Ireland: Dublin

In September, we were lucky enough to have Paul's parents and siblings fly across the pond to meet us in Ireland for a week! We typically take a week's vacation with his family once a year, and it was fun to explore a new country this time. We started the week in Dublin, then travelled to County Kerry, County Galway, and then flew to London for 3 days before the family returned to the States and we returned to normal life. 

The fam arrived in Ireland mid-morning, and Paul, Charlotte and I flew from Stansted into Dublin mid-afternoon. We had a driver who met us at the airport and took us to Brooks Hotel in the city center. We finally met up with everyone around dinnertime, when the others returned from the Guinness Storehouse. We hadn't made a booking for dinner, but we were able to get into a unique tapas restaurant across the street from the hotel. Afterwards, we headed back to the hotel and Charlotte got to sleep in her very first "big girl" bed, as our hotel room had one kingsized bed and a twin sized one for her. She fell out of the bed the second night but didn't get hurt or even fully wake up, I just popped her right back in and she went back to sleep. 

The next morning, we got up and had breakfast at the hotel before heading out for the day. The hotel served hot food and also had a great buffet of breads, cheeses, and fruits. I loved the traditional Irish soda bread across the trip! We then walked around the city to see some of the sights. My biggest must-see in Dublin was the long library room at Trinity College, and it was our first stop. There are over 200,000 books in the room -- and it's just gorgeous. It's part of the exhibition to see the Book of Kells, which was interesting, but the library itself was the real showstopper for me.

Walking across Trinity's campus

Entering the Library

Awesome spiral staircases

Celtic Harp

After we were done at the library, we walked across town, crossing the River Liffey, and saw the area of town around the General Post Office, where the Irish headquarters were during the Easter Uprising in 1916. This is also where the Proclamation of Irish independence was read; because it was the 100th anniversary, we saw this document posted in many places (including hotel brochures and on the side of buildings).

From there, we walked on through a large shopping district, where we encountered a pop-up fashion show going on. We eventually ended up at the Jameson Distillery, which we then found was officially closed to tourist visits until St Patricks Day (6 months after our visit). They had a couple of workers posted at the door, who walked us around the corner to a large hostel with a makeshift tasting room for tourists. It was still apparently run by the Jameson company, but on a much smaller scale than what is probably typical for the distillery. I am not a whiskey fan, so I sat out on the experience and entertained Charlotte. We were surprised to learn that they import their whiskey barrels from Kentucky for proper aging.

Looking up at the smokestack of the Jameson distillery

Mom & Kate in the Jameson tasting room

Kate wasn't so much a fan

Peppa Pig stickers during the whiskey tasting

After the tasting was over, Charlotte was getting crabby and Paul & I decided to take her back to the hotel to attempt a nap. She never did sleep, but we got some takeout lunch and ate it in the room while we all had a little quiet time. Afterwards, Grammy and Papa took care of Charlotte while Paul & I went for a walk along Grafton Street over to St Stephen's Green. We saw a large group of adults doing ballroom dancing in a gazebo there -- fun to see people enjoying themselves in a traditional way!

For dinner that night, Paul stayed with Charlotte at the hotel while the rest of us went to a restaurant in the Temple Bar area. It was called Boxty, and was delicious and traditional Irish food. We ate in a cozy basement with a hilarious waiter, who served Kate a version of moonshine with a warning that it might make her "lick the windows." The cozy basement got a bit hot when we all ordered versions of Irish stew for dinner, but it was extremely tasty. After dinner, Mom, Dad and I headed back to the hotel while Kate, Chris, and Colleen went out to a bar for a drink or two. Paul had gotten Charlotte to sleep while we were gone, and we settled in for the night.

The next morning, we had breakfast and packed our bags while Paul and Dad picked up our rental cars for the remainder of the week. We then loaded up and headed southwest toward County Kerry!