2014 Travels: Dublin

Trip two of 2014 was a weekend in Dublin in May; this one nearly didn't happen as I had a fairly unpleasant bout of Tonsillitis at the time, wasn't really able to speak, eat or drink and was dosed up on a large amount of painkillers. However, having paid for it, I wasn't about to give in easily!

It was an incredibly rainy weekend in Dublin (typical...) and, me being me, I didn't take any appropriate wet weather gear. We got a weekend pass on the tourist hop-on hop-off bus, which stopped very near to our hotel (The Gresham - lovely!), meaning  we could avoid getting too wet. Or at least that was the theory; when the only seats were on the open-top bit of the bus in a torrential rainstorm, I wasn't quite so impressed. Never before have I done such a good impression of a drowned rat.

Some things are obligatory when going to Dublin and, of course, we visited the Guinness Storehouse. Lots to see and do, and a chance to hand pour our own pints! As well as enjoying this and getting a very informative lesson on how to correctly taste and drink Guinness, we stopped at their in-house cafe for a bite to eat. Not expecting much, we were very pleasantly surprised by their Pulled Pork rolls.
 It is intriguing how fresh Guinness in Dublin, both at the factory and in the local pubs, tastes so different from back home. Definitely a good sort of different too.

The other place you have to visit when in Dublin is Temple Bar. It's an incredibly vibrant place, with lots of choice for bars and food. We found a little restaurant serving typical Irish food - stews etc, which allowed us to dry off before moving a few hundred metres (!) to a bar. Not only did it, of course, serve Guinness but it had a great selection of other ales, some nuts and a spare table for us to spend an evening playing cards at. Not that I could eat the nuts, as swallowing was far too painful, but Nick enjoyed them!

We used our hop-on hop-off tickets to also visit the Castle, which was a fairly quick visit to be totally honest, and Kilmainham Gaol. The guided tour was incredibly informative and gave me lots of new knowledge about Irish history, something I was woefully underinformed about prior to our visit. The guide was passionate about his subject, too, which really helped. Kilmainham is haunting in an evocative way, considering its history, the people who've been encarcerated within its walls and the part it's played in the struggle of the Irish.

The Gaol also houses a fabulous museum; it's not too big but it has a lot of information in many media types, making it a great way to pass an hour. Especially if it's raining outside!

I don't think there was as much to see in Dublin as I'd expected but then my experience was tempered by both the weather and my own illness. It was still great to get away for a weekend!