Ireland - Day 2 (Thursday)

Our first full day in Dublin started off with traditional breakfast in our hotel. We noticed immediately that Americans are very impatient and don't care to sit around long when eating! It seemed that we would have to request our ticket more often then not. Guess we should learn to slow down and enjoy the company and food!

Today we decided to take in the city and schedule our tours to the west coast and Northern Ireland or North of Ireland as noted by many in Dublin.

Our first stop of the day was at Trinity College Dublin. The College is recognized as Ireland's premier university and was founded in 1592. The College is not huge as there are roughly 16,000 students but it is beautiful and has a rich history. The College is the home of the Book of Kells. We did not visit the Books of Kells but understand that it is beautiful. The Books of Kells is celebrated for its lavish decoration. The manuscript contains the four Gospels in Latin based on a Vulgate text, written on vellum (prepared calfskin), in a bold and expert version of the script known as "insular majuscule". There is an admission fee.

Since we wanted to stop at a number of spots throughout the city we decided to take advantage of the Dublin Tour Hop On-Hop Off. This was worth every penny we spent as it allowed us to hop on and off at the many attractions throughout the city over a 24 hour period for a great price! I highly recommend taking advantage of the city bus tour as some of the attractions would be quite a walk.


The stops are the National Gallery, St. Stephen's Green, Temple Bar, Dublin Castle, Christchurch/Dvblinia,  St. Patrick's Cathedral, Guinness Storehouse, Museum of Modern Art, Kilmainham Gaol, Dublin Zoo, Ryan's Victorian Bar, National Museum, Old Jameson Distillery, Liffey River Cruise and Writers' Museum.

We boarded the City Tour Bus and make our way to Christ church Cathedral. Viking Dublin's Cathedral was built on the site c. 1030, and briefly became a cathedral priory under the Benedictines at the end of the eleventh century. Christian worship is the primary purpose of the cathedral and visitors of all denominations are welcome at the services. There is an admission fee.

The next stop was St. Patrick's Cathedral. Any stop in Dublin requires a stop at St. Patrick's Cathedral. The history notes that Saint Patrick passed through Dublin on his way through Ireland. The present building, the largest church in the country, was erected between 1200 and 1270. Over the centuries, the cathedral fell into disrepair, despite many attempts to restore it. Between 1860 and 1900 a full-scale restoration was carried out by the Guinness family. There is an admission fee.

After our visits to the cathedrals we decided it was time to make our first stop at at an Irish pub! We jumped on the bus and made our ways towards Guinness. Instead of stopping in at Guinness we decided to head to an old, local pub - Old Harbour. This little pub is one of the oldest Dublin pub near Guinness Brewery and is well worth a stop!

After a pint we jumped back on the bus and headed our way to Kilmainham Gaol, the largest unoccupied gaols in Europe. The Gaol covers some of the most heroic and tragic events in Ireland's emergence as a modern nation from 1780s to the 1920s. The tour includes an audio-visual show. There is an admission fee. Prior to visiting the Gaol we stopped in for  bite to eat and pint at Patriot's Inn which dates back to 1793. The tour lasts about an hour but allow time to walk through the self-guided museum which provides additional detail and information about the Gaol. We highly recommend visiting Kilmainham Gaol, especially if you enjoy history.

We gathered back on the city bus for a ride to the city center as the night drew upon us. The tour took us by Phoenix Park/Dublin Zoo, which we didn't get a chance to visit. On our way back to the hotel we made stops at International Bar and old fashion pub with gold tin ceilings. After our pint we made our way to Blarney Inn Pub, serving up Irish food, live music and a great atmosphere!

We made a stop at Pasta Fresca to fill our belly's with a little pizza! I have to admit we didn't eat Irish food for every meal as the food options were endless! To end the evening we made our ways to Sheehan's on Chatham Row. The pub is cozy and relaxed.

Our final stop for the evening was at the Inn on the Green which is located at the Fitzwilliam Hotel, where we happened to be staying! It's a very intimate bar with a long, curved pewter bar. The furnishes definitely are not traditional Irish but more contemporary. For a hotel bar it was a very lively atmosphere with a number of Irish enjoying their pints and whiskey!

To learn more about Team Cocktail go to www.teamcocktail.com.

Eirinn go Brach

When I decided to start blogging about our travels I failed to consider how much time it would take to actually blog! Like many Americans, I have a little Irish blood flowing through my veins and have wanted to visit the homeland of my ancestors for some time. Jim surprised me for Christmas with a trip to Ireland and what a surprise it was! Jim follows a number of websites including Travelzoo which is where we found this steal. We've had a number of successes with this site not only for travels but many local deals.I'm going to attempt to give our reviews of the places we visited during our wonderful holiday.

There are a few things I hate about traveling and the one that tops the list is - flying. As we all know it's not what it used to be. This time we were using our airline points from Des Moines International Airport to JKF Airport. This was the first time I've used my airline points and wasn't confident it would go smoothly since I wasn't a true "paying" customer. From point of check-in all any flyer can hope for is you arrive on time and that your bags arrive to the final destination.

