Category Archives: Ireland

Mardis Gras’ Got Nothing On Dublin

Day three in Dublin brought no less excitement than either of the first two days.  If you haven’t read about the first couple days and are interested in reading about this wonderful vacation in sequential order, you can read about Day One HERE and Day Two HERE.

Julia getting ready to go outside for some fun

We had booked a return from Dublin on Monday morning so that we could enjoy the famous Saint Patrick’s Day Parade and all the corresponding festivities on Sunday.  We had heard for quite some time that the People’s Parade was a wonderful sight to behold and that we should arrive early.  Fortunately, our hotel was directly along the parade route.  Even more fortunate was that we were given a room with a direct view of the parade. Continue reading Mardis Gras’ Got Nothing On Dublin

I’ll take a pint of the black stuff, Gov’na!

May your heart be warm and happy,
With the lilt of Irish laughter,
Every day in every way
And forever and ever after.
-Unknown
An Old Irish Toast
To start a new post
About viewing sights
And about drinking pints
We went on a Guinness tour
How many pints… we’re still unsure!
-Greg

Come enjoy a pint with us…

We arrived in Dublin on Friday with plenty of time to enjoy the day, which you can read about HERE.  We woke up Saturday even more eager to get started after everything we had seen the day before.  We enjoyed a wonderful breakfast of eggs, soda bread and black pudding (blood sausage) in our hotel’s restaurant.  As Jen drank her fresh-squeezed orange juice, I poured over my cheesy, hyper-animated tourist map of the city.  I came to two conclusions – animated graphics of tourist attractions are as helpful as pictures on a menu at Denny’s.  That, and we were going to do a lot of walking! Continue reading I’ll take a pint of the black stuff, Gov’na!

Kiss me, I’m Irish in Dublin!

We had exactly two trips pre-planned before we moved to Italy.  One to Scotland with Jen’s family this coming June and the other; something way to good pass up…  Saint Patrick’s Day in Dublin, Ireland!  Jen suggested we participate in one of the largest parties in the world and I happily obliged.  We booked a flight on a local carrier and headed to Dublin for a long weekend.  I’m going to publish three separate posts dedicated to Dublin – too many stories and photos to fit all into one!
On our way to Dublin

We boarded our flight on Ryan Air from a small, regional airport.  As it turns out Ryan Air (an Irish Airline) is simultaneously the coolest and the absolute worst airline on the planet.  They offer low-cost airfare throughout Europe (great), but those flights are tricky to find and they nickel and dime you to death (not great).  When you book your ticket, you have to navigate through 5 pages of extras that they try to trick you into buying (“would you like trip insurance for your goat?”).  By the end, you’re too burned out to read their luggage policy and you might end up in a pickle like we did. Continue reading Kiss me, I’m Irish in Dublin!