Day 13: Wednesday (6/19/2013)

Got up super early, checked out, and started driving south.  We wanted to get to Bru Na Boinne early to beat the tour bus onslaught.  On the way out, we couldn't help but notice the rush-hour traffic into Belfast--crazy!

We got to Bru Na Boine around 9:15am, which meant that we were on the first tour bus to Howth at 9:45.  While we waited, we had a great breakfast in their tea room.

Satellite tombs at Knowth.

Bru Na Boinne is essentially a visitor center (with great exhibits) combined with a bus hub for the two neolithic passage graves open for public viewing: Knowth and Newgrange.  This is a must-see sight.

We toured Knowth first, followed by Newgrange.  These sites are well documented, so I won't go into detail on whats there.  What I will say, however, is that Knowth was by far the more interesting tour of the two.  Newgrange gets all the love because you can actually go inside the tomb (at Knowth you can't), but Knowth has far more interesting neolithic art.  The guide likely also had something to do with it--our guide in the morning at Knowth was fantastic.  If you only have time to tour one tomb at Bru Na Boinne, I would recommend you go for Knowth.

Newgrange.

One more note about Bru Na Boinne: you MUST get here early.  Tours are first-come, first-serve, and there are a very limited number of them.  If you want to see this site--and you should, it is amazing--plan ahead!

The Stone of Fal.

After Bru Na Boinne, I really wanted to see the Hill of Tara, and specifically, the Stone of Fal.  This turned out to be a challenge--we got completely lost looking for the hill of Tara.  After asking for directions twice (gas station, old man in a small town in the woods), we made it--and I finally got to touch the Stone of Fal.

From there, we backtracked and saw the site of the Battle of Boyne.  This was definitely worth seeing.  The visitor center alone is worth the trip--the battle is explained excellently (first time I've seen a laser show used effectively to explain battle maneuvers) and the grounds are immaculate.  This is a perfect place for a picnic on a warm day.  It's quite close to Bru Na Boinne, but we didn't see a single tour bus.

It was getting late, so we wrapped up our visit to the Boyne valley, and headed to the Dublin airport to drop our car, and caught a taxi to our hotel, the Morrison.

The Morrison is basically the Virgin America of hotels--it's a recently remodeled hotel that is trying very hard to be trendy.  To this end the rooms are hip and done up in "modern" purple highlights.

A late dinner was at Musashi, a nearby Japanese place just outside of Temple Bar district.  Pretty good--see my review here.

We were bushed from a long day, so after wandering through Temple Bar, we packed it in for the night.

Day 14: Thursday (6/20/2013)

Today we slept in a bit before heading out into beautiful Irish sunshine!

We started by wandering through temple bar district to Trinity College.  We didn't opt for the tour, but instead ambled through the grounds on our own.  Very pretty, although I'm still partial to the U of WA being the prettiest college I've seen.

The Long Room at Trinity
College.

From there we did the stand-in-line thing to view the Book of Kells, and associated museum.  The museum was pretty good--I learned a lot about medieval book making, and saw several less-famous manuscripts.  Interesting in particular: how inks/vellum were manufatured, and what the monks did when they made mistakes (which they often did).

The Book of Kells itself, well, was a book.  We only got to see 4 pages total.  A bit anti-climactic, but I guess I can say I've seen it now.

From there we went upstairs into the Long Room--the library proper.  This had several other artifacts of interest, including Ireland's oldest known harp (15th century).  Apparently it had been preserved in a bog, and has been restored to playable condition.

After exiting the library exhibits, we moved on to walk down Grafton Street, the open-air pedestrian mall that spans down to St. Stephen's Green.  This sort of promenade is common all over Europe, and as usual it was a lot of fun to walk down.  Also as usual, Mary got herself some gelato.

We next wandered into St. Stephen's green.  This is essentially Central Park for Dublin, and it is a very green and pretty area.  Lots of young people out and about enjoying the sunlight.  In general, Dublin seems younger than other cities I've been in--perhaps because of the college nearby?

From there, we decided to check out #29 Georgian House, a 18th century middle-class (or so they claim) house maintained as if it were being lived in during those times.  Walking over there, we passed through yet another large, green park, Merrion Square.

The house itself was worth the trip.  Free of charge, self-guided tour, interesting video to start explaining how the house and staff functioned.  In short, I think I would have hated life back then--no showers, lots of stairs, and good-quality light being the mark of wealth.

From the house, we decided to see O'Connell bridge and street.  We walked back up north, crossed the river, and started heading up the street.  From there we hung a left and wandered down the Market promenade--very similar to Grafton street, right down to the chain stores on the avenue.

