8am – Breakfast at
Queen of Tarts
The list of menu items are mouthwatering, from homemade
scones, to Queen of Chocolate Fudge Cake.
Grab something for breakfast (a scone will cost about 3€) and then plan
your day with my handy map.
9am – Trinity College
This college, founded in 1592, is one of the oldest in
Western Europe. The campus is quite beautiful
and you can walk around enjoying the architecture for free.
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| Long line to get inside - Frank was not about to wait in that! |
10am – St. Stephen’s
Green
This park is wonderful any time of day you visit.
If you’re arriving to Dublin after an overnight flight from
the States, you might want to take a nap in St. Stephen’s Green, kinda like we
did.
 |
| Sleeping in a park, kinda like homeless people, but we were tired! |
It’s less than a mile walk to Christ Church Cathedral and
St. Patrick’s Cathedral. Christ Church
Cathedral has been around since 1028 A.D.
The architecture on the outside is amazing.
I did the same thing at St. Patrick’s Cathedral, right next
door, as it is 5.50€ to get inside
there.
 |
| Kinda looks like Christ Church Cathedral, doesn't it? |
This church does not have a cool
mummified cat and rat, but has many other things to see. Plus, it is a tribute to the man who brought
Christianity to Ireland and a man who I celebrate every March 17 by drinking a
case of beer or so.
12pm – Bar Stop
Speaking of St. Patrick, by now, you’re well overdue for a
drink, as this is Ireland, and most people are at the bar at 9am. I went in more bars than I could possibly
name, but if you see one of these, do stop and have a pint. You’ll probably want to grab food too.
1pm – Guinness
Storehouse
It will cost you a pretty penny to go inside the Guinness
Storehouse for a tour. About 16.50€
to be exact. At the end, you get to
drink Guinness beer from the Gravity Bar at the top of the Storehouse, with 360°
views of the city.
I opted to save my 16.50€
and just take pictures outside.
Then, I went into a nearby pub and got a Guinness.
2pm – Bar Stop
 |
| Though we didn't go inside the Guinness Storehouse, we did drink Guinness elsewhere... and probably for much less |
3pm - Old Jameson
Distillery
Keeping in the groove of drinking Irish-made alcohol, walk
on over to the Old Jameson Distillery, about a mile and a half from the Guinness
Storehouse (WARNING: You may have to stop at more than one bar while making the
journey, it’s kind of a long walk). Once
you arrive, you can take a tour for 11.70€,
or you can be economical, and just take pictures for free.
4pm – Bar Stop
This is Ireland, you have to stop at as many bars as
possible. You’ll especially want to stop
for a pint if you see a pub with your name on the outside.
If you follow my schedule, you’ll be at here about an hour
before the General Post Office closes at 6pm.
This isn’t just any post office – you’ll find bullet holes around
the columns outside – as this was the home base for insurgents of the Easter Rising
in which Ireland tried to claim independence from Britain back in 1916 (as I am
an ancient history teacher and not Ireland history teacher, you’ll have to
click here for more information).
It’s right outside the General Post Office where you’ll see
the Spire of Dublin, the 24th most photographed place in the world,
according to Budget Travel.
6pm – Bar Stop
I think the best thing about Europe is the little
differences. For instance, my favorite
drink in the U.S. is Magners, which is from
Ireland. But there, they call it Bulmers.
 |
| And they come in flavors in Ireland! Regular, pear, and berry! |
7pm – Temple Bar
This is considered a more touristy area of Ireland, but it’s
also a great place to eat. And go to
more bars.
You can stay here for hours, just popping into and out of
bars, enjoying the Irish music, Irish scene, and Irish sayings.
 |
| I love the Gaelic saying "Two shorten the road." It's so true. |
11pm – Back to the
Hotel (or, you know, whatever time you’re ready to retire)
We stayed at a few hotels in Dublin, but I think the best
was Trinity Capital Hotel. Mainly
because there was a block of rooms named Tara.
 |
| Refer to this post if you need to know more about things named Tara |
This hotel is very centrally located, just a few blocks from
Trinity College. The inside is funky and
eclectic.
The rooms are pretty big by European standards.
Perhaps the most important feature at the Trinity Capital
Hotel was the baggage storage. Since we
arrived in the morning from America, we stored our bags at the front desk.
 |
| And in one of those bags was my engagement ring. Frank planned on proposing the next day! |
We also stayed at Arlington Hotel, which is in the Temple Bar area.
Breakfast: About 3€ (about $3.72)
Books of Kells: 9€ (about $11.17)
Cathedrals: 11.50€ ($14.27)
Guinness Storehouse: 16.50€ ($20.48)
Old Jameson Distillery: 11.70€ ($14.52)
Lunch: 10€ ($12.41)
Dinner: 20€ ($24.82)
Bar Stops: Approximately 4€ x ∞ (okay, maybe times about 4) = 16€ (almost $20)
Trinity Capital Hotel: About $179/night
