Back again! We’ve landed safe and sound with seamless flights from Boston-Logan to Dublin International. While I have your attention, I’m going to highly recommend the Thrifty Parking Lot in Revere (we’ll see if that recommendation sticks upon our return) – it was probably the most seamless experience I’ve had in a while – easy to get to, easy to check in/drop off, and a quick shuttle directly to your terminal – all for $100 less than the economy lot would have cost us.
I did ensure that we all got our steps in with a false memory of flying out of Terminal E the last time I came to Ireland — definitely did my Global Entry interview in Terminal E and then walked to Terminal C — so as we drove by Terminal C this time and Brendan goes “are you sure we aren’t getting off here?”…I was not so sure. Oops! A short adventure through the airport’s winding hallways later and we were good to go again.
With the insanity of spring break travel fully thrust upon Boston-Logan we hid in the lounge for a while, until devising a gameplan to find some dinner over in Terminal E. Why not make everyone walk all the way back over there for food? We were about to be sitting for 5 hours. Healthy, people – healthy.
Vino Volo treated us well with a few small bites and a bottle of Old Vine Red Zin.
From there it was a moderately uneventful 5-ish hour flight to Dublin International, a short wait in the customs line, and an even shorter wait for our rental car – now dubbed “the hedgehog.” The choice of getting a tiny car was reinforced within about 6 minutes of being back on the roads. Approximately 20 sleepy + harrowing moments later we arrived at our Airbnb in the Stoneybatter/ArbourHill neighborhood – not far from where we had previously stayed in Smithfield. Commence naptime.
—
I’ve tried, I really have, but I swear that a 2-hour nap when you first land helps you pull through the day without feeling like an extra from The Walking Dead. Every time we’ve traveled where there was a significant time change we have been lucky enough to get access to our Airbnb or hotel upon arrival. When our luck eventually runs out we’ll see how we fair – I’m thinking there may be some pre-vacation caffeine deprivation so it really works when I need it on that foretold day. Until then…
nap + shower, if you can
The only thing on Day 1’s actual agenda was a dinner reservation – so with an abundance of free time ahead of us we set out with the mission of some lunch and giving Michelle a little lay of the land. Sometimes a loose plan is the best plan – we had a quick lunch at Chopped, a local salad/smoothie bar (easy on the wallets) and then started walking quite aimlessly for a couple of hours, managing to hit:
Temple Bar
Grafton Street
St. Stephen’s Green
Along the way, we hear Brendan say “Do you see what I see!?” — we had walked by the Irish Whiskey Museum…why not, right? Three tickets for the premium tour later (an easy 23 Euro each) and we were on the hour-long tour, covering the history of Irish Whiskey, which ended in the 3rd-floor bar with 4 delightful tastings and our very own souvenir glasses. I wholeheartedly endorse this if you have the time and don’t mind paying – it’s worth the Euro when you do the math on the amount and quality of whiskey you drink in the end. I can assure you that we all left very happy – draw your own conclusions.
And with all things needing to be in balance, we determined a walk ending with a caffeine pitstop may be in order. Keogh’s not being far from where we were, and familiarity always being nice, I frogmarched us there to relax for a while before our 7:30 dinner reservation at Green 19.
—
I’m now three trips in and still have never been disappointed by a meal I’ve had in this country. I can say that Green 19 aided greatly in keeping up the streak of amazing dining in Ireland. We started with a sampling of olives and cocktails/wine and eased right into dinner…
cauliflower steak \\ the hake special \\ gluten-free fish + chips
As I have alluded to, the food was incredible and the small environment was complemented by the fact that the walls serve as an art gallery. Completely satiated and exhausted from the previous (current?) day of travel, we headed back to the Airbnb – pit stopping for dark chocolate McVities.
More to come…
Comments