After that, we were bushed from walking non-stop since 9am.  We headed back to the room to take a break before dinner.

Dinner and drinks with my buddy Jeff Caseldon at the Winding Stair (see my review here), followed by drinks over in Temple Bar.  Great night.

Day 15: Friday (6/21/2013)

Our major activity for today was the National Museum of Archeology.  We got there around 10:30am.  We left four hours later.  This is an AMAZING museum and a must-see for anyone at all interested in Irish history, from prehistoric to late Medieval.  It has an excellent collection of artifacts--especially mid and late-bronze age (Irish bronze age, about 500 years later than the middle east) gold work.  There was also a great selection of Viking exhibits, and--strangely--some very nice Roman, Egyptian, and Cypriot artifacts.  All in all, a stupendous place to spend a rainy Irish day in Dublin.

We'd planned to do all the National museums today, but after 4 hours of history we were a bit tuckered out.  So, we indulged Mary in one of her favorite things to do--have high tea.  A short walk later we landed in the lobby of the Westbury Hotel, a luxury hotel right next to Grafton St.  High tea was had, and demolished--delicious.

Hahaha!

From there, we dedicated the rest of the afternoon to shopping for souvenirs and gifts, something we'd avoided completely throughout our trip (no need to carry extra stuff around).  We started on Grafton street, but ended up enjoying the small streets and alleys off the main drag far more.

It was here, on Dawson St, that we visited the Celtic Whiskey Shop.  God, what a great place.  Spirits from all over the world (not just Europe)--and tastings to boot.  We got to experience some very expensive (>$150) whiskeys, comparing two Irish, a Japanese, and scotch.  The differences were pronounced.  This was EXACTLY what I was looking for, since I'm a casual drinker who is relatively new to whiskey/scotch.  If it wasn't for customs expenses, we both would have shown our appreciation by taking some home.  Ah well.

The other shop of note was a small tea shop we found off Grafton with a wide variety of teas from all over the world.  Here we partook heavily, getting some for ourselves, and gifts for others.

From there we continued to wander throughout the small galleries and shopping areas, until closing time (6pm on Fridays).  We dropped our bags at our room, and went for dinner.

Dinner was at a hip local burrito joint called Boojum.  Fast, simple, healthy--it was a killer place, as the line out the door attested.  Worth it.  There's not much here to write a review on--we both had chicken salads.

Relax, and sleep--tomorrow will be our last day in Ireland.  For now.

Day 16: Saturday (6/22/2013)

Kilmainham Gaol has been used in
several TV show and movies.

Got up early and caught a cab over to Kilmainham Gaol.  This is a fantastic tour of one of Dublin's most notorious prisons, active through the 18th century (1700s-1924).  It housed many famous political prisoners (including Éamon de Valera), and saw the executions that triggered the successful Black and Tan revolution for Ireland.  It's not something you do to put yourself in a good mood, but the tour is absolutely worth it.

We grabbed a quick bite before catching a taxi over to the Guinness Storehouse--by now, it was pouring rain.  The Guinness Storehouse is the former location of the Guinness Brewery.  It's since been turned into a glitzy tourist attraction with a self-guided tour, plenty of propaganda, and of course, "free" Guinness.  (No, it's not free--this is a very expensive site at around $30 for two if you book online.)

Mary tries her first Guiness!

There are two highlights in the Guinness storehouse--honestly, you could probably just skip everything else.  These are:

1. The display on coopers--i.e., the folks who used to make all those oak barrels.  What a fascinating process, clearly explained by a video shot in 1950 before Cooping disappeared as a profession.

2. The Sky Bar, a circular room with floor-to-ceiling windows at the top of the storehouse.  Here you'll get your free pint and enjoy spectacular views of the city.

From the Storehouse we grabbed a quick bite at the Queen of Tarts.  This was a fantastic little place specializing in baked goods.  We didn't sample enough for a full review, but what we did try--the carrot cake and the chicken tart--was fantastic.  I'd definitely eat there again.

After lunch, we headed to the National Art Gallery, just outside of Trinity College.  This houses an interesting collection of Irish paintings along with a smattering of the masters.  I'd call this museum "sparse, but spirited"--worth a look if you love art (we do), but certainly no Louvre or even the Chicago Art Museum.

Dinner was at Patrick Guilbaud, the best French restaurant in the city, and possibly the best restaurant in Ireland.  This was our finale for the trip.  An absolutely fantastic meal.

After dinner, we packed up, and with a heavy heart caught our 3 hours of sleep before heading to the airport.

We love Ireland... we'll be back!