dublin

Back to Dublin

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Doolin back to Dublin

The drive to Dublin was thankfully uneventful. We checked in to our B&B–Aida Boyle’s house in Upper Rathmines called St Judes.  It was a grand old Dublin home with 13-foot-high ceilings, plaster trim decorating the ceilings and a massive marble fireplace…and a goose down comforter. Love my Dublin!

Aida Boyles B&B
Aida Boyles B&B

We spent the last few days of our trip walking all over the city, like I’ve done a hundred times before.  Stopping in Bewley’s for lunch or breakfast with white coffee, taking a rest and getting a pint in the Foggy Dew, evening hours in the Long Hall, and just enjoying walking these grand old streets.

In the Long Hall
In the Long Hall

We would be out until 4 a.m. at the discos with Nick and Catherine. Dancing and singing at the bar below the Harp. We knocked over a table dancing to a Neil Diamond song.  Nick: “See your man there? He’s been coming in here for two years and hasn’t grown a stitch. It’s like two eggs in a hanky, that one“.

Kids busking in Dublin
Kids busking in Dublin

Another sunny day in Dublin–watching the kids busk on Grafton street and enjoying pints in McDaids. Tomorrow, we were heading home via London, Reykjavik and Baltimore…

Iceland to Dublin, Ireland

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Iceland to Ireland, via London

We left Iceland on a 7:51 a.m. flight to London…a 3 hour flight and one hour time difference. Then a 1:15 p.m. flight to Dublin. Just a hop, skip and jump. Of course, Heathrow is there to hobble you. We lost 2 of 3 bags through Heathrow. The one that made it with us to Dublin was the one full of dirty clothes. Gotta love that!

Dublin, Ireland

We arrived on a not so typical sunshiny day. We checked into our B&B, room #6 at the top of the stairs in Mrs. Crofton’s Garville Manor, in Rathgar. First things first…laundry. And then we took the bus to Grafton Street and Bewleys. It was an amusing ride listening to two teenage girls cat-calling out the bus windows–“fashion police”, “Hey Casanova…”, “well, hello there…”

Great, comfortable meal at Bewleys with mugs of white coffee…God how I love Bewleys!

Bewleys on Westmoreland, Dublin
Bewley’s on Westmoreland, Dublin

We ran into Siobhan there (she worked with Bryan at the Duke in Chicago). Small world.

Headed down the quays to visit Nick and Catherine’s. We sat and talked to them for awhile before going back into town to meet Siobhan and a friend for drinks at Brogan’s at the Olympia. Stayed just past last call and hoofed it all the way back to Rathgar in a light mist because there were no taxis. Things have changed here. The buses run longer, the city is jammed with traffic and there’s clearly money in the system

Elderly Mrs. Croften shocked us in the morning with her comment “It’s a long walk after a few jars”–and doubled over laughing at her own joke. 🙂

Rainy days then. Typical and accepted. They make for good pub days, and just fit this beautiful old city. I checked in on the familiar places. The Foggy Dew has lost it’s ambiance–it’s expanded now, and bursting at the seams with the young crowd. Temple Bar is extraordinarily posh. The quays are high end. Is this the same place that only 5-10 years ago was not exactly safe?! Smells the same, sounds the same, buskers still on Grafton Street, still quiet just inside the walls of Trinity, still soft seating at McDaids, still the Haypenny Bridge and the Liffey, and the sales people on O’Connell Street Bridge and around the GPO. And still the playful wit and sarcasm…but it’s more polished now. We took in Juno and the Paycock at the Gaity and then met Shane and Jackie for a full moon Saturday night in Dublin–and caught the last bus home.

Tomorrow, to the west and the Gaeltacht.

Ireland Flag
Ireland Flag