Travel Notes: Dublin — Day 3
An email sent to family and friends during a solo trip to Ireland.
September 10, 2009 — Gaol & Guinness
Aloha Family & Friends,
It's the morning of Day 3 in Dublin, and I want to catch you up on my
trip so far...
First of all, the weather has been sunny and in the 60s in the sun,
but when the breeze blows, it's much cooler. I'm glad I brought
layers! And the Dubliners tell me that until Wednesday (when I
arrived), they had had 2 weeks of rain! Am I lucky or did I bring the
sunshine with me? Hmmm...
The flights here have been uneventful, just the way I like it -
however, my seat mates on the flight to Dublin decided to chat all
night. Even with ear plugs in, I couldn't sleep! That meant, it was
hard to hit the ground running when I arrived at 9AM Wednesday
morning. I did manage to walk around the city center and get a basic
feel for the city, then I came back to the B&B and tried to stay awake
until a decent hour - 9PM.
I am staying at the Townhouse of Dublin, a B&B on the north side of
the Liffey, an easy 15 min. walk to the heart of City Center, which is
Trinity College. The Breakfast is included and is delicious! Irish
bacon looks more like a very thin slice of ham and is very salty! And
the sausage reminds me of weisswurst in texture - like a white hot dog
- it is also very salty! The oatmeal is called porrige and the coffee
is strong - yum!
After breakfast, I left the B&B and headed for O'Connell Street, the
main street, where I hopped on the Hop On - Hop Off tour bus. I had
an all day pass and enjoyed the tour through the City until I hopped
off at the Kilmainham (kil-MAIN-um) Gaol (jail). This is a very
historic site, mostly because this is where the leaders of the Easter
Rising of 1916 were executed and became heros and martyrs for the
cause of Irish Independence. It's also a movie site - the Victorian
wing of the jail has been in about 70 movies, including In the Name of
the Father & Michael Collins.
Hopped back on the bus and headed back through the City to my B&B for
lunch - bought a sandwich & fruit at the local grocery shop - then
back out again to walk to the meeting point for the Guinness Walk.
This month is the 250th anniversary of the Guinness Brewery, and the
walking tour to the brewery highlighted the charitable works of the
Guinness Family, who paid to restore the two cathedrals: Christ Church
& St. Patrick's, as well as donated money and property to help restore
the city. After the walk, I toured the Storehouse which leads up to
the Gravity Bar, where I poured myself a free pint - with a
certificate to prove it! - and enjoyed a 360 degree view of the city!
Hopped back on the tour bus and returned to the City Center, where I
got dinner at the famous Leo Burdett's Fish & Chips Shoppe.
For me, the best part of the day was the Musical Pub Crawl. Not only
did we enjoy great traditional Irish music, but the musicians shared
stories about the songs being played, the instruments they were
playing, pub manners, and the difference between the music offered for
tourists and music played in real Irish pubs as "sessions" -
wonderful!
I walked my feet off, and more of the same today - headed for Trinity
College and a look at the Book of Kells! More soon...
Love, TJ