Ireland

A 19-day adventure by Sara Read more

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Trip start
July 7, 2023
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Day 1
Friday, July 7, 2023 at 11:36 AM
☀️ 64 °F
Altitude: 30 ft
United States Portland International Airport 45.590264, -122.59299445°35’25” N 122°35’35” W
Airport shenanigans
July 7, 2023 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 64 °F
Having a celebration drink at the airport.
Used our club passes for the first time.
United..."here, take these passes in honor of the gross amount of money you've spent"
TravelerYummy!
7/7/23Reply
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Day 1
Friday, July 7, 2023 at 8:31 PM
☁️ 70 °F
Altitude: 659 ft
United States Chicago O'Hare International Airport 41.977195, -87.91062741°58’38” N 87°54’38” W
Chicago - minus 1
July 7, 2023 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 70 °F
Flight canceled for mom. Ugh.
TravelerOh no!! Hopefully not far behind!
7/7/23Reply
TravelerShe was able to get on a flight. She will arrive Sunday morning!
7/8/23Reply
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Day 2
Saturday, July 8, 2023 at 12:17 PM
⛅ 68 °F
Altitude: 62 ft
Ireland Tara Street Station 53.345223, -6.25418153°20’43” N 6°15’15” W
Trinity City Hotel
July 8, 2023 in Ireland ⋅ ⛅ 68 °F
We had a Deluxe room with a balcony. They put balloons in mom's room for her birthday. Our rooms were right next to eachother. In Ireland they have the room power set up to work only when they room key is in a slot by the door. Also, no outlets in the bathroom. And no top sheets. The bed was very comfy. I loved the pillows. The very worst thing is Cory's snoring. I'm adding all these photos as I lie here awake due to his snoring. Yes, I have ear plugs. It's going to be a long 17 more nights.Read more
TravelerYippy! On my 1st flight finally 🙌
7/8/23Reply
TravelerYay!
7/8/23Reply
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Day 2
Saturday, July 8, 2023 at 1:02 PM
⛅ 70 °F
Altitude: 69 ft
Ireland Temple Bar 53.343924, -6.26978953°20’38” N 6°16’11” W
Darkey Kelly's
July 8, 2023 in Ireland ⋅ ⛅ 70 °F
Lunch and 1st Guinness. The food was good. Guinness...is ok. Cory LOVED the chibatta bread. We have decided that we cam share meals. Very large portions!
The restaurant was ok. They were playing remixes of 80's and 90's songs though.
$33 Euro for 2 beers and 2 meals. Kinda spendy.Read more
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Day 2
Saturday, July 8, 2023 at 2:00 PM
☁️ 70 °F
Altitude: 108 ft
Ireland Christ Church Cathedral 53.34342, -6.27122753°20’36” N 6°16’16” W
Christ Church Cathedral
July 8, 2023 in Ireland ⋅ ☁️ 70 °F
As a history lover, this place was amazing. So much to read and learn. I would definitely go back. We also got to here a student choir perform. Man. So spiritual and a lovely memory.
This church is the oldest in Dublin. It costs them 1.5 million Euro a year to keep it operational.Read more
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Day 2
Saturday, July 8, 2023 at 2:36 PM
⛅ 72 °F
Altitude: 66 ft
Ireland Temple Bar 53.344091, -6.26152353°20’39” N 6°15’41” W
The Bank
July 8, 2023 in Ireland ⋅ ⛅ 72 °F
Stopped for a drink. I looked at this restaurant so many times when planning. Ultimately I booked The Church for tomorrow. So we stopped in to get a look since we won't be eating here.
A lot of history here. And very busy. Reasonable prices for beer. I had an excellent IPA.Read more
TravelerYum!
7/8/23Reply
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Day 2
Saturday, July 8, 2023 at 5:59 PM
⛅ 70 °F
Altitude: 66 ft
Ireland Ballsbridge 53.332214, -6.24136253°19’56” N 6°14’29” W
Irish House Party
July 8, 2023 in Ireland ⋅ ⛅ 70 °F
The Irish House Party dinner and show.
The food was very good. I wish we had done this another night. Cory and I are so exhausted. Awake over 30 hours! But man! It was such a fabulous show. All of the trad music was fun. Learning about true Irish instruments. And watching a Riverdancer perform multiple times! 5 stars.Read more
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Day 2
Saturday, July 8, 2023
⛅ 72 °F
Altitude: 56 ft
Ireland The Spire 53.349805, -6.26029653°20’59” N 6°15’37” W
Dublin #1
July 8, 2023 in Ireland ⋅ ⛅ 72 °F
Photos from walking around this fun city
TravelerBeautiful architecture!
