Day 1 - Dublin

Italics indicate the tour outline.

3rd September 2015: ARRIVE DUBLIN. CEAD MILE FÁILTE. Upon arrival at Dublin airport, you will be met by one of our top class driver/guides and escorted to a luxury vehicle and privately transferred into Dublin City. 

Your driver/guide will conduct an orientation tour of the city including some of the major sights. You will see O’Connell Street and the General Post Office which was the location where the Proclamation was read for the first time on Easter Sunday 1916, you will see the Garden of Remembrance, The Custom House and get a feel for this great city. We also include entrance to Trinity College to see the Book of Kells and a self-guided tour at The Guinness Storehouse where you can sample the black stuff.



 In the evening you will check in 2 nights in 2 queen bedded double rooms at the luxurious and centrally located 5 star Shelbourne Hotel, a Renaissance Hotel, this property boasts a picture-perfect location overlooking St. Stephen's Green, just moments from some of Dublin's most famous historic landmarks, The Shelbourne Hotel successfully marries traditional splendour and contemporary convenience. 

September 3, 2015 - Dublin

Excited, September 2, we meet up with our friends and head to the lounge after our check in and security.
Since we were on premium economy on Air Canada we should have easily had a separate check-in. We never found it, our friends did after asking a ground attendant. They were few and far between.
Seems it was counter 1 but it was unlit and the sign was barely visable.

The lounge is American Express and I am disappointed to say it left me rather underwhelmed. It was crowded so we were asked to come back at 9 when the Emerites flight would be boarding. The attendant did apologize. The food was mediocre.

Our flight is scheduled for 11:10 PM so hopefully we get some sleep overnight. Premimum should board first but the powers that be allowed zone 1 and 2 to board at the same time.
The good thing is they are only 24 seats in this cabin with our own bathroom. We are served orange juice and then take off. We have flown premium before but on Cathay Pacific and there is no comparison. The AC seats barely recline.
Food - there are two selections, NOT. Seems they only had six pasta on board so everyone had to have the chicken.

Enough with my first world problems and complaints.

Sett;ed in and we all kinda slept.

Arrived in Dublin around 10AM.

We land and clear immigration, get our luggage and are on our way to find our driver, Nicholas!!

Nicholas kept up a running commentary and gave us a quick overview of downtown Dublin.

Our room isn't ready but our friends' is so we leave everything in their room and head out.

I have seen the Shelbourne Hotel on most trips to Dublin, but this is my first time entering it and we are actually staying here. It is off Grafton St. and across from Stephen's Green.

We didn't take our cameras!

First stop down Grafton St. to find a SIM card for John's phone. Which we do in the third shop.

Our first pint!! And lunch. Fresh ham sandwiches.

 Then some more wandering and we decide to use our pass to see the Book of Kells at Trinity. No such luck it was closed from 2-3:30PM. No worries though we can just change the date on the voucher.

We go back to the hotel and we get checked in, our friends decide to relax and we agree to meet up at breakfast in the morning. 

John and I, cameras now in hand, head out.

St. Stpehen's Green Shopping Centre.

Powerscourt Shopping Centre - more on it another day.

Molly Malone in her new location. Click here to see Molly in her old location in 2007.

Outside Trinity.

The Hags with the Bags!

Across the Ha'penny Bridge.

Going back to the hotel through Temple Bar.

An artistic view in Temple Bar.

Flowers on Grafton St.

We get back to the hotel around 5:30 PM and had a nap until 8:30 then got up and headed out for dinner. Every pub/restaurant was packed and we ended up in the same pub as lunchtime. I had corned beef and cabbage and John had sausage and mashed.

Time to hit the sack!