Today I will begin sharing details and images from my “mission from the universe.” This post focuses on Monday, August 15, 2016, which was the day I arrived in Dublin. The flight ended up being delayed for over 4 hours, and my friend and I didn’t take off from Newark until 2:30 AM EST. We landed in Dublin about 2:30 their time, 9;30 EST, and were at our hotel, Tara Towers Hotel, around 4:00 PM Dublin time. We hardly slept on the plane, so we took a nap and then went out for a little exploring, which included getting a cab and telling the driver to take us someplace good for dinner. He met the challenge and drove us to The Purty Kitchen (click here for their website). Wonderful place, wonderful food, wonderful company. If you click on one of the pictures below, it will turn into a gallery which you might find easier to view.
Monday, 8/15: We have arrived! I loved this sign, which was at Dublin Airport in the area where we waited for our Aircoach bus.
From the hotel window: That’s the Dublin Bay with a DART Train going by. Low tide. The “beach” in Ireland is called the “strand.” Our hotel was in Booterstown, which is about 4 miles south of Dublin center.
Looking north from the Hotel window: Poolbeg Twin Stacks (power plant). Between our hotel and the stacks you will find “Sandymount Strand,” and cut off of this picture is the Poolbeg Lighthouse. These 3 locations can be found in James Joyce’s “Ulysses,” although the stacks didn’t exist at that time. I was glad I could see them right from my window.
Looking south from the hotel: Dun Laoghaire
Closer shot of Poolbeg Twin Stack
Looking down from the hotel window: One of the many double decker busses
It’s low tide on the Dublin Bay! There had to be a thousand birds or so foraging during low tide.
The land across the bay is Howth. On the right end is a lighthouse.
Applegreen’s Bread for Sale
Applegreen’s Black Pudding for sale
Applegreen’s little 4 egg cartons
There was a Pringles vending machine in our hotel.
The hotel! Those close to me will notice a huge “sign” in the hotel’s sign. Pun totally intended. There is a lot of significance in the hotel’s name for sure.
There was an old graveyard next to the hotel. We couldn’t read any of the headstones at all. This shot is pretty neat.
The gate to the cemetery next door. It had the quintessential creaking gate-opening sound, too!
If you see this, it means that ice cream cones are available. They are all over the place. This one was at Applegreen. The chocolate candy sticking out of the side is a “flake,” and when you order a “99,” that’s a cone with a flake.
In Monkstown (5 or so minute cab ride south) or dinner on Monday, 8/15/16. This restaurant was recommended by our cab driver. I enjoyed steak and “chips.”
The Purty Kitchen in Monkstown.
Our cab driver. I can’t remember his name, so I am going to call him Jimmy. He recommended The Purty Kitchen.
The night’s sunset from the hotel window, reflected in the eastern sky. Good night!
A lot of people have said to me that they wished they could afford to take a trip like this. I’ll be honest: it was very affordable, and I was surprised at how little it actually cost. If you put $20 a week for a year and a half ($3 a day), you can plan a trip just like this too. It’s all about choices. Life is too short to stay in one place. Start thinking now about someplace you’d like to see, and for the next 78 weeks, put away $3 a day, and you will be there in 548 days. You can save on hotels too by traveling with a friend.
