First let me say a few words about European Budget Airlines. We flew on Ryanair. They are dirt cheap. However, that is because you barely get a seat. Checking baggage costs a fortune and the carry on limit is one 15lb bag. No personal item. No "I am a lady so I get a purse". No duty free shopping bag. It must all fit in this one bag. Since I had to take my c-pap, we were forced to check a bag. Next you must know that Ryanair flights will always leave from the bit of the airport that is being remodeled or needs to be remodeled or has actually fallen down from lack of remodeling. Finally, there are no seat assignments and since everyone is taking the largest carry on bag possible none of them will fit under the seats and if you are not one in the first 50 people then you do not have room for your bag and will thus be charged the checked baggage fee to have it stowed. Also, in flight there are no free snack, drinks or water. They will try to sell you duty free (which you couldn't get before because it would have to fit in your carry-on) and also try to sell you charity lotto tickets.
Chris likes to play a game called "Chris has two or more beers and tells you about things he hates", Ryanair is the current topic.
Once we landed we went to Enterprise to get our rental car sorted. We got an upgrade to larger car!
Chris say,"I hate to see what we got an upgrade from"
Thanks to a new toll road and Dublin County's attempt to make everyone on it go through the toll, we missed our exit and went through the toll. Once we realized our mistake we followed the signs to the town our Bed and Breakfast was in. We had to ask directions in town but quickly found it. The owner said since they made it a toll road they took down the signs to make everyone go to far and loop around. She was right that if there had been a sign and we exited it was much easier to find.
At first we we sad about staying 14km outside of Dublin but it actually worked out for the best. We didn't fight traffic or pay to much for parking, and we were very close to some of the Meath County highlights. We stayed at Killeentierna House which I can't recommend enough.
After we checked in we began the I am hungry fight so we walked just up the road to County Club. The County Club is a nice restaurant and lounge. It was about 2 pm so we weren't sure what they would be serving. We walked in and chatted with the Chef who was just wrapping up what they call a Carvery Lunch (carving station). He said it was almost over and there wasn't much. We only wanted a snack so as not to ruin our dinner in Dublin so it sounded great. What we got was beef, carrots, cabbage, 3 scoops of mashed potatoes and a whole roasted potato. It was delicious but way too much. The chef was the first of many Irish people we met who has a cousin who works at a stud farm in Kentucky - not kidding, everyone is Ireland knows where Kentucky is!
The folks at County Club were so nice that when we asked to make smaller change for the bus, they found out what the fare was and made sure we had exact change for a return because the bus driver will not give you change.
It was about a 40 min bus ride to Dublin, but again it was worth it to get dropped off right in the city center.
Here I am waiting fer the bus.
Our first order of business was the Guinness Storehouse. It was a great tour. We learned history, how to make beer, how to drink beer and saw the sites of Dublin at The Gravity Bar. My interesting tidbit - Aurthur Guinness signed his lease for 9,000 years. St. James Gate was already a thriving brewery area and he didn't want the competition to think he was a fly by night brewery but that he was here to stay - for 9,000 years!
Chris is excited!
Our drinks at the end of the tour in The Gravity Bar which overlooks the entire city.
We ate at Gruel which was recommended in the travel guide. By far the best meal that we had for the entire trip. I can't recommend it enough. If you are in Dublin, check it out. It is tiny and you may have to wait but everything was fantastic.
After dinner we hiked it back to the bus station to catch our bus back to the house. The Dublin Bus Station is called Busarus. Which is pronounced just like it appears. I personally, think that they should change it to Busasarus.
1 comment:
Your Ryanair experience reminds me of our Spirit experience this past weekend! Tiny, filthy seats and extra $$$ for every bag. Bleh. And your travel blogging makes me want to belated blog about my trip to Paris and London. Perhaps The Roughington Post will get updated again! Your trip sounds amazing!
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