Day 6 Dublin

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Saturday, October 9: We had another very lazy morning. Either the trip is catching up with us or we're really beginning to feel like we're on vacation. We had hoped to be out and about by 9:00 am but that's when we woke up. We took our time getting ready and headed out about 11:00. It was a beautiful day so we dressed in what we thought was appropriate for the weather--more about that later. On the advice of one of the bartenders from last night, we caught the 46A bus into Dublin. We were two of the first people on the bus so we got the front seat on the top of the double decker bus. We had a wonderful view of the city as we rode into downtown Dublin. The bus dropped us off at the bus stop where the hop-on/hop-off buses were parked. We bought our tickets and within minutes were on our way on a bus tour of Dublin. We weren't able to sit together because the bus was crowded. I sat next to a woman and plugged in my ear phones only to learn that my monologue was in French. Being the blonde that I am, I just rode along listenting to the French description of what I was seeing. When Ed and I were able to sit together I figured out that I could have changed the language. I felt pretty stupid but things were a lot clearer for me from there. It's OK--as a blonde it's the kind of thing I experience a lot. We hopped off at Kilmainham Gaol for a tour. It took quite a while but was well worth it. Afterwards we hopped back on the bus and finished the bus tour. We had both underdressed for the day. It was cool and windy and we somehow decided we didn't need coats--very bad decision. When we got back into Dublin Centre, Ed was ready for his pub crawl. We started at The Porterhouse, a micro-brewery. It was a multi-level pub and we ended up on the 4th level next to an old copper tun turned into a bar/table. There was a copper ceiling over it. We were able to look down on the street and do some people watching while we enjoyed a pint and ate a snack of a philo wrapped sausage that was deep-fried. We then moved on to the Brazen Head. The walking trip took us through the medieval historic area. The Brazen Head was very touristy but we shared a steak sandwich and met a couple/mother-in-law from New York/Boston when they asked Ed to take their picture. We left Brazen Head and headed to O'Neill's. We walked in and found people wearing sunglasses, then realized they were 3D glasses. They were watching the rugby game between Munster and Londonderry Irish. We got our glasses and joined the fun. The Munster team won--no one seemed to really know who the Londonderry Irish team was. After the game we headed down the street, took a picture of the Molly Malone statue and moved on to Davy Byrne's. It was more upscale than we were comfortable with--apparently a Mediterranean remake of an historic pub. We didn't stay long. Moved on to Kehoe's where Ed impressed the bar by ordering a cider and a shot of Jameson's. The bartenders were aghast when he poured his Jameson's into the cider--thereby making a Johnny JumpUp. Apparently they've never heard of such a thing. Left Kehoe's and found our way to Dawson's--the smallest bar in Dublin. I think it can fit about 30 people--as long as they are standing up. Dawson's was about a block from our bus stop back to Dun Laogharie and that's where things got kind of funky. We somehow managed to get on the 46A bus but it was a northbound bus. When it stopped in North Dublin and the bus driver told us we needed to get off (we were the only two on the bus at that time), we realized our mistake. Fortunately the bus driver was understanding, got us on a southbound bus and in no time (well, maybe an hour) we were back in Dun Laogharie and safe and sound for the night.

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