Dublin~A Craic of a Good Time
One of my favorite things
I love about living in The Netherlands is the gift of being able to travel to
new and exciting places even if it’s just for a short weekend. As my husband
and I planned out the rest of our year, we realized that we have only a few
weekends available to just drop everything and get away together. With Ireland
being on our bucket list of places to visit, we quickly made arrangements to
head off to Dublin.
Flying out on our good ole
Ryan air I was pleased to find out that they have loosened the regulations a
bit. This time I carried on my one piece of small luggage AND carried my
purse. This is a huge deal as they used
to make you stuff it into your bag and then of course the weight limit would be
too high causing you to either check your suitcase or question your need for
more than one pair of shoes for a weekend. Anyway… thank you Ryan Air for a
little more wiggle room.
We landed in Dublin early
Friday morning ready to explore the city. On our taxi ride to our hotel, the
cab driver was chatting about things to see and do in the city. Cab drivers
always have the best info, especially if you want to be with the real people
not just the tourists. But my eyes were automatically drawn to the people’s
doors. Home after home, business after business… the Georgian style doors were
all painted brightly with different colors. As previously mentioned, I have a
love affair of doors. This was a fantastic surprise for me as I had no idea
that Dublin was famous for their doors. Cab driver number 2 later on that day
gave me two different stories as to why the doors of Dublin are painted so
brilliantly.
I’ve since googled and searched and kept coming up with the same
stories.. so I’ll go with my cab driver’s stories. Of course the stories begin
with two famous writers living next to each other in Dublin, George
Moore and Oliver St John Gogarty. They both painted their doors so the other
wouldn’t come knocking on their doors after a night of drinking. But my cabbie
said… that’s just good common sense. That way all the people of Dublin know
which door is their own when they come stumbling home from the pubs.
The second story I love just as well… Queen Victoria of
the British Empire had married her teenage sweetheart and cousin at the tender
age of 18. Queen Victoria and Prince Albert’s love for each other defined their
love of their kingdom, their family of 9
children and presented people with which
a way on how to live a happy life. But Prince Albert died suddenly at the age
of 42 of Typhus. Greif stricken Queen Victoria was not to be seen in public for
3 years and finished out her life as Queen for the next 30 years only wearing
black. She was called the Widow of Windsor. In her mourning of her beloved
husband she ordered all the British Empire to paint their doors black to show a
sign of mourning. Well according to the story, that didn’t settle well with the
Irish who instead painted their doors brilliantly beautiful colors. Both
stories are a testament to a people full of life and passion. And I fell madly
in love with the beautiful Dublin Doors.
Hard Rock Dublin
We next headed for the Hard Rock of Dublin. We needed a
few good burgers before we descended on the Temple Bar area in search of the
perfect Irish beer. Here were a few of our favorite beers and bars.
Later that night, we ventured off to see Ireland’s most
famous theater show…. Riverdance, at the beautiful Gaiety Theater.
Featuring
mostly traditional Irish music and dance, the show was phenomenal to say the
least and I’m so happy I was able to see it in Dublin.
The next day we awoke to a nice drizzle of rain. But that
wasn’t going to dampen our spirits… we took off for the Guinness Storehouse.
The 9,000 year lease signed in 1759
This exceptional experience of the famous Guinness beer is a must see in
Dublin. The building is 7 stories and takes you through the history and process
of making the famous dark beer.
You can learn how to pour the perfect pint and
then enjoy the panoramic Dublin view from the top of the Storehouse in the
Gravity Bar. Now this is the way to start a perfect day!
Happy and a little tipsy we headed for The Old Jameson
Distillery. One problem.. we had spent so much time at the Guinness place that
all the Jameson whiskey tours were booked.
No problem.. buy a few gifts and Pub Crawl on
to my favorite place of the day, The Brazen Head.
The Brazen Head is Ireland’s oldest pub. Established in
1198… ya gotta love a place that has continued to stay in business for this
long. Rooms wind and twist and little corners are filled with delight. At night
they feature storytelling dinners and Irish music. But my husband and I love to
belly up to the bar and get to know the bar tenders. This is where we really
felt at home. Much to my delight they had
bangers and mash on their wonderful
menu. A hearty meal and a Bulmers in the oldest pub in Ireland… truly the
perfect way to end a very short weekend to Dublin.
We for sure will be going
back, but I want to get outside of the city and enjoy the country and coastal
views.
Thanks Dublin for
a Craic of a good time!
