The Dublin melting pot - Lots of fun! Day 1& 2

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And we're off.............

Karen got me to the airport in plenty of time

Flight over was smooth and on time. I ended having 3 checked bags because of my helmets. Ireland and Scotland are helmet required countries so I have a half helmet for good weather and a full for bad weather. I flew Business class so the first two bags were free but American Airlines hit me for $200 for the 3rd bag-yikes !!!

Had originally thought I'd go right from the airport to pick up my bike but decided to go directly to the Shelbourne Hotel in Dublin to see if I could get into my room then change and go get my bike. The Shelbourne Renaissance is an absolute must stay if you visit Dublin - the hotel is rich in history and the staff is unbelievable. It has been in existence since 1824 and has been the planning HQ for the Irish rebellion and the IRA. When I arrived Liene and Barry came to greet me. Liene is a charming young lady from Latvia who had arranged free parking and a free massage for me when she found out about the cure Duchenne ride. Barry and Liene chatted with me in the tea room, where I enjoyed a tea while my room was being cleaned. The weather was very nice so I grabbed some basic gear and caught a cab down to Kill (just outside of Dublin) to pick up my bike at Celtic Rider. My cabby Francis and I had a tough time finding the Celtic Rider offices ( I thought a sign would be a good idea but Louise said that a Garmin or google would get you right there). My bike was already to go and after some paperwork with Louise I was on my way.

My first time riding on the left side of road on a motorbike was successful. Coming out of driveways and right turns require the most concentration but after awhile it becomes second nature. The R1200 GS BMW I'm riding is quite a bit lighter than my K1600 GTL and the small windshield takes some getting used to but the only thing I find myself really missing is cruise control. The Garmin got me right back to the Shelbourne and I parked in the garage with a little assist in finding it from Barry who I had met upon arrival.

When giving advice to friends about travel in Ireland I typically tell them to minimize their time in Dublin because there's so much to see in Ireland other than the big city. But today reminded me why Dublin deserves to be on the Irish trip parade! After resting for a bit - I decided to take a walk about town. I headed over to Camden Street on the other side of St. Stephens Green and found some great local pubs, namely Devitt's Pub and Ryan's on Camden. Back to my comment about why Dublin deserves to be on the Ireland visit list - if you are willing to make a small effort to meet people -Dublin has a tremendous variety (melting pot) of people from all over Ireland and the world. I met Jan (Yon) at Devitt's he is from Prague but lived in Australia long enough that he is a duel citizen of the Czech Rep and Australia. We shared a pint and talked about Australia - Yon gave me some pointers for next years trip. I wondered down Camden Street until I came across another pub where the folks were spilling out on to the street- Ryan's on Camden. It is not unusual for the pubs with common Sir names like Ryan's to have the street identifier with it. I ordered a pint and asked if I could share a table with a couple - the couple was actually a father and daughter from Louisville. Bill Ryan and has daughter Donna were having a pint in the bar of his namesake before heading back to the states. Bill had come over to spend 10 days in Ireland but got sick almost immediately on arrival and ended up in the hospital - Donna flew over to help him get back to the states. Donna pointed out that Bill was "The Legend of Louisville" Bill Ryan, although 77 years of age Bill is still an imposing figure and I'm sure has some very interesting stories to tell. He said that if he was just a couple years younger and not feeling like Sh*'' he'd rent a bike and join me. I took a picture of them in front of the bar and wished them well and hoping that I someday get to meet Bill again and hear some stories from the Legend.

I decided I would get something to eat back towards the hotel and stop at my favorite Dublin bar - O'Donoghue's.

I grabbed pint and was talking to some locals at O'Donoghue's who knew a particular gentry (Mick) that used to frequent the bar and actually looked after my daughter on her first trip to Ireland. Mick befriended my daughter Jennifer when she walked into the bar a few years back and Jennifer got to see him on subsequent visits -the whole family got to meet Mic when we visited in 2014. Sadly when Jennifer was in Ireland in November of last year she learned that Mick had passed. Mick's classic line when he met Jennifer was "young lady can you guess what my name is ? his hint was that it was a very unique Irish name -after a minute or so Jennifer gave up- then Mic shouted " Mick" and started laughing to beat the band! By the time we were threw talking about Mick, It was past serving time for food (which is worth noting unlike Europe pub grub stops promptly at 10:00 in Dublin). I grabbed a ham sandwich at a convenient store then headed back towards the hotel. I decided to stop for a night cap at the hotel bar (not that I needed one) which was packed but found a stool at the bar. I ended up the evening chatting with Geoff Keating from London who was in town to visit his Mum. Geoff and I talked about every thing from world travel to raising daughters. We also ran into a couple from Belfast -Ryan and Marna (I hope that's right) - Marna and Geoff educated me on the whole Catholic-Protestant thing in Northern Ireland. Sounds a lot like the segregated south in the US back in the 60's, you don't go into certain bars if you are of the wrong faith. Apparently since I'm from the states I get a free pass and can go into either regardless of my faith. I said hey " I'm Catholic and wife is Protestant- wouldn't that get me entrance to both anyway 😊 "

I hit the hay a lot later than I expected to but what a great first day. I'm going to catch a nice meal tonight and walk in a different direction tonight and see what fun and exciting pubs I can find. By the way - some of you are probably wondering what my Guinness rating was at the 3 bars I hit - lets just say "Awesome - Awesome- and Awesome" I mean I'm in Ireland for Pete's sake! I'll let you know if I have a bad one!

Tomorrow morning I'll pack up my bike and head off to Cork (about 2 1/2 hours) - I'm meeting up with the Kennedy's at 2:00 in Cork. Back at ya either tomorrow or Monday when I get to Galway. I'll have the Go Pro going tomorrow so I'll have some pictures of the ride.

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Photos

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Yon at Devitt's

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Bill "The Legend of Louisville" and daughter Donna at Ryan's on Camden St

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The bouncer getting the Ryan logo in the picture with The legend and Donna

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O'Donoghue's pub St. Stephens Green -the Ruetz's favorite Dubin pub

Comments

[Liene]

Perfect Start
Jim, sounds like you really had an amazing first 2 days. I hope it was same in Cork and enjoy the Galway now!!!

[Lindsie]

Fun!!
Jimmy, your first day sounds wonderful! And yes, it makes me a bit jealous and wanting to be back in Dublin! Travel safe and can't wait to read more! Love, Lindsie