Hello Ireland!

We had a rather uneventful flight from Des Moines to Chicago yesterday afternoon. The landing was pretty bumpy, but the Windy City doesn’t lend itself to smooth landings. Our overnight flight from Chicago to Dublin left on time, and Tony and I sat right in front of the mid-economy restrooms. Thank goodness for noise cancelling headphones. We had the row of the three middle seats (Boeing 787 Dreamliner) to ourselves, which helped with having a little extra room. The food was okay, as to be expected for plane food, but the spicy Indian potato roll for my vegetarian breakfast was a bit too different. That’s why we pack snacks.

The Emerald Isle did not disappoint. We breezed through immigration and even got our passports stamped to record our entry into the Republic of Ireland. Passport stamps are becoming a thing of the past these days.

Our first real encounter with a native of Ireland was with our lovely taxi driver. He was very welcoming and engaging, and had a hilarious conversation with another taxi driver (in his contacts as English John) over the speaker phone that we mostly understood.

Number 31 – our hotel for two nights

We were able to leave our luggage with the hotel while we set out for our first walk in the city. Tony and Nancy W, our traveling partners from Iowa have been to Dublin previously and knew the general area around Number 31.

St. Stephen’s Green and Grafton Street

Number 31 is just a couple of blocks from the south corner of St. Stephen’s Green, a famous 22-acre Victorian park open to the public with walking paths, trees galore and an ornamental lake with swans and ducks.

Grafton Street is a pedestrian shopping area with buskers and many stores we see at home in addition to stores selling souvenirs and Irish woolen goods. Tony W and Nancy quickly learned that my Tony hates shopping and has no interest in sweaters when we walked through their favorite, The Aran Store. It became a running joke for the trip – “hey, look, another sweater store!”

Ha’Penny Bridge and Irish Potato Cake Company

As we made our way to the River Liffey, Nancy and I agreed that the Ha’Penny Bridge resembles the Rialto Bridge in Venice. Feeling a bit peckish, we decided to wait in line for some famous potato cakes. The Irish Potato Cake Company is a small, charming restaurant with limited seating, and was perfect for a small bite that wouldn’t spoil supper.

Walking back through St. Stephen’s to the hotel, we came across a band performing in a gazebo. The ground was dry enough for a quick sit to listen to the end of their set. So cool!

Birthday Dinner at Bloom Brasserie

Today is Nancy’s birthday so she picked our dinner place, Bloom Brasserie, which was a short walk from the hotel heading south to the Grand Canal green space. The restaurant was founded by two Dublin brothers, named after a James Joyce’s Ulysses character, and is in the basement of the building.

After supper we watched a Canal Boat Restaurant travel up the canal and use the historic lock system. Goods were transported through the city on this late 18th century canal system in the days before trains and trucks.

Back to Number 31, a conveniently-located boutique hotel, which has a sunken living room in the lobby that is pictured in various Irish guide books. This was once a private residence of architect Sam Stephenson. The 22 rooms are all individually decorated and unique.