Ireland: Day 1 – Dublin
Greetings from Dublin! Our long awaited trip has arrived at last, and the fun started fast. My dad got us to our flight at National, from where we headed to Boston to catch our flight to Dublin. We did an extra lap on the airport shuttle at Logan Airport, thanks to the shuttle’s unexpected failure to announce when we were at Terminal E, the International terminal. But other than that, we got off OK. Memo to Logan, work on your signage problem, and also there’s a ‘D’ between ‘C’ And ‘E’!
All was smooth on the flight with the added bonus of some young children who spent the whole flight acquainting us with the wail of the Banshee, a sound whose portent of death we were close to welcoming by the time we arrived. As a parent who has flown with kids, I felt much sympathy for the mother of these wailers as she struggled with her screechers, but I also still silently prayed she could learn how to shut her kids up.
But I digress.
We landed at Dublin at 5:30 am local time, which was 12:30 am on Monday morning our time. We found a bus that said it would get us near Grafton Street, but which instead left us at the central bus terminal. So we caught a cab to the hotel from there. It was hours before we would be albe to check in, so we ditched our bags for a brief walk around the surrounding blocks, and then returned to the hotel for some breakfast.
Recharged, at least for a bit, we set out on foot towards Kilmainham Gaol, Dubin’s infamous prison which had come highly recommended by virtually everyone I spoke to about things to see in Dublin. It was a healthy morning walk for two tired travelers, but we got ourselves there about 10 minutes before opening, and the Gaol’s museum and tour were a sombering introduction to Ireland’s sad history of political oppression.
From Kilmainham, we continued on foot to the Guinness Storehouse, a popular tourist destination in honor of Ireland’s national drink. The self-guided tour gives a good lesson in the history and making of Guinness, and by the end of the tour when you get to collect your Pint in the 7th story Gravity Bar, the beer and the view are a happy reward. It was 12:30 in the afternoon here, but we had been up all night and it was 7:30 am Eastern time while we enjoyed our first pint in Dublin. Yes, the Irish breakfast of champions! We then paid our dues in the well-stocked Guinness store, buying some souvenir’s to bring home, and then caught a cab back to our hotel where we got checked in and crashed for a much needed jet-lag nap.
After waking up, we set out for the Temple Bar area, known for its shops, restaurants and pubs where we enjoyed a great dinner at The Quays Restaurant. From there we stopped at The Stags Head for another pint on the way back to our hotel. Now that photos are uploaded and Day 1 is in the blog, it’s time to crash again and get attuned to this time zone.