We headed straight to Dublin on Swiss National Day to meet up with Julie and Arnau. Surprise, Arnau didn't know we were going to be there! We grabbed coffee, strolled through Grafton shopping street, St. Stephen's Park and along the river while we waited to meet up with them. The sun was shining and the weather was actually warm, we were shocked!
After surprising Arnau, we all headed to a 3-hour walking tour, where we learned a bit of history and some basic Gaelic phrases along the way. Love the walking tours!
By late afternoon we had ticked off a lot of our boxes - castle, park, river Liffey, churches, shopping streets, Trinity College, Temple Bar District and we had eaten a hearty lunch so it was definitely time to head to the Guinness Storehouse museum! Wow, the place was packed - this must be where ALL the tourists were (yes, it's the #1 attraction). The museum itself was a huge, self-guided tour climbing up 7 stories (shaped like a pint glass) that provided history of the brand, beer-making and advertising until you reached the Gravity Bar at the top. The glass bar has panoramic 360° views of the city and nearby Wicklow mountains. Luckily, most of the heavy afternoon rain occurred while we were happily inside drinking our Guinnesses. Yay!
Guinness is Good for You! Guinness for Strength!
In the evening, we enjoyed some of the famous bars and local Irish music in the vibrant and cobbled Temple Bar District. Many musicians jam on the streets as well, so it's very lively inside and outside of the bars!
Saturday morning, we all convened at the car rental place and began our road trip to the Cliffs of Moher and Galway. Arnau did a great job of driving (on what we consider the "wrong side"). There were little hints in the car that reflected off the windshield indicating "keep left" in various languages! Very clever Avis, very clever. We passed through some rain showers along the way, but it was nice and bright when we reached the Cliffs. Wow! Very windy, but breathtaking. Seriously, the weather changed every 5 minutes -- sun, clouds, rain, more sun (but the wind was pretty consistent!).
We then drove along the water on a tiny road on our way to Galway, but it was gorgeous! Stunning views, and passed some cute little towns.
When we arrived at our B&B in Galway though, they did not have our reservation - uh oh! Totally their fault, and they put us around the corner in another B&B which ended up working out very well. We were surprised it was that easy because we had a hard time finding available accommodation in advance! The woman (Kathleen) was super sweet and made us a wonderful Irish breakfast in the morning. Galway was having its annual "Galway Races" so the little town was extra-packed. People were strolling through the old quarter dressed to the nines! We walked around until it was time for drinks and dinner. We even watched a little Gaelic football -- kinda a crazy mixture of rugby, basketball and soccer! The folks at the adjacent table were quite friendly and helped us figure it out (along with some Google searches). Dinner was fish 'n chips at a local joint in the heart of old town. Popular!
On Sunday we woke up to glorious sunshine and strolled along the promenade ("Salthill Prom"), that runs from the edge of the city along the water. We enjoyed the stellar weather and pretty views until we had to part ways. We headed back to Dublin while Julie and Arnau continued their road-trip adventure through Western Ireland.
Our last pint of Guinness was at The Old Stand in Dublin, a really old and traditional pub where they decorated the beer foam with a shamrock (like you see with coffee)! Neat-o. It was Sunday night, but the city was still pretty bustling because Monday was a bank holiday. We enjoyed tapas for dinner (go figure, but the place was really cute), and local beer and music at Farrington's before calling it a night. It was a fabulous weekend and so much fun to hang out with Julie and Arnau!
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