Dublin Ireland May 2023

Arriving at Dublin airport we were met by Peter from Globus Cosmos was waiting at the gate to pick us up, which is always a relief. 

We have two nights at the Bonnington Hotel which is 20 minutes from Dublin’s CBD and has three restaurants one of which is a sports bar. 

Our room is a good size, large enough for our cases to lie open on the floor. And always a bonus is a heated towel rail which is great for drying the washing. In fact I think hotels should add a heated towel rail to their list of amenities. It certainly is a game changer in getting the undies dry. 

Our tour of Ireland and Scotland didn’t start until the following day so after a bit of a walk down to the village for a nosey we dined at McGettigan’s in the hotel and then waddled off to bed. 

On the morn’ we broke our fast and boarded the bus with our new 44 travel companions plus Ally our guide and Jurgen the driver.  We are made up of a variety of ethnicities and have just a few Aussies and Kiwis on board. We are not the youngest and not the oldest. So we have a nice mix of people. 

Saturday had us in Dublin City with a drive around the main attractions and a running commentary from Ally which I am finding really interesting. 

I didn’t need to zoom in too much as this squirrel was fearless.

The city has many tired looking areas and bullet holes have been pointed out in various spots. Ally gives a very human and personal view on the tough times and how the Irish have had to keep the on pulling through.  She also has the ‘wit of the Irish’ and has us all chuckling.

I have always thought of Ireland as being a very Catholic country. And it is, but only for the last 200ish years. The first 1st Catholic Church was built here in 1800 after 

Oliver Cromwell came into power as lord protector from 1653.  Under his power the Catholics couldn’t vote had no rights for example they couldn’t be educated own a home or own a horse of value. 

There were plenty of options for the three hour stay Dublin.  We chose to wander through the shopping area and made a few purchases. In fact Lance did better that me with some shoes and a lovely woollen blazer.     

Wanting to be a little Irish we felt the need for pub lunch, which found us at Bruxelles for a pint of Guinness and a glass of NZ Sav Blanc. The food was very good and tasted home made. And there was a constant parade of  people passing by which made for interesting viewing. Most of the women were very well turned out and I would have liked to have known where they had purchased some of their clothes. 

Beggars were on the sidewalks but they did not look homeless and most were well fed women who looked like they were all from the same family. 

Dinner was a group affair Taylor’s Irish Cabaret. We thought it may be a little cheesy. But we had a really good night. The Irish band were really great and also the young Irish dancers. However Lance and I just could not get the vision of the Irish dancing off the Australian show Kath and Kim where Kel does a great Irish dance.  

These creatures on the thatched roof are made of woven willow.

Taylors’s Irish Cabaret

When we arrived there was a tot of Irish whiskey waiting at our table. Lance drank Guinness and I had some rough red. We started with vegetable  soup which was not too bad at all. And then a bed and Guinness stew. Which was also good. We finished with an apple slice and Irish coffee. All in all we had a good night and got to know our comrades more. They are now finding out a little bit more about how Lance can rark up the party!