Dublin, Ireland 2010

Day 1

We left Phoenix and landed in Dublin, Ireland, some 13 hours later. It was quite astonishing really. Stumbling around the Dublin airport at 8 am local time, trying to make sense of our new environment took some doing. Upon exiting the terminal, the plan was to catch a bus going into the center of town, one that would deposit us in the vicinity of the Abbott Lodge where Carol had booked our room. However, in order to board the bus we first had to exchange dollars for euros to pay the fare. No easy feat considering we had to juggle all of our luggage as we searched for the exchange bureau. Anyway, we soon found ourselves aboard one of those quaint double-decker buses staring out the window while hurtling headlong into the capital.

So far so good. Unfortunately, nobody, including the driver, had ever heard of the Abbott Lodge much less able to give us directions. Disembarking on O'Connell Street, the main Dublin artery, we set out on foot, map in hand, luggage swinging at our sides, to find this elusive lodge. One of the reasons it took us so long to locate the lodge was that I thought it was going to be in a more fashionable district rather than where it actually was located. The pictures on their web site made it look quite different. Anyway, once we checked in and climbed the five flights to our room without much of a view, we flopped onto the bed and virtually fell asleep before our heads hit the pillow.

Sometime around 8pm we got up, alert and ready to start exploring the city. We walked up O'Connell Street past the famous Post Office, center of the Easter Rising of 1916 that eventually led to Irish independence, then up and over a bridge spanning the River Liffey. After about an hour or so of wandering we decided to head back to the Abbott and work on getting over our jet lag in the privacy of our own room. In spite of its charm, Dublin is a city, like all cities, and is congested, noisy, smelly and takes some getting used to.

Back in our loft, we tried unsuccessfully to get back to sleep. Fortunately, Carol was able to busy herself pouring over maps, brochures and tour guides planning our itinerary while I contended myself reading “Ireland”, a sweeping novel by Frank Delaney that renders an entertaining account of many of Ireland's pivotal historic moments.

Day 2

Somewhere around five in the morning sleep overcame us. This state did not last long because I had set the Blackberry alarm to go off at nine. Since I had paid for breakfast, I had no intention of sleeping through it. Therefore, groggy though we were, we marched back down the stairs to the cavernous basement to consume a prodigious full Irish breakfast. These breakfasts, we were to soon to learn, were essentially all you can eat affairs. We certainly weren't shy about consuming the eggs, bacon, beans, bread, cereal, sausage, juice and coffee that was set before us. Afterward, in a now rather bloated condition, we trundled back up the now 6 flights of stairs to our top floor aerie to snooze a while longer before tackling the new day.

Emerging from the Abbot, our first destination was the National Museum. The walk was pleasant and necessary considering the amount of food we had recently consumed. The museum houses some of the finest examples of pre-historic artifacts and Celtic treasures that Ireland has to offer. Highly recommended.

After leaving the museum, we stopped at nearby Trinity College. The idea was to have a look at the Book of Kells, the ancient illuminated manuscript that the college had on loan. Once we located the building where it was housed we discovered it was more of a souvenir shop than anything else. As they were charging $10 just to see the book in its glass case we decided to admire the full length posters instead.

Back out in the courtyard, we traversed old cobble stone paths bordered by ivy covered stone walls. There's something inherently satisfying about wandering around a revered institution of higher learning, knowing that men of genius trod these same paths. The world constantly changes but the desire for a quality education never goes out of fashion.

Retracing our steps we were soon through the college gates and back into the bustling city. Strolling down O'Connell Street, we decided to stop at Flanagan's, a popular traditional restaurant, for our first Irish dinner. Located near the giant needle, we were served a sumptuous meal that immeasurably put to rest the notion that Irish servings were quite small in comparison to their American counterparts. This idea was put into our heads by a nice Irish woman Carol met on the inbound flight.

Afterwards we decided to test our endurance and cross over the hay'- penny bridge in search of some Irish night life in the Temple district. Can't say we were too successful in this endeavor as none of the pubs we walked by seemed particularly inviting. I just can't quite get my head around why people are so attracted to noisy, crowded bars. Fortunately, on our second pass we found a quieter pub where we could carry on a conversation and enjoy a pot of tea.