I apologize in advance for the length. Take your time or save it for a rainy day.
Day 1 and 2
We started our trip on Thursday, September 5th at the airport in Austin, Texas. Actually, we started on July 4 of 2018. Our friends, Joe and Sharon came over for lunch on Independence Day and we started talking about going to Ireland. I pulled out some Rick Steves tour videos of Ireland and we watched them, talked about what was on the tour, got excited, but then fell asleep (after eating too much steak) and dreamed of our RS tour of Ireland. We set a date and signed up for the 4 of us and Sharon’s Aunt Donna. So then the planning starts. We always try to add on to the trip to maximize our airplane expense. My husband, David and I wanted to include Scotland since he has a family heritage of Scots/Irish. Then we threw in a few days in London just for good measure. So we had our dates set up and started looking for airfare, tours, hotels and the most important thing…what’s the best thing to buy in those countries.
The 4 of us flew from Austin to JFK where we met up with Aunt Donna (who was a delight) and then journeyed on to Dublin. We arrived in Dublin and I picked the wrong line to go through customs. Joe, Sharon and Donna whisked right through within 5 minutes. We had to wait while 2 different women tried using Google translator to answer questions in English because they didn’t speak the language. I always manage to pick the wrong line everywhere I go. I’m just not a good queue picker. Fifteen to twenty minutes later we emerge on the other side of customs where we can finally use the restroom. We get our Euros from the ATM and head outside to catch bus #700 Leopardstown route which is close to our hotel. I didn’t realize that there is luggage storage under the bus, so I lug my suitcase into the bus. There were men sitting close by that were speaking Gaelic. So we listened and tried to pick out a word here or there, but there was nothing recognizable. After leaving the bus it was a short 2 minute walk to our hotel Buswell’s.
Travel Advice Alert… When you initially sign up for a Rick Steves tour, they send you the names of your starting and ending hotel. When you get that information, immediately book at least 2 nights pre-tour at the hotel. I got information about the prices right away, but did not book. I waited until I had figured out all my plans for the entire trip and then booked. Big mistake. The price went up about 100 Euros. You can always cancel if it doesn’t fit your plans, but at least you’ve got it booked. Buswell’s is a very nice hotel. Our room and the bathroom were both large. Our room looked out on the street and it was a little noisy with the windows up, but we slept fine. A nice gesture was a complimentary cup of tea upon arrival.
After dropping our luggage off we walked around the city for a while, then stopped for lunch at a pub called J Sheehans. After lunch we went to the Archeology museum which is right across the street from our hotel. My brain was getting pretty fuzzy from jet lag by this time so I asked a docent where the brooch of Tara was. I was led through several rooms before getting to the room that contained the brooch. We also saw the Cross of Cong and several other beautiful pieces. The front area of the museum had some beautiful gold neck circlets and “bog bodies”. I would have to say that the dudes that were dug up and put in a museum could probably have been left in the bogs. No one wants to look at that. RIP little guy. After our visit to the museum. We were able to check in to our room. We took a nap, unpacked a little and settled in to our room. Supper was some cups of tea and packaged shortbread cookies that we found in our room. It hit the spot. We found a small oscillating fan and called it a day.
Continued below