Delightful Days in Dublin

On the 3rd of March, I was nervous and excited. After our Google Meet for the study abroad class at Martin Luther College, I was going to Dublin. I packed my backpack, grabbed an apple, and walked to the bus stop. Then it hit me. I had taken special care to reserve my bus ticket back for 13:15. Many places use 24 hour time here. When it come to reserving my bus ticket to Dublin, I had selected 5:00. I had booked a ticket for 5:00am not 5:00pm. I was panicked for a minute. When booking online, a ticket must be reserved 3 hours before the bus departs. That meant I would not be able to book a new ticket. I would have to pray that there was an open seat on the bus so I could buy a ticket from the bus driver when he came. The bus arrived. I waited in line. I asked if there was room. There were open seats! I was on my way to Dublin!

My friend, Zoe, from high school, is studying abroad in Stockholm, Sweden. Her group had a study tour to Dublin. She decided to stay for the weekend after her study tour was over so we could meet up. Thursday night, I arrived in Dublin and we met up at our hotel. Then we went out to Darkey Kelly’s for supper. I ordered seafood chowder. It was good, but it took me so long to free all my mussels from their shells that Zoe had already finished her food. After supper, we stopped by Gino’s for dessert.

Friday morning, we slept in. We ate brunch at this adorable cafe called Queen of Tarts. Their scones were very good. Our hot drinks were served in glasses which was quite fun.

We shopped a little. Zoe and I found some souvenirs and such. Then we walked over to Christ Church Cathedral. We paid for an audio tour to marvel at the inside of the cathedral.

We stopped by a convenience store to grab a snack. Something to drink and a cheap cake did the trick. Zoe found King’s Park where we sat down for a picnic. We sat on the grass soaking up the sunshine. It was maybe 50°F outside. It was so nice to be with a close friend. I felt closer to home and pretty relaxed. We walked back to the hotel for a little rest.

Tokens are worth 50 cents. Most machines take one token and some take two.

Later that night, we went to a place called Token. It is a restaurant, bar, and arcade. We had chicken tenders, mozzarella sticks, and fries. We could not finish all the food. It was fun to play arcade games. I liked pinball the best. I remember playing pinball in my great aunt’s basement. That was so cool as a kid. Pinball is still just as fun as an adult. I might even be better at the game now.

Saturday morning we ate brunch at the West End Cafe. Zoe and I had crepes. An older Irish gentleman chatted with us. It was a lot of fun. Then we went on our way to walk around Dublin and find the Museum of Archaeology. I was surprised how many objects from the museum were found in bogs around Ireland. Apparently everything makes its way into the bog.

We took pictures on a cool walking bridge

We grabbed an early supper from a take-away fish and chip shop called Leo Burdock. It was good. We had another picnic with our food in St. Patrick’s Park. We ate and chatted until we were chilled. Then we watched the dogs run around in the park and went to tour St. Patrick’s Cathedral. We used another audio tour.

We stopped by the famous Temple Bar. It is funny because the whole area is called Temple Bar after a man who had the last name of Temple who moved the river similar to how one would with a sandbar so that he could build his house outside of the city. This is why locals will look at you weird when you say you are going to Temple Bar. You are already there.

White rocks labeling the coast of Ireland as Eire, so Ireland would not be mistaken for Britain and bombed during WWII

Sunday morning, Zoe and I woke up early to catch a bus to Howth. Howth is a little coastal village east of Dublin. We went to see their cliffs on the seashore. This was the best part of our trip. It was absolutely gorgeous. Along the coast is a walking trail. While walking, you will pass rocks that spell out EIRE and have a number above them. These are restored markings from World War II when Ireland wanted to make sure they were not bombed by planes mistaking Ireland for Great Britain. Walking further will bring you to a lighthouse and a beautiful view of the blue sea, green plants, and yellow flowers. We did not have long to walk around, but it was so worth going.

We ran to the bus which brought us back to Dublin. Then we had a quick lunch at the Stage Door Cafe. After eating, we picked up our bags from the hotel, and hopped on our buses to part ways. Zoe went back to Sweden and I went back to Limerick.

I had such a great weekend. I loved having Zoe around. We saw so much and were able to chat. This was one of the best weekends I have had in Ireland. Thank you, Zoe, for staying in Ireland a few more days to hang out.