Dublin: February, 2002

Wes on the Liffey in Dublin

One of the great advantages and terrible curses of being a travel agent is seeing every imaginable travel promotion.  This means constant temptation, often by deals that seem too good to be true. In the fall of 2001, I was tempted by an absurd self-drive tour offer.

I don’t remember the exact offer, but I think it was something like roundtrip air, six nights in bed and breakfast lodging throughout Ireland and a car for $499.

The air, of course, was not from California, but rather from Boston or New York, and of course there are always a lot of hidden fees and taxes that add onto the price, but in the end, the total per person came to under $700 from LAX, and I couldn’t resist.

Christ Church Cathedral

In February, 2002, Julie and I packed some warm, water-resistant clothes and boarded a non-stop flight to Dublin.

Any normal person could easily spend the entire six nights in Dublin, exploring historic buildings, laughing in a different pub each night, and learning about this wonderful city.

Julie, as you may have gathered, is no ordinary traveler, and I know that traveling with her for six days will result in seeing more than most people would see in six months.

My fat photo albums attest to that.




Therefore, after picking up our stick-shift car with steering wheel on the right and driving on the left side of the road, which in itself is quite a challenge with jetlag, we parked in a central location and toured all of Dublin in less than a day.

We walked the streets and soaked in the sites.

Gorgeous town with cobblestone streets.

Check.

St. Patrick's Cathedral

We visited the remarkable Christ Church Cathedral and 400 year-old Trinity College.

Check, check.

Hot tea on a cold day at the famous Tea Room at the Clarence.

Check.

We toured Dublin Castle and learned a little history.

Check, check.

St. Patrick’s Cathedral?

I think we saw the outside but figured Christ Church was the one to see inside and so passed on buying admission. And, we were off to Glendalough to find our B&B for the night!

Dublin Castle