We missed the bus to Dun Laoghaire (where our hotel was, about 8 miles out of Dublin) by 5 minutes. So we had a little down time to get a cup of tea and take some pictures. The Dublin airport is really modern. All the tunnels and hallways are lit up with blue lights.
We checked into our hotel and walked to the bus stop. A few buses passed us before we figured out we had to flag it down to stop. We got the bus to finally stop. We asked if it went to Dublin City Centre. The driver said "you're standing on the wrong side of the street my love." So then we walked to the other side, and down about a 1/4 mile. Waited another 30 minutes. When the bus 7 came along, it was the same bus driver. He poked fun at us for still being there, then we realized we needed exact change to ride. We kinda just slinked to the back and tried to get our Euros together. The bus ride was about 45 minutes, when we got off, I tried to give him a 5 Euro bill, but they only take change. He shook his head and told me just to get off. Kind of embarrassing, but hey, it was a free ride to Dublin!
There were so many people on the street it was hard to walk. We took some picture at City Centre and of the river. We found a little pub named Fitzgerald Bar and I order a Carlsberg and the steak and mushroom pie. The lunch was good. Next, we headed off to the Guinness Storehouse after finally finding a map. When we got to the storehouse, there were about 200 people standing in line trying to get in. It was 4:45 and they stopped letting people inside at 5pm. Somehow the line moved fast enough where we actually made it in. Naturally, we went straight to the top for our free pint of Guinness. We went to the first elevator we saw, which turned out to be a staff elevator, but the employee let us on and we beat 200 people to the Sky Bar. The Sky Bar is a 360 degree glass view of Dublin. Absolutely gorgeous!
We went down to the 5th floor to drink our pints, (by the way, Guinness tastes so much better in Ireland) and chatted some Canadian tourists up. We continued to take pictures and then head back to the Temple Bar area to find dinner. I ordered to Irish Stew, but I got a migraine and couldn't enjoy the rest of the night. It was quite an adventure getting back tot he hotel, trying to figure out which bus to take. So of course we got on the wrong on and ended up at a deserted train station in downtown Dun Laoghaire. So we took a taxi from there to our hotel and got a good night rest.
The next day we got the transportation figured out a little better. We went back to Dublin City Centre after a quaint breakfast at Cafe Solo. We bought a ticket with the Dublin City Tour Bus, which is a 24 stop "Hop on Hop off" system on a double decker bus. So it is safe to say we were legit tourists on Saturday. We visited St. Patrick's Cathedral, St. Andrew's Park, and then rode around a listened to all the history in Dublin. Did you know Dracula was written by an Irish man in Dublin? Hmmm..
So the tour took most of the day. St. Patrick's Cathedral was so pretty. We stayed there for a while taking pictures and reading about all the different saints and priests. We visited a few local pubs and bought souvenirs for some friends and family back home. We took the Dart back to the hotel, and the train stopped at the Rugby Stadium where Ireland had just beat England's team. So the train was packed some real characters. We wanted to stay out later but we had a 245 am wake up call to catch a taxi at 315 to the Royal Marine. This hotel is where we could catch the coach bus back to the airport. The Royal Marine is a gorgeous mansion hotel that looks over Dublin Bay. We caught the 340 am bus to Terminal 2. The bus had wifi which was exciting for me, since I get homesick when I can't text my family.
While waiting for the plane, we met two guys from Washington DC catching a connecting flight to Manchester and then to Philly. These boys work for the Wizards and Redskins. They had just come from the bar, so they were interesting fellows. Of course they made me check my bag AGAIN even though I borrowed Julie's small roll on, AND they let me on the plane the first flight over. So we landed in Manchester and caught the train the Manchester Piccadilly. There was no connecting train to Sheffield, so we were forced to take an old smelly bus for an hour and a half. We were packed like sardines and my legs fell asleep. Always an adventure when it comes to public transportation.
But we got home safe, and Ireland was worth ever crappy taxi, train, plane, and bus ride. It was beautiful, the people were helpful, and the culture is unique. Next weekend starts travel adventure number 2. Morgan and I are leaving for Liverpool Saturday morning for the Beatles experience :) Be jealous.
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