Third stop...Dublin

Our flight to Dublin from Dubai can be described in three words: best flight ever! Not so for poor Ross. I had the bright idea if I chose seats right at the back of the plane with one seat separating us we might get lucky and get four seats to ourselves. Well, it worked.  Ross sat up the whole way and I lay across the other three seats and slept! It was as good as being in business class- well, almost- but no free champagne!

Our flight was late arriving in Dublin: our pilot battled strong head winds most of the way, which made the flight quite turbulent, but it just rocked me to sleep. My poor Jeep suitcase had held together but had suffered more damage to another corner!

There was no wait for a taxi, which was just as well as the temperature was 2C. We felt cool but not freezing. Our cab driver was very friendly but did not shut up the whole way. We somehow got onto the subject of Australian birds and he was off! He found our airbnb easily, right beside Jameson’s Old Distillery, and we were met on the footpath by Dennis, the brother of Svetlana’s boyfriend. Svetlana, whose apartment we are staying in, was still working. It’s a first floor apartment and is just perfect for us. It’s not huge but has a lounge/dining, separate kitchen and bathroom and bedroom and even has an entry hall. The lounge and bedroom overlook a large courtyard around which the apartments are built. Ross made us a coffee but it was real coffee grounds, not instant, so was undrinkable. We were extremely thankful for the coffee we had bought in Dubai!

After coffee and biscuits Ross had saved from the plane (I had eaten mine!), we showered and crashed. We both woke up around 3am, and did some research on what we are going to do today, and went back to bed at 6 and slept till 8.30. We must have needed the sleep. Ross went out exploring while I showered. Not only did he find a great little supermarket called Fresh, he found a couple of breakfast cafes. He decided on Christophe’s, which looked great but was disappointing. He had his heart set on a bagel, which was on the menu board, but apparently was only for lunch! We ended up ordering Full Irish Breakfasts. I don’t think the chef knows what a full Irish breakfast is: it’s literally everything you can think of for breakfast and more! Ours was basically just bacon, eggs and sausages, and dry ordinary toast. We ate it all- we were very hungry- but we won’t be going back there tomorrow morning!

The thermometer was reading 14C, but the wind was chilly and blowing right through me so we went back to our apartment to grab something warmer. On our way out we asked an Irish girl the way to the river so I could get my bearings. We found it easily, crossing the Luas line (tram) on our way there.

Just as we reached the River Liffey, a green hop on-hop off bus pulled up beside us. The bus driver opened the door and we hopped on, not sure if he would take us or not. He welcomed us with open arms, and gave us student prices for a 2-day pass. Bargain! We are going to have a lucky day today! I had researched hop on-hop off buses only to find out they were unavailable online for the next 3 days. I have no idea why! When we reached O’Connell Street, the bus stopped and we hopped off to get SIM cards from 3. Ross asked at a visitor information center where the 3 shop was, and were given the most simple specific directions. Oh, I wish everyone was this precise. We found it easily, got our SIMs, which Ross insists we need, had a quick but very necessary visit to Starbucks, before hopping back on the same bus with John, our friendly driver.

There are roadworks everywhere mostly because of the new tramline being built, so I didn’t recognise much from my last visit. We hopped off at St Patrick’s Cathedral, marvelled at the beautiful stained glass windows, and bought some postcards to send home. Thankfully, we didn’t have long to wait until the next bus. Even with our warmer clothes, the wind was still bitingly cold.

We stayed on the bus until Kilmainham Gaol where we did the tour with a guide whose accent was easy to understand and learned something of Ireland’s turbulent history. Back on the bus to the Queen of Tarts, where we feasted on the Queen’s delicacies. I ordered the salmon tart and then pigged out on a chocolate and pear tart. I was going to have the Baileys cheesecake, but I saw a chocolate and pear tart being delivered to another customer, so it was a case of  “I’ll have what she’s having.” By the way, Ross was the only male in the whole place! The coffees were perfect. Replete, we headed back to our cosy abode, calling in for a cider at the Brazen Head, the oldest pub in Ireland, established in 1198, I believe.

Our back street is quite pretty with a large Christmas tree centerpiece with changing lights, which I attempted to video but was almost blown away by the wind. Into the warmth of the Fresh supermarket to grab a bottle of Baileys, only to be told they don’t have any spirits, just wine and beer, so we exited with two bottles of water. Bit of a disappointment- for me, anyway!

Back in our toasty warm apartment, we found our clothes had actually dried in the washer/dryer, which was a big surprise. On my travels, I have never actually come across a washer/dryer that dries! I made a cup of tea, but was too tired to drink it so left it on the table and crashed.  It wasn’t even 5pm! Of course I woke up at midnight! It’s now 2.30am and I am thinking of crawling back into bed.