bob + suzanne + claire's big adventures in dublin

Does a fellow good a bit of a holiday.
I feel a ton better since I landed again in dear dirty Dublin ...
(James Joyce, The Dubliners) 

How did I neglect to post any photos from our two days in Dublin last August? I do not know. But today is the day. :)

We stayed at The Aberdeen Lodge, and definitely recommend it. It's in a quiet, residential suburb, and a quick and easy commute into town. It's family run, and they're very lovely and personal there ... they give you a cup of tea and a newspaper when you arrive, and sit down and have a chat with you. (You can read the Trip Advisor reviews here, if you want.)

This was my favorite thing about our very short time in Ireland ... everyone was very relational.

I think it must get a bit breezy for Miss Molly Malone on Grafton Street sometimes. 

Here's Trinity College in the  photos below. You can walk around a bit yourself, but make sure to take the official tour so that you can see the Book of Kells and, most impressively, the Library, the interior of which completely knocked my socks off. 

(As part of the general celebration of St Patrick’s Day at Trinity College, Dublin, they've announced that the Book of Kells in its entirety is now viewable for free in the Library’s new Digital Collections online repository. And! They have a Book of Kells iPad app. No kidding.) 

We always like whatever the local version of hop-on, hop-off buses are when we visit new cities. They tend to give you a great overview of the main points of interest, and you can hop off whenever something looks interesting, and jump back on when another bus comes by. Sometimes they have live guides, but more often you get a recording, available in many different languages. They tend to be relatively cheap, too.

Bono and The Edge own The Clarence Hotel, below. :) They bought it in 1992, found some more Irish investors, and restored it to its former glory. 

We highly recommend An Evening of Food, Folklore, and Fairies at Dublin's oldest pub, The Brazen Head. We all loved it.

If you want to shop a bit and have a way to pop out of Dublin and get to Avoca Handweaver (there's a store, cafe, and mill tour) in Wicklow, you can spend a pleasant couple of hours there browsing, having lunch, and walking in the gardens. This is where Claire met her Irish penpal Jessica. :)

And now we have an abrupt segue back to Dublin.

We recommend lunch at The Winding Stair. Make reservations, because it's small and popular. Then you can pop into the bookstore, which is connected.

Ooh! And finally, here is our last recommendation in Dublin. You've got to go to the dinner show at The Merry Ploughboy. It is fantastic. 

They have a handy shuttle service that picks you up, takes you to the show, and then takes you back to your hotel when it's over. They're very obliging.

Bob: Mind if I sit up front?
Merry Ploughboy Shuttle Driver: Course not. You can drive if ya want. 

:)