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Published: February 18th 2011
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We went to Dublin for the last weekend of January. We thought we would try it out and see how a weekend trip works out and it was perfect! We took a flight early Saturday from a smaller airport closer to Cambridge and a flight back late Sunday night. It’s so cheap to do this too! It was 100 pounds total for us both to fly there and back.
When we arrived we took a bus into the downtown area. We were a bit lost for which bus that would be and a really nice Irish bus driver showed us where to go. Irish people are super friendly.
When we got there we checked into our hostel, which lead us to decide we will stay in hotels in the future. The amount you save isn’t really worth it for a couple because you pay per person. Also, we checked into our room to find someone else’s belongings still there. When I explain this to the front desk, he did not really understand my concern of another person doing the same when our stuff is in there as he spoke Spanish. lol And Colin wasn’t too please that he had to go
down two flights of stairs just to get to the bathroom in the night. So that was the one negativity to the weekend and we have learned from it. 😊
So we went into town and headed to Temple Bar straight away as any Irish person we spoke to said that was where we needed to go. It is basically an old street just off the main street and it is full of Irish bars. It’s a tourist hot spot so everything is a bit more expensive but it has a lot to offer. There were buskers to entertain and we just so happened to be there for TradFest. So we got to see Irish dancers and bagpipe bands. One of the bagpipe bands was really good! They played hit songs, like Coldplay’s Clocks. We had our first pint of Guinness on Irish soil there and I ‘borrowed’ the glass from the pub for a keepsake. I’ll return it someday... Also while drinking this pint we were entertained by an Irish singer as she performed Canadian songs from the east coast.
Irish people sound very similar to Canadian people and then occasionally have that distinct difference on the end of
their sentences.
Then we went to Trinity College to see the Book of Kells and the old, old library. The Book of Kells contains stories from the bible and is from around the 10th century. I really liked the library because it’s that really old fashion style with the spiral staircase to the second level and ladders that slide along the selves. (It reminds me of “The Candy Man Can” performed by the Candy Man in Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory as he slides along the candy shelves on a ladder tossing candy to all the children....but that is not what was happening in the library so I do digress...)
By the way, I’ve been playing the part of an intelligent English teacher at a secondary school for the past few months and it looks like it will continue until April. Now I say playing the part, not because I am looking for compliments, but because it really feels like playing the part. Others will go on a tangent about some literary topic which I follow very little and do the smile and nod thing and they finish with, but you know all
this already. And I think...crap! No I don’t. But I do digress again...
So back to Dublin...
From the library we went to the Guinness Storehouse which was the greatest part of the trip! It is located in a really sketchy part of town and the only reason we knew we were going the right way was because other obvious tourists were moving in the same direction.
The storehouse is 7 stories high and you move through it on a self guided tour. It’s really well done. It’s timed so that as you go through the tour, videos of the Brew Master will pop up and he will explain the next part in the process of creating the perfect pint. We tasted roasted barley which is what gives Guinness it’s dark colour and distinct flavour. On the very top of the storehouse they have the Gravity Bar where you get to finish the tour with a pint of Guinness and a 360 degree view of Dublin. From there we purchased another pint vouchure 😊 so that we could go down to the bar that lets you pour your own pint. We learned how to pour the perfect pint and
received certificates saying we could do so. Those should fit nicely into our portfolios for future interviews.
That night for dinner we treated ourselves to a meal outside our means at a restaurant called Bang. I had looked it up before going and it was highly recommended with a chef from London. It was a delicious meal and came with authentic Irish bread and other yummy details.
Then we went in search of a pub Colin found on his iPhone and after walking around the whole of downtown Dublin, we discovered there were two bars with the same name...go figure. So we picked the next place we found and after a drink headed to the hostel.
The next morning we just lazed around Dublin, walking in the park called St. Stephen’s green and through Christ’s Church Cathedral. There is a crypt under the Church which was cool to see and lots of interesting history.
And we were soo tired from walking and walking that we decided to sit in a nice relaxing pub and have lunch and a couple of pints before heading back to the airport. Irish stew and Guinness. 😊
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Kathleen & Mike
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Wow
What great detail Jen on your journey - it's almost like being there (almost) and the history is amazing. Hey Colin we recognize those pink cheeks...enjoying the Guinness are ya now :). Now have the time of your life in Paris and make sure to take tons of pictures and memory notes for your blog. Love to you both and miss you guys like crazy! Mom & Mike xoxoxo