Day 1 in Ireland

I arrived in Dublin on zero hours of sleep but full of excitement. I had prepared for transportation from the airport to the city center by watching countless YouTube videos, so I was ready. As I waited for my bus, I took a deep breath of the fresh, crisp, Irish air. I was on my own, in a new place. The bus arrived and the driver helped me with my bag. As a bon voyage gift, I had received a luggage tag that had “PAM” plastered on it. In the excitement of the trip, I had forgotten about it so when the driver said, “wait, are you Pam?” I was shocked. He started to laugh and I replied, “I see what you did there. He continued to laugh, and said, “I couldn’t resist. We quickly made our way to the city center and I easily navigated my way to the hotel when we arrived. Great luck, I was able to check in early (8:30am!)

I tried to nap for a bit but no such luck, so I figured I would head out to explore. I moved my Jameson Whiskey tour earlier and joined my group. As someone who categorically hates whiskey, I really enjoyed myself!

After the tour, I grabbed a bite to eat at The Brazen Head (the oldest pub in Ireland) and devoured the bangers and mash washing it down with a pint of Guinness. On my way back to the hotel, I sat by the River Liffey with a cuppa tea and did some writing.

Day 2 in Ireland

I slept a full 8 hours! My insanely dehydrated body was screaming for water so on my way to meet my bike tour I grabbed a bottle and guzzled. Since there was a terrible downpour, I half expected no one to turn up for the “rain or shine” tour (heck, I was thinking about bailing!) so much to my surprise, it was packed! About 30 or so tourist gathered enthusiastically to view the city by bike. Now, something you, dear reader, should know about me is that while I’m not bike incompetent, I am definitely not bike confident. So, I was nervous, especially with the copious amounts of rain pouring down on me. Spoiler alert: I fell. Not once. But twice. The first time, I scraped up my knee a bit but mostly, I was just mortified. I wasn’t even riding at that time. I just misjudged the location of the curb and fell over when I tried to push off from there. The second fall, was straight up pathetic. We were cycling up like the one hill in all of Dublin, and I gassed out. As I rounded a corner, I decided I was going to get off and walk the bike up the remainder of the hill when I lost all momentum and control and toppled over. The bike fell on top of me. I just laid there. In the middle of the street. With cars coming. Thank goodness for this lovely family on the tour (shout out to Chelsea and co!) because they came to my rescue. Nervous, they asked if I was hurt. Just my pride, thanks! I assured them I wasn’t hurt, but I didn’t have the strength to lift the bike off of me. They helped and I walked the bike up the remainder of the hill. Blame it on the jet lag *shrug*

After the bike ride, me and my jelly legs walked over to Guinness for a tour. I had been there maybe 20 or so years earlier but had zero memories of it, and I didn’t even drink back then! Snicks, Guinness was awesome! There was live music and lots of delicious beer. I stayed for hours. I was happy to get back to my room though. I was tired, sore, cold, and a little buzzed, plus I had an early wake up planned for the next day.

Tips, Links, Locations

Transport from Dublin Airport to Dublin City center Dublin Express

Hotel: Academy Plaza Hotel 10-14, Findlater Pl, O’Connell Street Upper, Rotunda, Dublin 1, D01 X2X0, Ireland

Jameson Whiskey tour Bow St, Smithfield, Dublin 7, D07 N9VH, Ireland

Dublin bike tour Get Your Guide

Delicious beer Guinness Brewery tour St. James’s Gate, Dublin 8, D08 VF8H, Ireland