MIKE AND JESS' TRAVEL DIARY
Ireland Trip
Day 1 - September 16 2018
The 6 of us landed in Ireland on a Sunday at 5AM! As the sun had not yet risen and the idea of Mike having to drive for the first time in Europe in the dark sounded awful, we grabbed some coffee and snacks in the airport as we waited for the sun to pop up. Once it did, we rented our van and were given an ominous “good luck!” from the car hire attendant. We played a game of Tetris with our 6 bags and 6 backpacks in the tiny trunk and headed off into Dublin city. Mike maneuvered the multi-lane roundabouts beautifully and adapted well to driving on the opposite side of the road. It was way too early to check in to our Airbnb and it was a Sunday (European Sundays often leave your options sparse) so we found a car park, dropped our bags at a BNB that would safely hold bags for a fee, and walked to a breakfast place, 3rd Space, set to open soon. We enjoyed our first Irish breakfast and wandered the streets a bit.
We all piled back in the van and headed north to the Gravedigger pub and cemetery. The cemetery was gigantic and truly beautiful. Nothing like cemeteries we had been to before. Acres of huge trees and perfectly manicured grass on hills lined with old sandstone headstones, as tall as us, carved and eroding with time.
A dark moment like this is in need of…a fresh Guiness! Oh yes, that wonderfully silky, creamy black stuff. Something else that is nothing like in the states. Why they export Guiness when they know it is a sensitive beer that does not travel well is beyond me. I guess it makes it all the sweeter to get the real thing, fresh in the Emerald Isle. The John Kavanaugh Gravedigger pub is kept traditional, without music, with a snug in the front, and dividers along the bar. Oh, and wonderfully perfect pours.
After a couple pints, it was finally time to check in. The house was nice and suited us just fine. The sketchy alley you had to walk/drive down to get to the house was…interesting. There was a guy setting fires to random things one morning, wasn’t there? Anyways, after settling in, we headed to downtown Dublin for more beers and a perfect meal at the Stag’s Head, a pub that Mike and I loved during our previous day-layover in Dublin. (Had to get that lamb shank again!)
