Blogs from Dublin, County Dublin, Ireland, Europe

The suitcases were getting rather full so we got a wine case from the neighborhood wine shop, filled it with souvenirs and some clothes we weren't going to wear, took it to the post office bright and early, and mailed it home. Who knows when we'll see it! We walked down the road a few shop fronts to Fothergill's Cafe for breakfast. Lovely little place, great breakfast. St. Patrick's and maybe a distillery was on our list for the day. We got a taxi in to the Cathedral but there was a funeral and it was closed until 1 p.m. So, we got back on the Hop On Hop Off bus from yesterday and rode around, getting back to St. Patrick's just after the funeral ended! We visited/toured around and headed back to the unit for ... read more

Got up, had one last breakfast at the B&B, settled our bill (they had laundry service and we now have clean clothes!!), and took a taxi down the hill to the train station. A smaller station than Dublin and not near as much walking they did have a Starbucks so Mike got a cup while we waited. Another nice train ride across the country and we were in Dublin. Rainy but we found a taxi to the Airbnb we had reserved. It is in a suburb called Rathmines and we spent the rest of the day settling in, wandering, and having dinner. working with my very old little travel laptop that evening, I blew a fuse which the host fixed the next day but I fear I may have fried the laptop’s battery or ability to ... read more

TUE, 09 AUG 2022 – It was late afternoon/early evening when we made our return to Dublin on the last day of the 10-Day Ultimate Ireland Small Group Tour by Overland Ireland - Small Group Tours. I was the first tour member to be dropped off at his/her/their hotel. Check-in went smoothly and after a short freshen up, I headed for Oscars Café Bar, a few feet from the hotel, for supper. Linguini and chicken in white sauce (not very Irish) with an Island’s Edge Irish Stout (very Irish) hit the spot. In that Island’s Edge Irish Stout regard, I had spotted Guinness Storehouse and Jameson Distillery on Google Maps (both within walking distance), but my investigation revealed a minimum tour fee of 25 Euros (up to as much as 100 Euros). I have always had ... read more

Ireland the North 2 Here we go on an adventure in Ireland cycling around the northern half of the enchanted island of Ireland. This tour starts off in Dublin, where we arrived by ferry this afternoon in heavy rain, but what did we expect in the Emerald Isle? After locking the bikes securely in the Q car park we checked in at the Gresham Hotel, which is a really nice hotel on O’Connell St Upper. We were checked in by two nice young girls from Argentina and Ukraine, which was a lot slicker than last time we came when it was nothing less than mayhem taking about an hour to process. Bill, my chief negotiator, managed to book us in the restaurant for a meal which is usually chocker block on a Saturday night. Great food ... read more

July 16 Today is the day that we meet the people with whom we will be spending the next two weeks. We will travel by bus around Ireland and Scotland and will part ways once we end this tour in Edinburgh. Breakfast was at 8 am. It was a buffet breakfast complete with components of an English breakfast along with many extras such as pancakes, fried potatoes, mushrooms, and a variety of breads. Once finished, we had time to return to our rooms before boarding the bus for a trip around Dublin. I always laugh at the word Dublin…..it’s because of the many jokes Terry Wilson tells. I won’t share it here in print, but you can ask him and I’m sure he will tell you. Top of the list today……find a shirt that says Dublin ... read more