Getting to Ireland
2 06 2005Landed in Dublin ahead of time and after changing money, we went to confirm our flights at Ryanair. She looked at us like we were crazy and said yeah, your flight leaves at 6:40 Saturday. Took the bus through Dublin’s (insane) traffic to the hostel but our room wasn’t ready so we ditched our bags and went to have some Pancakes and Porridge. Took a walk through St. Stephen’s Green and checked out Grafton St. Stopped by Trinity College to see the book of Kells - A.D. 800 in color! Upstairs was the long room - 200,000+ books and a neat old smell. Walked back to the hostel - last time we’ll do that. Took a large-type nap, washed our stinky selves, and set off to find Cobblestones (a traditional (trad) music hotspot) in northern Dublin. There were supposedly places to eat near there also. We found the pub, music was underway, but nothing else around, other than the overarching abandoned warehouse motif. Wandered back to the Temple Bar area and ate in the Porterhouse - a microbrewpub w/ no Guinness. Met a nice guy (John) who had lived in the States for a while… He told us to check out Glendalough. He also recommended a couple bars to check out for trad Irish music. One was Gogarty’s. Went there but the trad session was over already and was loaded w/ tourists. No. Went down the street to Palace Bar, where 3 20ish year olds were cranking out grat trad. Scored a “front row” table, chatted with a gal who’s been working in eastern africa. Grabbed a bus back home.
