Destination Dublin as a Terrific Tour Guide

The hiatus is over, and I have finally returned to Cork for good. At least to Ireland for good. At least for the next month. I might try to sneak in a few weekend/day trips before I return at the end of May, but the majority of my travelling is over. What a 2 1/2 weeks it has been! I'll follow up on my latest adventures in the same way: city by city, day by day. As always, comment or email me to hear more!

Day 1: Sleepster Sunday
HAPPY EASTER! I started my Sunday morning off waking up early to catch the earliest train (7:30) to Dublin to meet my mom and Aunt Kay, who from now on will be referred to as "the moms" when talked about together, simply for the sake of convenience. I arrived at Dublin at approximately noon only to find my mom sleeping in the hotel lobby! I went over and gave her a nudge to wake her up. We said our hellos and then continued to head right back out the door to try and find the parade that seemed to be going on. Considering the walls of people we were running into along O'Connell Street, however, we decidely missed the parade and jumped on the "Hop-on, Hop-off" bus tour around Dublin. After a few blocks, Kay fell asleep. I needed to do something to pump this guys up about being in Ireland! So we jumped off near the Jameson Distillery where we snagged a photo and decided not to drink. We ate fish and chips at Leo Burdock's for lunch, in true Irish fashion, before heading over to a nearby pub for a pint. The moms were falling asleep in their Bulmers and Guinness, so we headed back to the hotel, where the moms continued to sleep for approximately the next five hours or so. I think they felt bad, but I didn't mind. I remember what my sleeping patterns were like the first three or four days I was here, and they definitely had me beat for staying awake longer. I went to a grocery store to pick up some sustenance for dinner, in case they never woke up, only to find them awake when I returned. We had a very chill evening playing word finds and calling it an early night.

Day 2: Trinity Tour and National Gallery
As I had already been to Dublin, I left it up to the moms to decide what to do. We started off by going to Trinity College to check out the Book of Kells. They were giving tours that morning--something we definitely didn't get in January--so we took advantage of that as well. I must say that I would recommend this route if you are planning to come and visit. Our tour guide was very informative and actually funny. The Book of Kells was obviously amazing. I was just glad it was on display this time. After cruising on through the Long Room, we booked it over to the National Gallery. A few hours of wandering amongst precious works of art is enough to make anyone hungry, so the next stop was a Crepe Restaurant. I wasn't sure how well the crepes would go over, especially after eating a fabulous banana and nutella one in Paris, but it was actually pretty good. We did a little souvenier shopping then before finally heading to Penny's--my favorite department store and a pub for a cocktail. We ate a light dinner in the room again, and then called it another early night, as the moms were still jet-lagged and we had an early morning the next day.

Day 3: Wild Wicklow Mountains
I knew that my mom had been hankering to see the Irish countryside, so I thought maybe we should take advantage of going to see the Wicklow Mountains--film sight of P.S. I Love You, Braveheart and Excalibur. We went through Dun Loaghaire (pronounced like Dun Leary) and stopped at a quaint, but expensive gift shop for a coffee break in the morning. We saw some big lakes, the bridge where Hilary Swank and Gerard Butler's characters meet in P.S. I Love You, and some beautiful scenery. My mom even got to try some authentic Irish grub: Beef and Guinness Stew. It was nice being led around for once, instead of having to find everything for myself. The tour guide was okay--a bit inappropriate at times, and for sure not always 100% accurate, but he did have some good things to say. Now having had a few tour guides, I would actually say that he was one of the better ones. In the afternoon we checked out St. Kevin's Monastery before heading back to Dublin. We stopped at St. Stephen's Green to take in some more scenery and the warm weather before heading back to the hotel for a pint and another night of card games.

I'm afraid Dublin went far too quickly for all of us, what with my recovering from the first part of my european excursion, and the moms getting over their jet lag. It was easy for me to see things because I had already been there, so I hope Mom and Kay had a good time. Next stop: SwitzerLAND.