3 of my previous trips have been primarily to Dublin, so I didn't feel any compunction to do too much exploring. But Paul has never been here, and he holds some different interests, so that opened up some new possibilities.
After a nice breakfast at Queen of Tarts, we walked to the Guinness Storehouse for a tour. At the end you get a "free" pint (you pay for admission, so it's included), but it was only about 11:30am at that point, we weren't in the mood, and so we gave our pints to a group of Germans who were.
Then we walked to the National Museum of Ireland-Dublin, an old military barracks, and checked out one huge exhibit about Ireland's military history. It was fascinating, if a bit overwhelming after a while, and we learned a lot. A quick bite to eat at a Spar store (kind of like a 7-11), and we cabbed it over to the Botanic Gardens for a couple of hours of greenhouses and grounds. Beautiful collections, beautifully presented.
By 4:30 we were beat, so we cabbed back to the hotel, napped for a bit, then joined friends Ben and Paul for a nice dinner at a French restaurant that Mae recommended, Pichet. A bit pricey, but delicious starters, main courses, and desserts, and great conversation, of course. We meandered over to Jack Nealon's pub afterwards to continue the conversations, and wrapped up around 9:30. The wind had died down in the evening, so it was actually a pleasant walk back to the hotel, where we quickly caught up on email and crashed into bed.
Today we're off to Cork to discover that city together.
After a nice breakfast at Queen of Tarts, we walked to the Guinness Storehouse for a tour. At the end you get a "free" pint (you pay for admission, so it's included), but it was only about 11:30am at that point, we weren't in the mood, and so we gave our pints to a group of Germans who were.
Then we walked to the National Museum of Ireland-Dublin, an old military barracks, and checked out one huge exhibit about Ireland's military history. It was fascinating, if a bit overwhelming after a while, and we learned a lot. A quick bite to eat at a Spar store (kind of like a 7-11), and we cabbed it over to the Botanic Gardens for a couple of hours of greenhouses and grounds. Beautiful collections, beautifully presented.
By 4:30 we were beat, so we cabbed back to the hotel, napped for a bit, then joined friends Ben and Paul for a nice dinner at a French restaurant that Mae recommended, Pichet. A bit pricey, but delicious starters, main courses, and desserts, and great conversation, of course. We meandered over to Jack Nealon's pub afterwards to continue the conversations, and wrapped up around 9:30. The wind had died down in the evening, so it was actually a pleasant walk back to the hotel, where we quickly caught up on email and crashed into bed.
Today we're off to Cork to discover that city together.
Yeah, have fun!
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