7/29/23Reply
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Day 3
Sunday, July 9, 2023 at 9:30 AM
☁️ 63 °F
Altitude: 75 ft
Ireland Tara Street Station 53.345195, -6.25432453°20’43” N 6°15’16” W
Book of Kells
July 9, 2023 in Ireland ⋅ ☁️ 63 °F
This stop was well worth it. We had tickets for 9:30. Of course, we were first in line. Even with only 25% of the books left, this library made my heart happy. Walking in you could SMELL the old books. They had videos of the process of removing, cleaning, cataloging and storing the books. The way the categories and organization of the books went was so easy. Better than the dewy decimal system. This was a fabulous stop!

Also, I was a bit flustered because I could not get my phone's mobile global pass to work.Read more
TravelerSara in 7th Heaven
7/9/23Reply
TravelerYes! I totally was!
7/9/23Reply
TravelerMy feet landed on Ireland soil 25 hours late. So great to have finally arrived. I met Sara and Cory at the hotel. After a quick bite to eat we began the best adventures ever!
7/25/23Reply
TravelerBook of Kells was amazing. Definitely worth ur pre-booking that assured us a viewing. I really wanted to touch the books. Sara is right, the vintage smell was great.
7/25/23Reply
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Day 3
Sunday, July 9, 2023 at 10:00 AM
☁️ 61 °F
Altitude: 43 ft
Ireland Stephen's Green 53.343672, -6.25444553°20’37” N 6°15’16” W
Trinity College
July 9, 2023 in Ireland ⋅ ☁️ 61 °F
Walk through after Book of Kells. Cute college.
TravelerThis campus is beautiful. We possibly should have taken the walking tour to learn more. Next time!
7/25/23Reply
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Day 3
Sunday, July 9, 2023 at 10:22 AM
⛅ 61 °F
Altitude: 112 ft
Ireland Temple Bar 53.343084, -6.26198753°20’35” N 6°15’43” W
Butler Chocolate
July 9, 2023 in Ireland ⋅ ⛅ 61 °F
Yummy. No pics. But my mouth watered WHILE eating. We each tried 2 pieces. So much different than American chocolate. My favorite was the pink Himalayan salted caramel.
TravelerJust reading this memory makes my mouth water. Truly mouth watering.
7/25/23Reply
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Day 3
Sunday, July 9, 2023 at 11:00 AM
☀️ 63 °F
Altitude: 66 ft
Ireland Chester Beatty Library 53.3427, -6.26701653°20’34” N 6°16’1” W
Dublin Castle
July 9, 2023 in Ireland ⋅ ☀️ 63 °F
We did not get to tour this Castle, it just did not fit into our short Dublin day. Oh well. We got our Heritage cards, which get us into many historical sites for free. Next time we come, we will be touring this for sure!Read more
TravelerSuch a lucky mom to have received the "almost" picture. LOL
7/25/23Reply
TravelerOPW card is a must! We were able to happily go into some OPW locations throughout our trip with it that we otherwise may not have paid for.
7/25/23Reply
TravelerThanks for this! I am heading to Ireland on May and hadn’t yet seen this.
12/22/24Reply
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Day 3
Sunday, July 9, 2023 at 12:33 PM
☀️ 66 °F
Altitude: 118 ft
Ireland Temple Bar 53.341276, -6.26388253°20’29” N 6°15’50” W
The Hairy Lemon
July 9, 2023 in Ireland ⋅ ☀️ 66 °F
A fun stop for an afternoon snack. We all shared 1 plate of fish & chips. It's a cute, old pub! Fun fact that no alcohol can be served till 12:30pm on Sundays.
We actually went here 2 times. The first was 10:30. Mom was hungry. But they only serve breakfast till around noon. Zero other restaurants were open. So we came back at noon.
I defaced property and put up a forest grove sticker.Read more
TravelerOrnery
7/9/23Reply
TravelerI was disappointed about the "no alcohol till noon" after being up for 48 hours(plus) at this point. Sure did taste good once we were able to order. This pub was full of character and characters!
7/25/23Reply
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Day 3
Sunday, July 9, 2023 at 1:00 PM
⛅ 66 °F
Altitude: 79 ft
Ireland St. Patrick’s Cathedral 53.339509, -6.27148453°20’22” N 6°16’17” W
St. Patrick's Church
July 9, 2023 in Ireland ⋅ ⛅ 66 °F
This very, very old church was so beautiful. Originally a Catholic Church, it's now a Protestant Church. And it's still active!
