Ireland – Day 1&2- Dublin – Shelby's Travels

Ireland

Ireland – Day 1&2- Dublin

Published by

Shelby Nook

on

May 3, 2024

Day 1

Okay!!! I was so tried yesterday that I was lazy and missed my post. So combining day 1 and 2 here.

Yesterday, I traveled to Dublin by myself. Flight was only 6.5 hours, super easy! They also have Uber here so getting to my Airbnb was super easy! I took some time to clean up a little bit before heading out for the day.

This day was mainly just walking! I wanted to get a feel for the city and know my surroundings.

My walking fit 🤪

I wasn’t expecting sunshine but there was a bit of sun poking out throughout the day!

Entrance to Trinity College

Stopped for lunch! Roasted hake and watercress salad. This place was recommended for their seasonal menu using locally sourced food.

More sun!

Hung out in St Stephen’s Green to enjoy the sun and a chai latte!

Dublinia- Viking museum

Making my way to the Jameson tour. I don’t like beer, any kind of beer, so there is no way I’m going to be able to drink Guinness while I’m here. Honestly such a shame. BUT I figure I could go the Jameson route instead of the Guinness route.

This is the location of their original distillery from the 1800s but has since moved all production to Middleton Ireland in Midleton in 1975.

Welcome drink – Jameson with ginger and lime

Learned all about the production process. Pretty interesting actually, especially given my chemical engineering background.

After learning about how Jameson is made and what give it its flavor, we got to taste three different kinds of Jameson. It was really interesting to put what we learned to our taste buds. While I don’t drink all of it 😂 (cuz I’m a baby with whiskey) … I did try them all and could taste the distinct flavors in each. Highly recommend the tour! It was a lot of fun and very interesting!

I then was off to an Irish Craic and Cooking class. Craic in Ireland is pronounced “crack” and means fun or a good time! This was actually at a ladies house and it was very big and beautiful!

Soda Bread !!! So easy and delicious

Colcannon – potato mash with kale, cream, cheese, and crispy potato skin on top!

Beef and Guinness Stew

Irish Coffee – coffee, Jameson, sugar, fresh cream and nutmeg

It was all so good and the other people in the class were very friendly. I was glad to do this by myself and meet people and Craic on!

Day 2

My good friend Matt finally arrived and we spent a lot of the day walking around. But we actually got to see a lot that I didn’t see yesterday! Lots of cute little streets and pubs!

Stopped in at Bruce Springsteens favorite pub, the Long Hall! Bruce has a house in Dublin and apparently frequents this pub. No sightings today though.

All this walking made us hungry! Popped into a lovely pub for some grub. Matt was super excited to try a Guinness Zero- alcohol free!

Chicken and stuffing sandwich with potato soup!

Dublin Castle… not really a castle lol

Earlier in the day, we had booked a tour time at Trinity College to see the Book of Kells. This book dates back to 800 AD and is the stories of the four gospels in the new testament. The book was cool and in a glass case and you couldn’t take pictures.

BUT the coolest part of the tour was The Long Room. This room was originally built around 1715 and was only the first level of books and shelves. In 1860 the roof was raised and the second levels of shelves were added. This room was just incredible! They are currently doing restoration on the shelves and books for the first time in 200 years, so that’s why most of the shelves are empty.