We are now committed to reading more of Irish history and its heroes!

We ended our bus tour on the north side of the Liffey at Ha'penny bridge. After crossing the bridge to South Dublin, we strolled through Temple Bar over to Trinity College. There were throngs of people on the streets, many Dubliners waiting for a bus home.  It started to rain just as we got to Bewley's so we stopped for a cup of tea to wait for the rain to stop.

Peter was still having trouble with his cell phone so we stopped just off Grafton St. so he could call Verizon on my phone. After a half hour, they finally connected him to Verizon Global. No cost for the call! While he was doing Verizon business, I strolled down a side street only to discover Sheehan's Pub....one of my Irish ancestral names!  And, to boot, it was on Chatham St.  The stars must have been aligned!  We weren't far from our hotel. So, after a short rest at the Grafton Capital, we went back to Sheehan's for dinner.  We each had a pint of Guinness, I had Irish stew, Peter had "tomahto" soup and beef and Guinness pie and I bought a Sheehan' s T-shirt.  After dinner, we walked again through Temple Bar before heading back to the hotel and bed.

Travel teaser #1:  When traveling on London trains, What does "Mind the gap" mean?


Sent from my iPhone