So much history. It really is impressive to me how they built these in the Medieval times.Read more
TravelerVery beautiful cathedral. You can feel the spirit when walking in. Amazing stain glass and word working. PS - We feared the fires of hell prior to walking in but we were saved 😎
7/29/23Reply
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Day 3
Sunday, July 9, 2023 at 2:53 PM
☁️ 68 °F
Altitude: 82 ft
Ireland St. Stephen's Green 53.339734, -6.26055753°20’23” N 6°15’38” W
St. Stephen's Green
July 9, 2023 in Ireland ⋅ ☁️ 68 °F
We went on a horse and Carriage ride, we saw the bullet holes on the arch from the Easter Rising. We saw tons of pigeons. And this is a true park. So many trees. A lake. And people actually sit on the grass, benches, etc. So different then ours.Read more
TravelerThis made Cory SO happy! It was a fun ride around Dublin. I am very impressed on how clean the streets are. No homeless encampment's, a few quietly asking for money. I'm interested on what and how Dublin helps their less fortunate.
7/29/23Reply
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Day 3
Sunday, July 9, 2023 at 2:55 PM
☁️ 70 °F
Altitude: 82 ft
Ireland St. Stephen's Green 53.340065, -6.26069553°20’24” N 6°15’39” W
Grafton Street
July 9, 2023 in Ireland ⋅ ☁️ 70 °F
This is a very popular area. But not our favorite. It was a street full of well known retailers.
But we really enjoyed the live street music.
I tried to put a coin in a guys case, it jumped out. I had to grab it and put it back in. The musician smiled and waved. It was awkward and embarrassing.Read more
TravelerThe coin flip was a fun moment!
7/29/23Reply
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Day 3
Sunday, July 9, 2023 at 3:06 PM
☁️ 70 °F
Altitude: 98 ft
Ireland St. Stephen's Green 53.340666, -6.25976653°20’26” N 6°15’35” W
1 1
Umbrella, ella, ella, hey hey hey, hey h
July 9, 2023 in Ireland ⋅ ☁️ 70 °F
Fun, touristy place off Grafton Street. Cory and I tried to be cute and fun. Bwahaha!
Traveler Fun pictures!
7/11/23Reply
Traveler 😍
7/11/23Reply
TravelerDefinitely touristy, but fun. I love these pictures!
7/29/23Reply
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Day 3
Sunday, July 9, 2023 at 3:26 PM
☁️ 70 °F
Altitude: 72 ft
Ireland Stephen's Green 53.342636, -6.25919453°20’33” N 6°15’33” W
Tapped
July 9, 2023 in Ireland ⋅ ☁️ 70 °F
Cory found this cute bar off of Grafton Street. We had a drink and some dumplings. Fun stop! It was called the Lost Lane. The bar was called Tapped. And when they say spicy in Ireland....they mean it.
TravelerDelicious 😋
7/29/23Reply
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Day 3
Sunday, July 9, 2023 at 6:16 PM
☁️ 68 °F
Altitude: 56 ft
Ireland Smithfield 53.34856, -6.26697553°20’55” N 6°16’1” W
The Church
July 9, 2023 in Ireland ⋅ ☁️ 68 °F
We went here for dinner. I wanted to walk....but was talked into a cab.
We arrived 30 minutes early, so ordered some drinks and sat outside. I don't know how people eat outside here. There was such a sewer smell present.
Anyway, we were seated at 6. Ate a delicious dinner! Listened to trad music, tried to watch the Irish Dancers, but it didn't work out. Everyone's food was so good! And the bill was 1/2 of what we expected, so that was great too.Read more
TravelerThis was one of my favorite places. Dinner was delicious. The reserved seating that Sara had for us really topped off the evening. I loved the music, the building was just beautiful. I did get flack for asking for a taxi ride, in my defense I had been up for about 60 hours and was ready to relax 🍸
7/29/23Reply
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Day 3
Sunday, July 9, 2023 at 9:38 PM
☀️ 61 °F
Altitude: 75 ft
Ireland Tara Street Station 53.345169, -6.25432353°20’43” N 6°15’16” W
1
Temple Bar
July 9, 2023 in Ireland ⋅ ☀️ 61 °F
After dinner at The Church, we walked to the very touristy Temple Bar. It was a blast! Lex found us on the web cam. We listened to live music, and people watched. After our drink, we walked up the street and found another bar with a gal singing blues and jazz. She had such a wonderful voice!
Then we walked back to our hotel.Read more
Traveler Sweet of you two!
7/11/23Reply
TravelerThis was a must stop location. It was fun. I made the bartender pose pouring a drink. This was the most expensive drinks we had. Totally worth it. Great music and people watching 👀
7/29/23Reply
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Day 3
Sunday, July 9, 2023
☁️ 70 °F
Altitude: 56 ft
Ireland The Spire 53.349805, -6.26029653°20’59” N 6°15’37” W
Dublin #2
July 9, 2023 in Ireland ⋅ ☁️ 70 °F
Dublin
Fun facts:
Smoking is still happening here. So much so, that ashtrays are on every outdoor table.
