Visiting Trev in Dublin

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We’d been banging on about going up to Dublin to visit our mate Trev for at least a year and thanks to Ryan Air’s 0.01p flights we finally got our butts into gear and booked. Getting there was easy, getting from the airport into town was easy - thanks to the super friendly bus drivers and automated voice over on the bus that tells you exactly where you are at each stop. Finding Trev, however, was a little more difficult. The poor guy waited out in the sleet for us for a good hour or so but we made up for it by piling into the nearest pub for our first Irish Guinness.

We didn’t waste any time. We dumped our gear back at his place, grabbed a bite to eat and headed out into town to meet up with his uni mates. They’d all just finished for the year plus it was one of his mate’s b’day so there were double celebrations. It was the first time we’d been in a club that was smoke free and all we noticed was that it stank of BO and farts, but it was great to get up the next morning and not stink of smoke.

Although Barrie wanted to get up at the crack of dawn and explore Dublin, the 4am crash ensured that both Trev and I weren’t getting up before 10. Barrie decided to wake us up “nicely” by banging and crashing in the kitchen as loudly as possible in the guise of making everyone breakfast. Smooth.

By the time we all got up and ready there was only time enough to go to the Guinness Factory. Even if you’re not a fan of Guinness, this factory is definitely worth a visit. We spent a good 4-5hrs there and felt a little rushed. The best part is they give you 2 half-pint tasters of Guinness and a full pint when you reach the top of the tower. The tower is 360degrees of glass that overlooks the city. A great view to be watching while downing the freshest Guinness you’ll ever have. Now I’m not a fan of the stuff, but the fact that I drank all the helpings they gave me is definitely testament to how good it was.

Saturday night in Dublin and Trev and his mates had mapped out a pub-crawl for us. First stop The Chapel. An old church that had been disused and run down for many years was bought and converted into a restaurant/bar. I couldn’t imagine a more tasteful transformation. It was beautiful. We stayed a little longer than planned :D

Next up a dodgy Polish bar where Barrie thought it would be funny to try and pay with Polish Zloty’s. I’m not sure the bar tender understood, but Baz is convinced they shared a smirk. Then onto Temple Bar, Dublin’s renowned centre of nightlife. Every street was lined with pubs, bars and clubs. Perfect for our pub-crawl and, somewhere in here my memory fails me…

We woke on Sunday to gail force winds and rain. Thankfully we were heading back to London. But not, of course, without being delayed an extra night due to high winds! So we spent the day at the airport waiting and rebooking and an exhausted night at Trev’s before finally getting back to London on Monday.

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Photos

Dublin
Bottleneck at the Guiness Factory.

Dublin
Baz, CK & Trev at the top of the Guiness Factory. Quite why Baz still has his handlebars after Movember is finished is beyond me.

Dublin
Baz with the Guiness gates.

Dublin
The Chapel.

Dublin
The Chapel.