Day Three: Dublin, what time is it?
What it’s 8am, what happened to the night time? We boarded our flight from Boston about 6 hours ago, and I think that I slept maybe an hour. But we are here, we are in Ireland; Dublin, Ireland.
After we drowsily made our way through customs, and got our first passport stamp of the trip, we headed out to tourist information kiosk in Terminal 1. I had done my research and planned it so our accommodations were within walking distance from a Hop on Hop off bus stop; which would be our main source of transportation in Dublin. However, we had to get from the airport to the city center where the bus started its route. In my research I also found a pass, called the Dublin Pass, which got us entry into most of the major sites we were planning to see. This pass also included bus fare from the airport to the city center.
Originally I had planned on getting the pass for one day. But after being awake for 20 hours I was easily persuaded by the lady selling the passes that a 2 day pass was what I needed. It was 18 Euros more for the two of us and by the end of the second day we had not done enough to break even for the pass. Most of the museums in Dublin are free to enter. If you do have two days in Dublin, do the free attractions one day and the more expensive attraction the other with a 1 day Dublin Pass. Make sure you do the expensive attractions first in the day you use your pass. Jennifer and I saved one expensive attraction for the end of the day and ended up running out of time, which is why we did not get our money's worth.
After purchasing our bus ride and Dublin Pass we headed into the city. We then found our way to the Hop on Hop off bus office and purchased our tickets. There are two companies in Dublin, the red and green buses. We chose the Green Bus because there is more live commentary versus the red bus, which you put in headphones and listen to a recording. Some of the guides on the green bus even sing to you. After getting our passes we rode the bus around the loop to the stop closes to where we were staying. Can’t say that I really remember much about our first look at Dublin because at this point I think I had been up for almost 24hours.
Our housing was a couple blocks away from the stop but for the price it was a great place to call home for two days in Dublin. I found the place we were staying on Airbnb, a web site that connects travelers to people who are renting rooms, houses, apartments, castles, etc. We used Airbnb to book several of our accommodations, and were pleased with the places we stayed. The website verifies the host and there are numerous reviews and ratings, so you can find a place that suit you. I am a very cautious person when it comes to staying with strangers but I felt very safe and comfortable using this site.
In Dublin, we stayed with a wonderfully friendly and helpful women named Pauline. She worked during the day but made arrangements so that we could check in whenever we got there. We picked up our keys from the grocery store down the street and found our way to the apartment. We rented a room with a queen size bed from Pauline, which also included coffee and continental breakfast.
After we got our stuff up the stairs (thank goodness for Jen, she was my heavy lifter on the trip), Jen went down the street to the grocery store and got some things for us to eat for lunch or whatever time our bodies thought it was. Then we decided that it was not possible to not take a nap, so we laid down for what was supposed to be an hour. After several hits to the snooze button we finally forced ourselves to get up. We only had two days in Dublin and this was one of them. After a cup of coffee we headed into the city for an early dinner.
We made our way into the city, to the area of Dublin called Temple Bar. This area is know for its nightlife, and is full of pubs, shops and restaurants. It is also full of tourist, however, it still is a great place to visit. Our first stop was dinner at Gallagher's Boxty House; our first taste of Irish cuisine and on a fairly cold evening the warm beef stew hit the spot. We also tried the "Gaelic Boxty" which is a "tender medallions of Irish fillet beef in a whiskey and mushroom cream sauce, wrapped in a traditional leitrim boxty pancake" (similar to a savory stuffed crepe). Both dishes were comforting and filling and after a small stroll through Temple bar we headed back to Pauline’s for an early night; we needed our rest, there was a lot more of Dublin to see tomorrow.
After we drowsily made our way through customs, and got our first passport stamp of the trip, we headed out to tourist information kiosk in Terminal 1. I had done my research and planned it so our accommodations were within walking distance from a Hop on Hop off bus stop; which would be our main source of transportation in Dublin. However, we had to get from the airport to the city center where the bus started its route. In my research I also found a pass, called the Dublin Pass, which got us entry into most of the major sites we were planning to see. This pass also included bus fare from the airport to the city center. Originally I had planned on getting the pass for one day. But after being awake for 20 hours I was easily persuaded by the lady selling the passes that a 2 day pass was what I needed. It was 18 Euros more for the two of us and by the end of the second day we had not done enough to break even for the pass. Most of the museums in Dublin are free to enter. If you do have two days in Dublin, do the free attractions one day and the more expensive attraction the other with a 1 day Dublin Pass. Make sure you do the expensive attractions first in the day you use your pass. Jennifer and I saved one expensive attraction for the end of the day and ended up running out of time, which is why we did not get our money's worth.
After purchasing our bus ride and Dublin Pass we headed into the city. We then found our way to the Hop on Hop off bus office and purchased our tickets. There are two companies in Dublin, the red and green buses. We chose the Green Bus because there is more live commentary versus the red bus, which you put in headphones and listen to a recording. Some of the guides on the green bus even sing to you. After getting our passes we rode the bus around the loop to the stop closes to where we were staying. Can’t say that I really remember much about our first look at Dublin because at this point I think I had been up for almost 24hours. Our housing was a couple blocks away from the stop but for the price it was a great place to call home for two days in Dublin. I found the place we were staying on Airbnb, a web site that connects travelers to people who are renting rooms, houses, apartments, castles, etc. We used Airbnb to book several of our accommodations, and were pleased with the places we stayed. The website verifies the host and there are numerous reviews and ratings, so you can find a place that suit you. I am a very cautious person when it comes to staying with strangers but I felt very safe and comfortable using this site.
In Dublin, we stayed with a wonderfully friendly and helpful women named Pauline. She worked during the day but made arrangements so that we could check in whenever we got there. We picked up our keys from the grocery store down the street and found our way to the apartment. We rented a room with a queen size bed from Pauline, which also included coffee and continental breakfast.After we got our stuff up the stairs (thank goodness for Jen, she was my heavy lifter on the trip), Jen went down the street to the grocery store and got some things for us to eat for lunch or whatever time our bodies thought it was. Then we decided that it was not possible to not take a nap, so we laid down for what was supposed to be an hour. After several hits to the snooze button we finally forced ourselves to get up. We only had two days in Dublin and this was one of them. After a cup of coffee we headed into the city for an early dinner. We made our way into the city, to the area of Dublin called Temple Bar. This area is know for its nightlife, and is full of pubs, shops and restaurants. It is also full of tourist, however, it still is a great place to visit. Our first stop was dinner at Gallagher's Boxty House; our first taste of Irish cuisine and on a fairly cold evening the warm beef stew hit the spot. We also tried the "Gaelic Boxty" which is a "tender medallions of Irish fillet beef in a whiskey and mushroom cream sauce, wrapped in a traditional leitrim boxty pancake" (similar to a savory stuffed crepe). Both dishes were comforting and filling and after a small stroll through Temple bar we headed back to Pauline’s for an early night; we needed our rest, there was a lot more of Dublin to see tomorrow.
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