My first trip to Ireland - Day one

Several friends have wondered why I would want to move to a country that I had never even visited. Although I had not visited Ireland before, I knew, from watching countless movies, documentaries and through other media, that it was a place I could live. This feeling was solidified with my recent (short) visit to the Emerald Isle.

As you may have read in a previous post, I decided to fly over for an interview with a hotel I had applied at.  That is covered in detail in that post, so I will concentrate more on the leisure side of my visit.

I left Raleigh at around 10:30am on the 5th of March.  I arrived in NY and had a 5 hour layover.  My flight for Ireland left at 7:20pm.  It was a very pleasant flight, and I sat next to a lovely girl from Dublin. We chatted for about three hours about everything from politics to healthcare to sightseeing.  This made the flight go by pretty quickly, but also meant I didn't' get the sleep I had intended to get.  We arrived at Dublin airport at 4:20am, a good hour ahead of schedule.  I decided to hire a car, as I wanted to visit the area where my grandfather was born in Norther Ireland.  Unfortunately, the car hire was not open until 5am.  I decided to go and find some breakfast, and I met up with this girl once again who invited me to join her and her two friends at a table.  After a bit more conversation, it was time to get the car.  Mind you, I had never been to another foreign country before this, except for Canada, but they drive on the right.  Luckily, because it was so early in the morning, there was very little traffic out and it didn't take long to get used to driving on the left.  I did eat a couple of curbs when I went around some corners, but it didn't do any damage, luckily.  I arrived at the guest house I was staying at that evening and parked the car. This was very close to St Stephen's Green in the heart of Dublin.  I couldn't check in for several hours, so I first decided to take a walk.  The streets of the city were nearly empty and I was feeling so excited to be actually on Irish soil.  I walked around just for a short bit, and located the hotel that I was interviewing at later in the day so I knew where to go.

The Shelbourne Hotel at daybreak

I then decided to basically just explore Dublin a bit. I had heard adverts on the radio for Dundrum Town Centre which is a large shopping centre. I decided to head there to see what it was about.  I arrived and, still being really early, found everything except a Tesco grocery store to be closed.  I wanted to see what an Irish grocery store was like, so I ventured in. I actually ended up buying several things, including some candy bars and some crisps.

After the shopping trip and having some issues exiting the parking lot (you have to pay for parking, and I thought the sign said it was free for the first 30 minutes, and it was not unless you spent like 30 euro in Tesco), I decided to just explore.  I'm the type of person that like to get lost. I think it's the best way to discover new places and see things off the beaten path. So, off I went. I ended up in the hills (mountains?) of Dublin and in the beautiful countryside.  I was so happy.

By now, I had really gotten the hang of driving on the left. Oh, my car was also a manual shift, which I had not driven in about 12 years, but I loved it.  after a couple of hours, I decided to head back to the guest house to see if I could check in early. Luckily, I was able to.  I stayed at the Kilronan House. This was a really quaint Georgian building. The room was cozy and very nice.  I was able to take a shower and relax for about an hour or so before my interview.

After my Interview, I decided to explore Grafton St, which is one of the biggest city shopping districts.  It's a road turned pedestrian way just lined with shops off all types.

I made a point of visiting the Celtic Whiskey Shop, as a friend had asked me to get his son a bottle. I decided that I would bring one home for myself as well. I ended up with a bottle of Green Spot whiskey, which can't be purchased in the states.

My next stop was Trinity College to view the Book of Kells. How can you come to Dublin and and NOT see the Book of Kells?  I have to be honest, I was more impressed with the Old Library of the college. 

The Old Library at Trinity College

After my jaunt through the Grafton St area, I returned back to the guest house for a bit of a break.  I ventured out shortly later to find dinner. I was looking for a particular pub that I had stumbled upon earlier in the day, but could not locate. After what seemed like miles of walking, I ended up in the Temple Bar area and found a nice restaurant there. I can't for the life of me remember the name of it, though. I ordered a seafood chowder and their bacon with champ and parsley sauce.  What's kind of funny though, is that I know in Ireland most cuts of pork are called bacon, while what we American's think of bacon, although not exactly the same thing, is called rashers. So, when I ordered this dish, I was expecting American bacon, but instead it was two nice sized thin slices of pork cutlets. It made me chuckle to myself, and it was one of those "D'oh" moments.  After dinner I walked around a little bit more to enjoy the night life of the city and then decided to call it a night. by this time, I had been awake for nearly 24 hours!

Day two to follow....