Day 1: Dublin - Planes, Trains, & Automobiles, oh my!
From the second I walked out of the plane tunnel thingy, I knew I was in a different world, just like my freighbor Jane said it would be. It just smelled different. Not bad, just different. Almost better and I loved it instantly. It was chilly which was fantastic cuz that plane was HOT!
Customs and collecting my luggage was a breeze, and finding a bus going to the City Centre was easy and cheap too. Then I got dropped off at the O'Connell Bridge and that’s when things got a little hairy. Bus driver pointed me in the direction of my hotel and said it was a 20 minute walk. I can handle that, even with all my luggage, I thought. Just to be safe, I Google mapped it too. Lesson #1: Don’t trust bus drivers or Google Maps in Dublin. 30 minutes of lugging that suitcase and backpack and tote bag in the wrong direction, I was nowhere near my hotel. Google couldn't even decide which side of the Liffey River I was supposed to be on. I finally asked someone who seemed remotely safe where my hotel was and he showed me on his phone. Yeah I’m not walking that far back. Time for Free Now, Ireland's Uber equivalent. It’s definitely a misnomer cuz it wasn’t free but he delightfully delivered me to the Hampton by Hilton, who graciously let me check in early. I had a cuppa, a nap, and a shower and then hit the streets of Dublin. By now it was raining, but I didn’t care one bit. Then, I proceeded to get on the wrong train. Street signs are really hard to find in Dublin. They’re not posted on the corners like you’d think. However, EVERYONE I have encountered today has been so absolutely lovely (just grand!!) especially an adorable little old gent who I could barely understand (I just followed him and hoped we were on the same page- we were), and I found my way.
I fueled up at Starbucks with my go to Dirty Chai Latte and a new Irish thing called a “cruffin” (mix of croissant and muffin) with lemon curd filling and hit the EPIC (Every Person is Connected) Irish Emigration Museum and it was indeed epic. If you’re ever in Dublin, please check it out. Then I found the Famine Memorial Statues (so haunting). I decided to walk to my next stops, where I felt up the Molly Malone statue, (don’t know why but everybody else was doing it) saw every side of Trinity College except the front, and then made my way to The Temple Bar Pub for beer, brown bread, and Galway Oysters. My dawgs were barking at this point, so I Ubered this time to Darkey Kelley's (maybe I’m too “woke” but that sounds a little racist) however I had the best Lamb Shank with mashed potatoes and root veggies along with a couple of cocktails. Live entertainment called The Dublin Bards played their version of Piano Man and it was a great all around experience. Every tattoo parlor was already closed, so I’ll have to wait. Yes, I'll be getting my permanent souvenir for every country I visit.
I’m now back at the hotel and barely awake enough to write this. However, I promised some a daily play by play, so there y’all have it. Day 1 is in the books. I missed the cut off time for the last Guinness Brewery tour but honestly that nap was necesssary.
Tomorrow, off to Belfast by train and the Northern Ireland Coastline by rental car. (No campervan this time).
Major lesson learned today: Traveling is just like life, ALL trial and error. The more mistakes you make, the more you learn… and it’s absolutely amazing.
