Exploring Dublin, Ireland – Day 1

Yesterday, we headed to Logan Airport for our flight to Dublin, Ireland. Unfortunately, even though it was a late flight (9:25pm), none of us slept much. I think we were all too excited for our upcoming adventures. We landed an hour early (7:30am local time), but by the time we got our passports stamped and got our rental car, it was 9am.

Knowing we couldn’t check into our Airbnb until the afternoon, we drove into the city to start exploring Dublin. And by we, I mean me because I am the only one in the family who can drive a stick shift. Aside from causing Kendra minor panic every time I drifted too far left, I’d say I did fairly well for my first time shifting left-handed and driving in the left lane.

Our first stop was breakfast at Brewbaker Cafe. The food was excellent – I had a pot of Barry’s tea, avocado toast with poached eggs, and a lovely slice of Irish bacon. (Yes, I am still a vegetarian, and yes, Irish bacon is that good.) Everyone else seemed to enjoy their food as well.

While we were eating, I booked tickets for a tour of Trinity College and the Book of Kells. The meeting point was a quick five-minute walk away, so we paid our check and headed over.

Trinity College

Our tour guide, Lily, gave us an excellent overview of the school’s history, took us through the campus, and walked us through the Museum Building. Despite its name, the museum is not a museum but rather houses the college’s Geology, Geography, and Engineering departments. There is a mini-exhibit in the main hall that features the skeletons of extinct Giant Irish Deer, fossils, and incredibly old rocks.

Lily ended our tour outside the Old Library. We headed inside to see the Book of Kells, an ancient illuminated manuscript of the four Gospels. The pages on display today were mildly disappointing – they depicted a lineage with very little ornamentation. However, there is a new exhibit since the last time I visited – an immersive 8-minute film about the history of the book that was both fascinating and beautiful.

We also visited the Long Room in the library, primarily to see Gaia, a massive illuminated sculpture of the Earth created by Luke Gerram. It was beautifully juxtaposed with the dark bookshelves lining the room. Sadly, most of the 200,000+ books are out for restoration, so many of the shelves were empty. We did get to see other important historical Irish artifacts, including the Brian Boru harp (one of three surviving medieval Gaelic harps), and one of the last surviving copies of the 1916 Proclamation of the Irish Republic.

Exploring Dublin

After a quick stop in the gift shop, we walked down to Ha’Penny Bridge and found a place to eat lunch in the Temple Bar District. It took a bit for everyone to agree, but we settled on The Boxty House. Vee was so sleepy she got an Irish Coffee, while Kate was happy to eat a salmon boxty – super fancy. Kendra and I split a cheese and bread board, which was excellent. Three different kinds of cheeses and breads with fruit and honey. My kind of meal. Evan got fish and chips, and Addison had fries and a salad. Her braces were adjusted between this trip and DC, so she is in a bit of pain, and even the fries hurt when she ate them.

By the time we finished eating, we were all toast, so we headed back to the car for the 30-minute drive to our Airbnb in the suburb of Shankill. It’s a lovely place, and we were greeted by the owner, who gave us a rundown of how everything works. She even left us a beautiful welcome basket filled with croissants, a baguette, a loaf of bread, jam, bananas, clementines, and sparkling water, and she had eggs, milk, and Irish bacon in the fridge!

It’s now 9pm here, and the sun is still out. Sunset isn’t until 9:54, but we are all settling into bed, so we can be up early for another day in Dublin!