4 Days in Ireland

---

I think the only reason Jessica agreed to visit Ireland was that we had an overnight layover in Paris. We really didn't know anything about this country, or what we were going to do for 4 days. Looking back, it was probably one of the more interesting, laid back, and friendly places that we have visited.

Armed with little more than a general location of our hotel and a couple of popular sights to see the first day, we walked out of the double decker 747 airport express bus. There was hardly a small crowd of people walking around, very few signs written in Gaelic, and a lot of old looking bank buildings - we could have been in Boston except that we were exiting the left side of the bus onto the sidewalk. This was Dublin, where depending on the time of day or particular location, you might be surrounded by either American tourists or colorful Irish rugby fanatics.

As is usual, our first day was probably a little too packed and we walked until our feet were sore. After picking up a map from the tourism office, we walked through the courtyard at Trinity College, greeted by tables of student organizations setting up early on the cloudy morning. Of course we immediately got lost and ended up wandering through streets, found Oscar Wilde, a park or two, and decided to find shelter inside the National Museum of Archeology and History. This turned out to be a great start to our trip. We learned about the origins of Ireland, from the early natives to the monarchs of England.

The rest of the day was spent wandering through the streets, finding our bearings (and our hotel), trying to train our minds to look right at crosswalks (why can't we all drive on the same side?) and scouting out potential sights for the next day. We ended the day touring the great Guiness Storehouse, and had absolutely no trouble finding it, thanks to the trail of signs! The observation deck (called Gravity Bar) was a great place to see the city and have a pint with lots of other American tourists. It was a typical grey and cool Irish day, so the warmth and soft chairs were very welcomed.

On day 2, we ended up seeing only half of the sights we had planned to see, but ended up filling up the time with people watching and unexpected finds. At the Jameson distillery tour, Jessica was chosen to participate in a whiskey taste test, where she correctly chose the 'best' whiskey from the spread. The mall was very much like any American mall with the exception of some unclothed paintings and a tattoo store. The highlight of the evening was that it was Culture Night in downtown Dublin, which meant that most popular venues were open late with special exhibits. We sat in a performance from the boys choir at St. Patrick's Cathedral, toured Dublin Castle, and found some great people watching in the Temple Bar area. Hearing Johnny Cash's "Ring of Fire" in an Irish accent was not too unexpected. We ended the night touring the Church Bar, which is literally a church that has been converted into a 3 level bar. Even the pipe organ that Handel was said to practice on was kept intact and is flanked by mood lighting.

Day 3 was our 'be a tourist' day. We rode on a tour bus to Newgrange and Tara Hill, which turned out to be a great expedition to see the countryside and see firsthand some very old buildings and placemarkers from thousands of years ago. We had been reading some Irish legends to the kids, and it was very exciting to see some of the places that are mentioned in these imaginitive stories. Tired from walking the last two days, the few hours on a bus were also a welcomed rest. Afterwards, we went to The Hairy Lemon for some bangers and mash, then retired early for the night.

We found out on the tour that the championship Irish rubgy game was being held on our last day in Dublin. This explained not only the ramp in hotel rate, but also the very large increase in colorful (in both appearance and manner) Irishmen. Our flight to Paris left in the afternoon, and we wanted to go to church, so we didn't have a lot of time to browse. One of our 'to-do' meals was a full Irish breakfast, so we stopped at the Kingfisher B&B. It was interesting that the full Irish breakfast was still smaller than any menu item at a Denny's, but that pretty much sums up the general diet of Americans compared to Europeans. A disclaimer - you may want to find out what 'black pudding' is before sampling 😊. It turns out that only one of the services at St. Patrick's Cathedral is actually a Catholic mass. So, we got to sit through a Protestant service, which wasn't all that much different for the first half. A quick bite afterwards, and we found the good ol' 747 route headed back to the airport.

I know it sounds like a whirlwind trip, but it was really a lot of fun. I consider Dublin to be 'Europe-light', in that you are technically in Europe, but don't have to worry about language, anti-Americanism, or pick pockets. Just watch out for that black pudding!

---

Photos

The Jameson Whiskey Challenge!
Choose wisely!

Where Handel played
At the Church Bar