April 1 – 3

As the first of the year rolled around, people asked us what our travel plans for the year were and for the first time in recent memory we had to reply that we didn’t have any son the books.  Having done a two-month international journey in 2025 we weren’t likely to do one this year and a lot of our excursions are the result of some happenstance or suggestion, none of which had come our way.  That would all change at the end of January when we were invited to join Jessica, Kris, Gemma, Kim and Marty in Ireland in the ten days they planned to be there. 

Ten days for them would turn into thirty days for us and normally a trip of this length, an international one to boot, would require planning about six months in advance, and so, with just two months to go we jumped into hyperdrive, securing our flights the first week of February.  Kim and Marty utilized a tour company which would provide them with a rental car, lodging in Dublin and Limerick, and an itinerary and the rest of us would stay at the same hotels as they were going to stay. 

Soon enough we were boarding our early morning flight on American Airlines connecting through Charlotte and it was not a sterling experience.  We didn’t get any snacks on the domestic leg and on the flight to Dublin my airline supplied headphones didn’t work (neither did my own when plugged in), nor did the power outlets in our row.  Fortunately, it being an overnight flight this wasn’t a big problem, although we both have power banks we travel with that would have kept our devices charged.  Also, we’d run into the same problem (no power in our row) on the domestic return in addition to aged and uncomfortable seats and a politely worded letter to American netted Joanna and I 10,000 miles apiece in compensation. 

As luck would have it, Kim and Marty landed around the same time as us and so we were able to split the 33 Euro ($40) cost of the taxi ride to our hotel for the two nights we’d be in Dublin, that is the Academy Plaza Hotel.  This is a nice inn located a short block away from O’Connell Street Upper, one of the city’s main shopping avenues and although prices displayed on Google Maps would lead one to believe it is reasonably priced, for us it ran 466 Euros ($550) for two nights, but that did include a very good breakfast buffet. 

With an afternoon to kill before the kids arrived, we took off down O’Connell Street heading towards the river Liffey, detouring through the neighborhood to the west enabling us to cross the famous Ha’penny Bridge (a pedestrian bridge built in May 1816 and made of cast iron, that was cast in Shropshire, England) into the area known as the Temple Bar.  Three hundred years ago, this was the city waterfront, where tall sailing ships offloaded their goods (a “bar” was a loading dock along the river, and the Temples were a dominant merchant family).  Eventually, the city grew eastward, filling in tidal mudflats, to create the docklands of modern Dublin.

Once a thriving Georgian center of craftsmen and merchants, this neighborhood fell on hard times in the 20th century.  Ensuing low rents attracted students and artists, giving the area a funky flair. Inspired by thriving bohemian cultural centers such as Paris’ Left Bank and New York City’s Greenwich Village, in 1991 Dublin scuttled a plan to demolish this neighborhood (filled with drugs, prostitutes, and decay) to build a bus station.  Instead, the city imported quaint cobbles, gave tax breaks to entertainment businesses, and created a raucous party zone. The resulting tourist crowds and inflated beer prices drove away the locals long ago.

Crossing the bridge, busy with pedestrian traffic, we wandered a bit south of the river before stropping in at The Old Storehouse for lunch.  As we subsequently found throughout our trip, the place was crowded and yet we were seated and ordered a round of drinks.  For me this would be a pint of Harp Lager (I would drink my share of Guiness later that month).  For food Joanna and I split the Homemade Irish Pork & Apple Crust Pie (Traditional ground Irish pork and apple in a short crust pastry served with freshly baked potato and buttery cabbage).  This was a unique and delicious offering and one we would not encounter again.  We split the tab with Kim and Marty, and our share came to 48 Euros ($59), about what we would come to determine would be about average for dining out during our stay in Ireland. 

We returned to the hotel to wait for the kids to arrive and when they did, right around 6pm, they were hungry after their long flight which connected through London, so we strolled out to O’Connell and hit just the first place we found, that is Madigan’s O’Connell Street.  It’s yet another typical Irish pub, crowded and yet seating was available.  I had a Smithwicks (pronounced Smith-icks), my first but not last of the trip, a highly drinkable Irish red ale.  Not that hungry from  shared substantial lunch, Joanna had the Seafood Chowder (Mixed fresh fish and root vegetable in creamy soup with mussels and soda bread), which is present in almost every pub while I enjoyed a nice carrot soup (every single soup we encountered in Ireland was some form of vegetable and always served with brown or soda bread). 

The tab came to 209 Euros (including a 10% tip, pretty common in Ireland) which we do with this group, meaning we sometimes subsidize the heavy eaters, but it all tends to even out in the end.  It was now late in the day for all of us so the short walk back to the hotel was appreciated and we all settled in for what we hoped would be a good night’s sleep, but one never knows when jet lag sets in.  We’ll report on that and the rest of our stay in Dublin in the next post. 

Links

Academy Plaza Hotel: https://www.academyplazahotel.ie/en/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=organic&utm_campaign=Knowledge_Graph

Temple Bar: https://www.visitdublin.com/the-temple-bar

The Old Storehouse: https://theoldstorehouse.ie/

Madigan’s O’Connell Street: https://www.madigansdublin.com/

Smithwicks: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smithwick%27s