Joined: 16 May 2006 Posts: 456 Location: california
Posted: Mon Jun 30, 2008 12:39 am Post subject: Dublin in October
Yay! We're going to Dublin in October (the airline tickets were a b'day gift from my daughters/sons-in-law...yes, it's great, but you have to get really old to get a present like this!)...anyway...I'd love any recommendations any of you have to pass along. Great pubs. Great pub food. Good restaurants. Places not to miss. Send them all. Oh...and, absolutely, any good places to stay. We prefer B&Bs and small hotels.
We haven't decided yet whether or not to hire a car, but we very well may just do a handful of day trips by train instead of driving, so if you've got suggestions for good, short, nearby jaunts, speak up.
Joined: 16 May 2006 Posts: 456 Location: california
Posted: Mon Jun 30, 2008 12:55 am Post subject: Dublin in October
...One more thing...even if you don't have a specific accommodation to recommend, if you like a particular area of the city is great, let me know that, too...it gives us a place to start looking...
A friend recently came back from Dublin and said it was very expensive. If you can get Time Out magazine for Dublin that will have recommendations in it for sure. Also you will need a light mac/raincoat. Any weather coming off the Atlantic towards the East... Ireland gets it first!! Do check out the main museum tho', should be worth a look.
Have a great time too. _________________ Confusion comes fitted as standard.
Joined: 16 May 2006 Posts: 456 Location: california
Posted: Mon Jun 30, 2008 3:58 pm Post subject:
Thanks, Griffin. For Americans, "expensive" is a given when we travel these days. The dollar is so poor against other world currency these days that there are few bargains for us. In Britain, for example, the dollar is worth half of the pound, so I don't buy anything there that I can get at home.
As for rain/wind/drizzle/fog...in October, I assume we'll encounter it. But October can be glorious, too, and I'm counting on that as well!
Joined: 22 Oct 2006 Posts: 296 Location: Santa Barbara, CA
Posted: Mon Jun 30, 2008 8:08 pm Post subject:
Griffin is so right about the rain... But as long as you're armed with an umbrella, it shouldn't get in the way of your enjoyment.
My mom and I stayed in the Grafton Hotel when we went two years ago and really liked it. The rooms were lovely and comfortable, the breakfast excellent (especially the copious amounts of homemade Irish brown bread... I became addicted!) and the price wasn't too bad, by Dublin standards. As for restaurants - there are some good Italian places (we particularly liked Dunn & Crescenzi - not sure I'm remembering the name right though), but for something really special I recommend Patrick Guilbaud. It's got two Michelin stars and corresponding prices, but they have a very good value lunch menu (32 euros for two courses plus coffee and a generous selection of petits fours - at least that was the price two years ago).
As to sights - actually the best thing about Dublin is just strolling around and taking it all in. My favourite specific sight was, rather unusually for me, not a museum but James Joyce's martello tower. I would strongly recommend a re-reading of Dubliners before you go...
Joined: 16 Jan 2007 Posts: 35 Location: Oakland, CA, USA
Posted: Tue Jul 01, 2008 11:19 pm Post subject: Re: Dublin in October
georgia wrote:
Yay! We're going to Dublin in October (the airline tickets were a b'day gift from my daughters/sons-in-law...yes, it's great, but you have to get really old to get a present like this!)...anyway...I'd love any recommendations any of you have to pass along. Great pubs. Great pub food. Good restaurants. Places not to miss. .
I have to admit when I was in Dublin I found it lacking in character, to some extent. Not the people (I too could listen to the accents all day), but the city, its architecture and streets, seemed rather generic.. perhaps I didn't give it a chance. But Galway was much more fun, and not far away.
Anyway, two things not to miss:
in Dublin, the Chester Beatty Library and its East Asian collection. Simply stunning. Really fantastic. can't say enough good about it.
Outside Dublin (near galway) - take a ferry to the Aran Islands. You can even stay the night at a B&B. Gorgeous and wild. Iron Age forts, and mysterious structures at the edge of 80-foot cliffs. Shaggy little cows.
My sister did her degree in Northern Ireland at Coleraine and said that when it was really windy it rained horizontally!! Look out for the Abbey Theatre which was where Yeats once worked if memory serves. And definitely go near the sea. It will be cold and wild... but that's why you should go there. _________________ Confusion comes fitted as standard.
I was there last September. 1) The weather was beautiful. I'm sure a month makes a difference, but you might get lucky. 2) We took the train (very pleasant) to Kinsale, near Cork. That is a great option - Kinsale was wonderful. The Blue Haven hotel was very nice (not cheap, as someone said, nothing is "cheap") and there are shops and pubs galore. It's a fishing town with some historical sites (which I'm sure is common all over). 3) I second the Beatty library suggestion. My whole group (4 of us) loved it.
