Introduction to Dublin

 We arrived in Dublin a little past noon and we were fortunate that our room was ready when we got to The Morgan Hotel, our home for the next four nights.  We’re located in the Temple Bar district which used to be home to bars and drugs but has been cleaned up and now serves as an entertainment district for the city.  

We needed showers and a nap after our trip so didn’t start exploring until late afternoon. We’re expecting pleasant weather this week with highs ranging from upper 60’s to lower 80’s a couple of days.  There’s always a chance for rain here but so far the forecast is dry and pleasant.

We met our group leader, Ira Block and his assistant for a beer in a pub across the street.  While Guinness is king here, we opted for a similar Kilkenny for our first pint of the trip.  Feeling a little peckish, we started looking for a place to get a little dinner.  We were stopped on the street by a local who recognized our lost look and recommended a place around the corner.  It had a wait so we popped across the street to a lovely French restaurant called Pichet.  This was a cut above the local pub grub and a good way to start the trip.

Tuesday morning we had breakfast at the hotel before doing the most touristy thing ever: the Hop on Hop Off bus.  We really just hopped on and made a complete loop of the center city to get a little acclimated to Dublin.  Most things are actually within walking distance of our hotel but we got some lovely stories out of the ride.  You can really see the importance of two things: beer (Guinness and distilleries) and churches.  The loop took us about 2 hours and was worth the $35.  

Our stop left us at the pub where we had tried to eat the night before so we decided to wait this time to try the food.  The Bankis exactly what it sounds like, a former bank that is now a pub and restaurant. The food, while traditional, was very good.  The fish and chips and seafood chowder were outstanding choices.

 

After lunch we ran into several more people from our group.  Some of them, meaning everyone but me, went to the pub for an afternoon pint.  We made a plan to meet for dinner across the River Liffey at another pub.  We wondered back to our hotel afterwards, stopping to take some photos of the river along the way.

Tomorrow: Exploring Dublin