July 3, 2009:
First off- DO NOT FLY RYAN AIR! Terrible customer service! But enough complaining, on with the adventure.
Croke Park Hotel
We arrived around midnight and took a taxi to our hotel, Croke Park. The ride was very fast and cost 18 euros. Croke Park was one of the nicest hotels we stayed at on the whole trip! Way to wrap up the journey in style. It even had a western bathroom with a separate bath tub! And flat screen T.V., comfy bed, tea in the room…
Walking Tour of Dublin
In the morning we set out on foot towards the city center, which took about 20 minutes. The weather, at 20 degrees Celsius in Dublin was much cooler than Madrid (average of 36 degrees Celsius) and a welcome change. We even had to wear our sweaters! Many of Dublin’s tourist attractions are within walking distance and you can either join a walking tour or do it yourself as there are many maps available from either your hotel or the tourist information center that show where to go.
Dublin is a very clean city that has very strict laws about littering. There are signs all over the place warning you not to throw your gum on the street or not to leave rubbish. The fines are also very hefty. For instance, for littering gum the fine is a whopping 150 euros!
We bought tickets to tour Dublin Castle and waited 15 minutes or so for our tour to start.
We really enjoyed our tour of Dublin Castle! Our guide had interesting info and stories to share.
Drawing room= place to which one withdraws between a banquet and a ball. Good to know! Our dream house will have to include a drawing room, for when we host balls! Actually, there are three drawing rooms in Dublin Castle. This one above is for the single ladies. There is also one for the single gentlemen and one for married couples. We learned another interesting tid bit- the source of the phrase “lose face.” The ladies drawing room only has a small fireplace near the floor, to warm one’s feet by. For if a woman’s face should warm up, her wax makeup might melt off, causing her to “lose face.” 😀
After touring the castle, we headed on to St. Patrick’s Cathedral.
Then to the famous Temple Bar area in Dublin. It’s the place to go for some live music and a drink in the evening.
We had a nice filling meal at a decent price (Early Bird Special) in the Temple Bar area. We thought about staying for a drink, but we had an early morning the next day.