"Dublin, Ireland" a Dublin Travel Page by bduffy007

Being only 2nd generation from Ireland myself I was very excited to accompany my father to Ireland for his first visit to the birthplace of his parents for his 60th birthday. Though many told us that we would would be enchanted by the places "in between" in Ireland, not the cities but the pastoral landscapes and small towns that dot the island we found ourselves most taken with Dublin. Though I was told by most travelers that Dublin warranted no more than an afternoon or a day at best in their Ireland itenerary I can honestly say that by far was the best part of our entire trip. Most likely I feel we enjoyed Dublin so because of the low expectations we had heard from so many, half expecting a quiet and gray city with little to do we instead found an incredibily vibrant town that could certainly hold its own with that of the most ultra hip European towns.

Don't get me wrong the drive westward to Galway and Shannon and from there out to the Burren and southward were incredibly enjoyable and afforded remarkable country and scenery alike. This along with wonderful Irish citizens seemingly straight from Hollywood central casting with their wonderful brougue and rural sensibilities were incredibily enjoyable but it was Dublin that afforded us the best parts of our trip. During the day we followed in the steps of the Irish literary greats like Joyce, Wilde and Behan, payed homage to the Irish and their exports by taking in local distillery tours namely Guinness and Jameson, splashed down in Dublin's harbor on a Viking Splash tour while in night we enjoyed all the City's nightlife had to offer even setting off on a pub crawl run by local actors to some of their favorite local haunts.

Itenerary for Ireland:

Sunday, Day One-Travel day from Philadelphia to Chicago, Illinois then on to Dublin, Ireland

Monday, Day Two-Arrived Dublin, checked into our hotel had lunch then took to the Guiness Factory Tour before heading back to the hotel for an early night.

Tuesday, Day Three-Full day touring Dublin, Dublin City Bus Tour, Jameson Tour, Trinity College and the Book of Kells closed out by the Dublin LIterary Pub Crawl.

Wednesday, Day Four-Departed to the west to Galway, after checking into the hotel spent the rest of the day and evening exploring Galway.

Thursday, Day Five-After a brief stop to the religious shrine in Knock took of to Kilmovee and Balladryn in County Mayo to see where my grandfather and grandmother were born and lived while in Ireland. Returned that evening to our hotel in Galway.

Friday, Day Six-Took a bus tour to the Burren and the Cliffs of Moher with a side trip to Ailwee Cave, returned later in the afternoon to Galway where we checked out of the hotel and departed for Shannon. Arrived in Shannon and checked into our hotel.

Saturday, Day Seven-Toured Bunratty Castle and Folk Park in the AM before departing for Waterford. Stopped for a few hours and toured Cahir Castle before arriving later afternoon in Waterford were we spent the night.

Sunday, Day Eight-Awoke and left for Dublin again arriving late morning. Spent the remainder of the day doing more sightseeing in Merrion Sqaure, St Stephen's Green and Christchurch Cathedral.

Monday, Day Nine-Last day in Dublin involved seeing St Patrick's Cathedral and taking the Viking Splash Tour before departing in the late afternoon for our hotel at Dublin Airport.

Tuesday, Day Ten-Departed for the States via Boston and then on to our final destination in Philadelphia.

All in all I cannot say enough about Dublin, it will always have my heart and I certainly hope to retuen someday.