Dublin - Tuesday, 5/20/2025

• Dublin airport
• Hotel Motel One
• Half Penny Bridge
• Trinity College
• Dublin Castle
• The Liffey River
• The Gin Palace
• The Temple Bar
• O- Riordan's Pub

Ooof. That 8 hour flight was long (Aer Lingus). The seats were fine and the meal (chicken) was actually pretty good , but none of us slept. I even had a seat empty right next to me. It didn't make much difference. The problem, as always, is people.  Moving around, crinkling wrappers, bumping the seats etc. Those people up in business class sure looked comfortable and well rested!

So we were wiped out coming into Dublin. We arrived around 8:30. By the time we cleared customs and taxied into the city it was 10 am.  The hotel (Hotel Motel One) was nice in letting us check in early, but one of the rooms was a handicapped accessible room. We took it as it was either that or nothing, but the sink is low and the shower has no enclosure. Oh well.

Off to walk around!

Our hotel is on the north side of the Liffey river, near Half Penny bridge.  Our first stop was at a pastry shop for a snack and coffees.  Then we crossed the river and walked to Trinity college.  Traffic is wild here, with bikes, pedestrians, buses and cars.  Jaywalkers are brave and I won't be shocked to see someone run over during our visit. 

Lots of tourists at Trinity college. It must be hard to take classes here (it's still a functional college).  Then we walked past parliament, the Molly Malone statue and into Dublin Castle.  There were some beautiful gardens surrounding the castle.  Guided tours were an hour long and we would've had to wait an hour for the next one so we just did the self guided tour (€8 each). Many, many paintings of dead Irishmen. Some history of the Irish revolution, politicians, poets and artists from that time period.

We came back to the hotel for a short nap .  After, we headed out for dinner at The Gin Palace.  We had fish and chips, as well as Irish cottage pie.  We had gin and tonics and our first Guinness in Dublin. Meals were about €20 ea. and drinks were about €8 ea. After conversion, just a little more expensive than what things are back in MN.

Back to the hotel for another time out, then out again for live music and more beer. It was raining. Good thing we brought rain jackets. 

 The Temple Bar. Yes, one of the biggest tourist traps in Dublin (beers are more like €11) but it has its charm. The kids were then tired, but Yelena and I tried one more place, O'Riordans, on the south side of the Liffey river.  A quieter bar, with a really talented solo guitar guy doing tunes.  

Off to bed for the night. It's challenging doing this post on the phone, so forgive any typos/errors.

Photos below.