We arrived into JFK Airport with only a few bumps along the way. After spending time at the lovely JFK Airport I really appreciate my little Des Moines International Airport! JFK may be one of the most confusing airports I've traveled through (signage who needs that?). Since we had a long layover before we boarded for Ireland we decided the only way to start a holiday is with a drink! We settled in at Palm Bar and Grille. Review: good food, huge portions, great service and relaxing environment. The Palm does have locations outside of JFK including Vegas, NYC, DC, Chicago and many other big cities.

Time to board! Aer Lingus has to be the most organized, friendliest and quickest to board airline I've ever been on. Even though we were seated in coach there was much more room than you'll find on the domestic flights. The stewardess were extremely friendly and helpful. I'd definitely fly Aer Lingus again in the future and would highly recommend anyone looking to travel to Ireland to consider Aer Lingus.

After six hours of flying over the Atlantic we landed in Dublin, Ireland at 5:30 a.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 8th. The name Dublin is derived from the Irish name Dubh Linn, meaning "black pool." We left Des Moines on a cold yet dry day only to land into the land of white! Yes snow. December 2010 was the coldest start to winter in 130 years! So I shouldn't have been surprised that we would arrive to colder than normal temperatures and snow.

Our eight mile taxi ride was an adventure as the Irish attempted to drive through the poorly plowed roadways. Shovels, salt and sand were in high demand but supplies were very limited. I was just glad we didn't have a car as it would've been crazy considering the Irish don't know how to drive in snow/ice. I highly recommend you chat with your taxi driver as they are very friendly and informative. It was 6 a.m. by the time we arrived to the Fitzwilliam Hotel in the heart of Dublin. After a long flight and little sleep we decided we would check-in and take a short nap.

Fitwilliam Hotel, is recently renovated and in the heart of Dublin. On one side is St. Stephen's Green and the other side is Grafton Street. St. Stephen's Green is 22 acres and the largest of parks in Dublin's main Georgian squares. The largest park in Dublin city is Phoenix Park, but it is not in a Georgian square. St. Stephen's Green is rectangular, surrounded by one-way streets. The streets once formed major traffic arteries through Dublin center until 2004.

The Fuslier's Arch sits at the Grafton Street corner, commemorate the Royal Dublin Fusiliers who died in the Second Boer War.

Grafton Street (Irish: Sráid Grafton) is one of the two primary shopping streets in Dublin, the other being Henry Street. Grafton runs from St. Stephen's Green to the south to College Green to the north. Grafton Street is mostly pedestrianised, with the exception of the short stretch running between Nassau Street and College Green.

Since we planned to spend a majority of our time in Ireland in Dublin, I would highly recommend staying in the heart of the city. You can get around the city very easy on foot. Bring your comfortable walking shoes!

After a nap, we headed out to find some wonderful food and of course the first of many pints. We enjoyed a nice, quaint lunch at The Kitchen at 3 South Anne Street. The service and food was excellent. Sadly, they didn't serve Guinness which was a bit disappointing for Jim. He couldn't wait to get his hands on a fresh Guinness, which we found at our first pub - McDaids Pub. McDaids was established in 1779 and is situated off Grafton Street. It is one of the truly literary pubs of Dublin as it was frequented in their time by many of the greats of Irish literature.

In order to experience the hundreds of pubs located throughout Dublin, we decided we would enjoy one pint per Pub so we could experience the city's variety of pubs.

Our next stop was O'Neill's Bar and Restaurant on Suffolk Street. O'Neill's has long rich history and is worth the stop especially if you enjoy live Irish music. The one thing I recall is the long, narrow hallway to the basement that led to the bathroom. You would hate to meet someone along the way as I'm pretty sure two people wouldn't fit.

After I finished my Blarney Blonde, we headed to the Stag House Pub. Stag House is located near Trinity College and is popular among students and a core of die-hard regulars. Records of the pub date to 1770 (original construction) and 1895 (rebuilding). Stag House has been very well preserved and definitely worth a visit.

Next stop, The Bankers, located on the corner of Dame Lame and Trinity Street. The Bankers is a very cozy, traditional bar where I enjoyed my first Kilkenny. Kilkenny is a nitrogenated Irish cream ale from who else but the makers of Guinness, which originated in Kilkenny, Ireland. Kilkenny is brewed in Ireland and its heritage dates back to the 14th century. For those of you who have tried Smithwick's Draught, Kilkenny is similar but with less hop and it has the famous nitrogenated cream head similar to Guinness.

For our last stop of the night, we decided to venture into a traditional Irish restaurant for traditional Irish food at Gallagher's Boxty House. The food and service was exceptional. We enjoyed traditional Irish stew and Bangers and Mash. We both agreed that the American version of Bangers and Mash doesn't give justice to the true Irish dish as it was delicious!

It was a great start to what would be a great holiday!

To learn more about Team Cocktail go to www.teamcocktail.com.