Weekend in Dublin

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30/10/2011 - As usual Ryan Air we offering ridiculously low airfares to Dublin, having not been to Ireland since living in the UK we took advantage of a £6 fare and jumped on the earliest possible flight on Saturday morning. Our flight left Luton at 6:30 in the morning and we arrived in Dublin just as the sun was beginning to rise. We rushed through customs (got an awesome green stamp in my passport) and caught the shuttle bus into Dublin city centre where we walked a few block to our hotel. We were so tired from the early morning flight that we upgraded our room just to get access now so we could have a few hours sleep, it wasn’t even 8AM after all. We slept for just over an hour then got ourselves ready and ate breakfast at a nice looking café down the road.

Since we were only staying overnight in Dublin the best way to see as much as possible was to get on a sightseeing bus, so that’s what we did. There was nothing in particular we came to Dublin to see so when we stopped somewhere we thought was interesting, we got off. Our first stop was a fantastic cathedral in the centre of town. As we approached there was a group of people with a tour guide who was explaining the history of the cathedral, we snuck up behind them to listen in while I took a few photos. Once they had finished we headed off to find the nearest sightseeing bus stop and jumped on towards the Guinness brewery. While on the bus the driver informed us that today the Guinness brewery was closed due to a private booking. I fell straight for it, I was shocked and extremely disappointed, it wasn’t until we were almost there he told us he was kidding…bastard.

While inside the Guinness brewery we were taken through each stage of the brewing process and at the end we were each given a small taster. I had had Guinness before but this taster was fantastic, maybe because it was freshly brewed. We slowly made our way upstairs looking at all the different exhibits, the place was massive. The entry ticket came with one free Guinness and any of the bars in the brewery, so we headed up to the sky bar. It was the highest point in Dublin and offered amazing views across the city, that is, if you could wade through the people to find a decent spot, the bar was absolutely packed. As much as I wanted to have a beer up here it was way too packed, we headed downstairs to a bar where they let you pull your own Guinness from the tap. Both Hannah and I pulled the perfect beer and sat enjoying it in the bar lounge. Shortly after we ate lunch with another pint or two of Guinness.

It was late afternoon by now so we decided to do a little shopping before heading back to the hotel before getting some dinner. We jumped back on the last sightseeing bus for the day and took it as far as they would go, then walked back to the hotel. We walked past a guy who was trying to give out tickets to some game tonight and I also saw a few people with Australian scarves. I also thought it was quite strange that many bars and even souvenir shops were displaying Australian and Irish flags everywhere, weird. Then it sudden occurred to me that Australia were playing Ireland in Gaelic Football around this time of year, I checked online and was right, it was tonight. We asked the concierge for directions and walked to Croke Park to watch a thrilling Australia vs Ireland Gaelic Football match. And thanks to the keeper (or full-back) of my favorite team, the mighty Essendon Bombers, Australia won in a thrilling match. We headed back in town and grabbed a quick bite to eat before returning to our hotel to sleep.

31/10/2011 – It was going to be a very quiet day today before we caught our late afternoon flight back to London. We had breakfast at the hotel then headed to Dublin’s shopping district to do some serious shopping. We eventually returned to the hotel to collect our luggage then took a shuttle bus back to Dublin airport. Our visit to Dublin was short but sweet and definitely somewhere we would like to come back to in the future.

Accommodation:
Best Western Academy Plaza

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Photos

Dublin
Pour your own complimentary Guinness, I think they came out ok, Cheers!

Dublin
Impressive cathedral in the centre of Dublin

Dublin
Gates og the Guinness Berwery

Dublin
View across Dublin from the Guinness brewery.