A Day In Dublin

I gave myself 2 nights in Dublin as I wasn't sure how long or difficult it would be to extract myself from Ballymaloe. Fortunately with the ride from Doug, things went very smoothly so I was well rested for a full day in Dublin. My Air BnB worked out very well. It was run by Fiona a nurse who was very pleasant. The place was clean, quiet and comfortable. What more could you ask for. It was a 30 minute bus ride from downtown and a 15 minute cab fare to the airport. It was somewhat expensive but compared to hotels in Dublin, it was significantly cheaper and probably quieter. The neighborhood looked a little bleak after the ShangriLa of Ballymaloe but it was all fine.

Saturday morning I headed downtown to the city centre and did a Rick Steves audio tour. A map of the route is provided on his app and one plays the audio as one walks along and looks at the various sights that he describes along with the history. I started in St. Stephen's park learning all about the 1916 uprising before hitting Trinity College home of the book of Kell's, O Connell Street, the Dublin Castle, Christ Church cathedral, the Handel hotel which was once a concert hall where the Messiah was first performed and the Temple Bar part of town. I heard a little voice calling my name Robert early in my tour and it was Caroline my Norwegian classmate sitting at a cafe. Small world. There is a Temple Bar bar but the area is actually named for a historic sand bar. It is party central in Dublin with lots of bars catering to tourists. The only Irish are the employees and police. Interestingly many of the old historic looking buildings are only 30 years old. I hit temple bar at 11:30 and things were already hopping. I am glad that I don't drink. It must be crazy on a Saturday night. I finished the tour with my lunch on the side of the river Liffey followed by a parade to acknowledge people in the services including police, border security and military. Who doesn't like a parade. The most interesting group were the border security brigade some with dogs were the most interesting. The dogs wanted to keep sniffing in people's bags because that is what they are trained to do.

That afternoon I decided to rent one of the rental bikes through Dublinbikes. Those are the ones that you can pick up at one station and drop off at another. I found a bike route along a canal which seemed pretty safe. After cycling along the canal for a while the route petered out but I had enough confidence to head onto the streets of Dublin. They have bicycle lanes. I biked by the Guiness factory/showroom but there was a throng of people waiting to go in. It must be a mecca for middle aged men. I kept going and biked on to the Ntl Gallery which was busy but no line ups. They had a Cavagio and some good impressionists paintings. By about 4, I was flagging so headed back to my Air BnB for a light supper and early bedtime. My Uber was arriving Sunday morning at 6:30 am. I had to repack the Chines puzzle of my suitcase.Read more