The green mushy stuff they serve is called "mushy peas." Just say no.
Driving here is crazier than Jamaica or Belize.
Taxis are everywhere. We used the Free Now app, which is similar to Uber.
The ranch tastes weird. Get the Garlic Mayo instead.
The portions are huge! I don't know how the Irish are so skinny.
The Irish have the best sense of humor.
Most Irish do not work at the touristy places here.
We walked 20,237 steps with mom.Read more
TravelerFacts! Also one of the funnest days of my life!
7/29/23Reply
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Day 3
Sunday, July 9, 2023
☁️ 68 °F
Altitude: 75 ft
Ireland Tara Street Station 53.345172, -6.25435153°20’43” N 6°15’16” W
Random photos
July 9, 2023 in Ireland ⋅ ☁️ 68 °F
TravelerDid I mention how great The Trinity City hotel stay was? Very nice room, great views and close to walk to most of our adventures.
7/29/23Reply
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Day 4
Monday, July 10, 2023 at 9:40 AM
🌧 61 °F
Altitude: 46 ft
Ireland Dublin Pearse Station 53.343459, -6.24893353°20’36” N 6°14’56” W
Pearse train station
July 10, 2023 in Ireland ⋅ 🌧 61 °F
We left Dublin this morning for Kilkenny. Taking a train to Enniscorthy where we hired a driver to take us to Wexford for the Famine Ship, Waterford for The Viking Triangle, then to our hotel for the next 2 nights - The Butler House.
We had a complete tourist experience at the station getting our tickets. There was the nicest man, Frantih, who assisted us, then visited with us while waited for the train. His Irish humor was awesome. He has MS and shared a lot about his life. So enjoyable!
A 2 hour train ride to our next journey. Beautiful views of the coast and the mountains. Kind of feel like we are in Tillamook.Read more
TravelerGreat photos, all! Thank you for sharing. Can’t wait for more.
7/10/23Reply
TravelerThis was a fun experience. I was laughed at when I said I felt like we were at the Hogwarts train station 😆 The train was fun, we reserved seats facing each other with a table for easy conversation between the 3 of us. The views along the way were great. The only thing that would have made this better is a bloody mary. The Butler house was one of my favorite stay locations. I had a view of the garden and the castle. The bed was perfect, the towel warmer topped it off. Great find Sara!
7/29/23Reply
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Day 4
Monday, July 10, 2023 at 12:54 PM
☁️ 63 °F
Altitude: 59 ft
Ireland Rosbercon 52.393497, -6.94785652°23’37” N 6°56’52” W
Dunbrody Famine Ship
July 10, 2023 in Ireland ⋅ ☁️ 63 °F
This was such a moving experience. The famine tore family and cultures apart in Ireland. The rich British landlords actually paid to send these families to Canada and America so that the could bring in cows. Many, many died during the voyages. I couldn't imagine.
Vera met us for lunch at the Cafe. We had pizza and a cider.
I did not realize how many Irish helped establish America. Back when we valued hard work over the victim mentality. Walt Disney, Henry Ford...both 1st generation Irish immigrants. Andrew Jackson also. Kennedy'ss....etc.Read more
TravelerThey did a great job of replicating the ship. Very sad conditions. I can't imagine being put into these conditions in order to save my family and myself knowing that your chances of survival were very small. It saddens me that even today humans have to put themselves in danger to find a better life. Be thankful each day for all the wonderful things we have in our lives ❤
7/29/23Reply
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Day 4
Monday, July 10, 2023 at 3:40 PM
🌬 64 °F
Altitude: 121 ft
Ireland Johns River 52.259574, -7.10759252°15’34” N 7°6’27” W
1 1 1 1
The Viking Triangle
July 10, 2023 in Ireland ⋅ 🌬 64 °F
We grabbed the last tour of the Viking Triangle for the day. And while we waited for it to start, we walked through a Manor house. Lot and lots of history! I loved Waterford and could stay a few days here.
I can't type everything we learned, but I'll share this fun fact:
The doors were so high into the homes due to the clothing fashion of the times. The dresses the ladies wore were VERY wide. And the men wore top hats. Imagine building a home so you could fit your outfit in through the door.
Also, we walked on the oldest road in Ireland, Bailey's New Road.Read more
TravelerFun facts. I would love Waterford
7/11/23Reply
Traveler Cute picture!
7/11/23Reply
Traveler Lol
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