Welcome To the Emerald Isle

Loyal readers of the blog know that I like to travel for my birthday and this year is no different.  We are getting to a stage in our lives where we want to visit new places instead of old ones with the exception of Hawaii and Alaska.  Anyways, Ireland has been on the bucket list for a long time.  But we did have some criteria.  Number One – cheap direct flight only.  Number Two – we wanted to see as much of the country as we could.  And Number Three – keep the number of vacation days I had to use to a minimum.  Well after months of research, we came up with a plan that satisfied all of the conditions and we were getting started today.

Since our WestJet flight ($703.50 CAD including baggage fees and taxes / person) was not leaving until 10:00pm, we had the entire day to relax.  This is the first time we are flying out on a Sunday and at such a late hour.  After Karen dropped Maui off at my house, we headed to Toronto.  Once again Karen’s brother Ross and his wife Susie have graciously allowed us to leave the car at their home.  We were able to have a quick visit with them along with Liz, Algis, Rosie and Lottie before Ross dropped us off at Toronto Pearson Airport.

First thing I noticed is that there were no people at the WestJet kiosks.  In under five minutes, we printed off our luggage tags and dropped off our suitcases.  Next using our NEXUS cards, security took about two minutes.  Is it always like this when flying out later in the evening.  We ended up finding people at the Plaza Premium Lounge.  We only had about an hour but it was enough time to get some food and drinks.

After getting down to the gate,  it was not too long before we were allowed to board.  We got settled into 11E and 11F and the luck of the Irish must have been smiling upon us because nobody sat in 11D.  That means Karen and I would have some room to stretch out.  I am not sure what it is was but I think in total I may have slept about thirty minutes over the course of the six hour and seventeen minute flight.

We landed in Dublin around 9:30am and had to deplane onto the tarmac.  It was a bit of a walk until we got to immigration where we got another stamp in our passports.  Our last stop was the baggage carousel before heading outside to wait for our transportation to the city.

When we were booking our tickets for DoDublin Hop-On Hop-Off tour (32 Euros / person), we saw that they also offered transportation from the airport into Dublin City Centre with Dublin Express (11 Euros return / person).  By combining the two, you save 5 Euros per person.  We had to wait about twenty minutes before the 782 bus arrived.  There are ten stops on this route and it took us about thirty minutes to get to stop #4 Merchant’s Quay.  From here it was only a five minute walk to the Hampton by Hilton Dublin City Centre (418.79 Euros including fees and taxes).  It was now 11:15am and the luck of the Irish blessed us with our room being ready.  We decided it would be best to have a nap before heading out for the day.

We left the hotel around 1:00pm and it was only a five minute walk to a DoDublin Hop-On Hop-Off stop.  There was only one more stop before the bus returned to the starting point at O’Connell Street.  The driver told us the next bus was not leaving for twenty minutes so we decided to hop off and get ourselves some lunch.  Instead of having something Irish, we went with Thai.

Next to the restaurant was something called the Dublin Portal.  It is an interactive sculpture that connects Dublin, Ireland to New York City using a 24/7 livestream.  It was so much fun watching the people get so excited when someone in New York City would stop and wave to them.

After a little bit of shopping, we hopped back on the 2:45pm bus.  DoDublin uses double decker buses so we made sure to get a spot upstairs.  Our driver Greg entertained and educated us about Dublin during our one hour and forty-five minute tour.  I can not remember everything nor did I get any real good pictures but what I come away with from this tour is that Dublin is steeped in history.

We walked back to the hotel to drop off some purchases before heading back out for dinner.  We got a recommendation for The Brazen Head which is Ireland’s oldest pub established in 1198.  With our meal, we each ordered a glass of Guinness.  I was told that I had to try it while in Ireland.  Will I have it again, likely not but I am glad I gave it a go.  We enjoyed our meals soaking up the atmosphere of our first Irish pub.

It was around 7:30pm when we got done with dinner and we thought that we were heading back to the hotel.  But the sun was out so we decided to walk over to the Temple Bar.  It is an area of Dublin with lots of  bars, restaurants and nightclubs including the famous Temple Bar Pub.  We arrived back at the hotel around 9:15pm.  It has been a very long day but I am so excited to be starting out Irish Adventure.