We stayed at Molesworth Court Suites in Dublin, it's actually an apartment that they rent out, so no hotel amenities (google pulls it up). If it's just two of you it would be pricey, but for four of us, it was great. It's close to the Temple Bar/Trinity area that is popular. I would NOT stay IN the Temple Bar area. It's way too noisy. Fun to visit the pubs there, but ... There was great shopping near where we stayed and a great restaurant. Do not think the food will be bad - they have some very nice restaurants with all sorts of fare. Lastly, be aware a lot of restaurants close early or food service stops early by US standards (well, mine). Most around 10 pm or so. I'm sure there was more we didn't find that stay open, but be warned. Last tip from me, I suggest the Jameson's Distillery over the Guiness Brewery if you are going to do any of that stuff.
Have fun!
We lived in Cork for three years. As others have suggested here, I would spend a couple of days in Dublin and then jump on the train to Cork. From there, I would work your way North to Kinsale, Dingle, and Galway. IMO, Dublin is just another small European city. The West of Ireland, to me, is the real deal. The West feels like you have stepped back in time.
Unless you are set on Dublin, you may want to see if you can fly into Shannon instead. Train service is not extensive in Ireland, however, the bus system is. Unless you are very adept with a right side drive, DO NOT RENT A CAR.
Pick up a copy of Mcarthy's Bar. It is a VERY funny read and will give you great insight on traveling around modern Ireland.
Joined: 16 May 2006 Posts: 456 Location: california
Posted: Sun Jul 06, 2008 1:23 am Post subject:
Thank you, Everyone, for these excellent suggestions. They are exactly the kinds of recommendations/warnings/ideas I was hoping to get from this group.
Griffin...thanks for reminding me about Father Ted. I LOVE that series; it's been shown intermittently in the States, but I haven't seen it for a while.
And, Gingerpale, I promise to have at least one Irish brew for each C&Z friend...at least for those who have checked in here. How many is that now? When we were in Scotland, we did a single-malt-scotch distillery tour (we called it a "comparison" to California wine country tours)...I guess --to be fair-- we must do the same in Ireland for whiskey...Actually, my husband, who drinks little beer, even less wine, and no hard liquor (he simply doesn't like it), is always the designated driver............dragging his happy wife behind him...
Ok I'm sure I'll think of more things but here's a few to whet your appetite:
Guilbaud's does have a fab reputation - I've never been there (student budget!) but I have been in his son's brasserie which I would recommend http://www.venu.ie/.
Eden restaurant http://www.edenrestaurant.ie/ is always a good start. Meeting House Square where Eden is located is also the venue for the Saturday farmer's market - a great place for a foodie visit. The stallholders are very friendly and generous with samples. Some of the butcher stalls have grills and you can wander around while nibbling your lunch. http://www.temple-bar.ie/home_nav_32_m_1.html
Porterhouse http://www.porterhousebrewco.com/ is a micro-brewery. You can order a tray with a small glass of all the beers that they make if you are brave!!
Go to http://www.visitdublin.com/ for lots more info on the city. They also have a number of walking tours in mp3 format that you can download - they are interesting and draw your attention to things that you may have walked past a thousand times before.
Using the DART - south of Dublin, Dalkey is a lovely place to look around, call in pubs or have a meal -
http://www.dalkeyvillage.com/
Also Dun Laoghaire - live webcam here - ferry comes in twice a day from Holyhead Wales - good for checking out the weather too.
http://www.dlharbour.ie/webcam/
The weather is best described as ‘unpredictable’! We had almost 5 weeks from the beginning of May with warm temperatures and hardly any rain. The past month, all over the UK and even the mediterranean, has been poor so perhaps we will have an ‘Indian Summer’ this year with nice weather for your trip. I should add from Dublin you can also get a train north to Belfast which takes 2 hrs on the Enterprise -
http://www.translink.co.uk/enterpriseservices.asp
Do keep us posted as to what your plans are (what length is your trip?) and perhaps more ideas can be given . _________________ Yesterday is history...
Tomorrow's a mystery...
Today is a gift...
That's why they call it the present ....
And one more sightseeing tip - don't miss the National Museum of Ireland. The Celtic artefacts are really stunning, especially the golden boat (there's a pic on the cover of one of Seamus Heaney's books, if I remember correctly).
We went Ireland a few years ago, including Dublin. Our favorite area of Dublin was St. Stephen's Green garden and the nearby shopping district for its character, plus the Book of Kells (at Trinity College I think). I'm not sure how much will be blooming in the garden in October though. Having a car in Dublin is just a liability, and driving in Ireland in general is difficult (we did it, but it was hard). I agree with the others that western Ireland is a must see. We were shocked to see palm trees and surfers along the wild west coast!
In terms of day trips near Dublin, our favorite was Newgrange, a prehistoric tomb from the 4th millennium BC.
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But as long as you're armed with an umbrella, it shouldn't get in the way of your enjoyment.
