EuroTips: Dublin

A college town notoriously full of writers and boozers - what could possibly be a better end to our Eurotrip than Dublin? Not much, as it turns out. We just wished we had had more time there - much more time. There were so many things in Dublin we didn't get to see: the Kilmainham Gaol, the Book of Kells at Trinity College Library, Dublinia Museum, Christ Church, and on and on and on.

But we're grateful we got to see what we did. Dublin was an amazing little town that we both love and we highly recommend visiting. It was an especially great for this bookworm and her beer/whiskey-loving husband. Both members of Team Stevenson gave Dublin a big thumbs-up. Want to end your Eurotour with a bang like we did? Keep reading for your final EuroTips blog...

What to Do

1 // Hop on, Hop Off bus // Yes, we did this again. It was the end of our trip, and we were both exhausted. Embarrassingly enough, though, what finally swayed us to do the bus tour is that with our ticket we received a free Irish coffee at one pub and a free glass of Guinness (not a full pint, sadly) at a different pub. That nearly paid for the tickets themselves. The Dublin Hop On, Hop Off Buses were different than any others we've ridden because they had live tour guides. Geraldine was especially funny and told lots of insider information as we rode around Dublin. For instance, did you know that up until the 1980s, new mothers were consistently given pints of Guinness in the hospital after having babies to help their milk production? Doesn't that just seem crazy? Yet it's true. This is the best bus tour we've been on - in addition to making it easy to get around the city, we actually learned a lot.

2 // Guinness Storehouse // Of all the things to do in Dublin, this was the one we weren't going to miss. It's the #1 tourist attraction in all of Ireland, and we can believe it. The museum is seven stories tall, and the interior atrium is shaped like a Guinness glass. You begin on the ground floor, learning how the ingredients are used to create the beer, and as you go up you learn about the history and distribution of Guinness as well as all the various marketing campaigns (my favorite part). You can go through the Guinness "tasting school" to learn how to properly taste Guinness, and you can go to the Guinness Academy to learn how to pour a pint of Guinness. Clearly, we did both. After that, you can go up to the Gravity Bar on the seventh floor to redeem your free pint of Guinness (if you didn't use it at the Guinness Academy, that is). The Gravity Bar has glass walls and a 360-degree view of all of Dublin, making it extremely popular. This was one of the most interesting museums and/or breweries we've ever visited - we highly recommend making a stop here.

3 // Jameson Distillery // I don't actually like whiskey, so for me this was just a way to rack up wifey brownie points for the next time I wanted to spend an hour in a bookstore. Plus, Jameson just wasn't as exciting as Guinness. It was a smaller guided tour, which was a plus, but there wasn't much to see there and the tour was over quickly. The comparative whiskey tasting wasn't really my cup of tea, and the Jameson and ginger ale we received at the end wasn't that great, either (I gave both of mine to B). He liked it more than I did, so maybe if you actually like whiskey you'll find it pretty interesting.

4 // Trinity College Library // Disclaimer: We didn't actually go inside. One of our bus guides told us that you didn't have to buy a ticket if you didn't want to see the Book of Kells (a 9th century manuscript of the Gospels illustrated by monks). Supposedly you just had to tell them you wanted to see the library. That is not true. Had we known we'd have to wait in line, we would have done this far earlier in the day. When we went, the line was out the door and around the building. This is one of the many reasons we must come back to Dublin: I am dyyyyyying to see this library. Once a book nerd, always a book nerd.

5 // St. Patrick's Cathedral // This is the largest cathedral in Ireland, although it's now Protestant; because of this, regular Sunday attendance is about 100 people. Also, since the church is Protestant, there is an admission fee to go in because it doesn't receive federal money. We decided not to go in, because ABC, so instead we took a little stroll around the grounds. St. Patrick's is surrounded by beautiful green spaces, flowers, and trees, and on the Sunday afternoon we were there, many people were playing Frisbee, walking their dogs, or teaching kids how to ride a bike.

6 // St. Stephens Green // This is Dublin's answer to Central Park and Hyde Park - a beautiful Victorian park that serves as a natural escape from the busyness of the city. We only briefly strolled through, but we could imagine it would be a fantastic place to wander, relax and hang around on a sunny afternoon. Apparently feeding the ducks is a very popular pastime there, but since I loathe birds that was not even happening. If it ever gets warm in Ireland, this would be a fantastic place to hang out with a good book.

7 // Temple Bar // Temple Bar is, in addition to being a bar, also a district around which many of the city's bars and restaurants are located. It's famous for its "craic." However, as our new Irish friends we met on our Tuscany wine tour warned us, it's overpriced and touristy. They said we should go there for a drink to get the experience  but not to plan our night around it. They were absolutely right - we had better drinks at better prices elsewhere. But you can't miss seeing the nightlife of Temple Bar at least once. Just know not to stick around.

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Where to Eat

1 // For a gourmet meal with books // A restaurant that doubles as a bookstore is always a win in my book, no questions asked. We didn't have a reservation and were given a table with the provision that we only had an hour to eat, but it was so worth it. I had sugar-cured beef short ribs with peppered beets, horseradish and apple ketchup, and mustard mash. B had Irish beef ribeye with sticky onions, roasted garlic truffle butter, and homemade chips. All this, plus two glasses of wine, and we were surrounded by bookcases to boot. I cannot think of a happier or tastier meal. I will be back.

2 // For a good Irish coffee // O'Sullivan's was the pub at which we received our free Irish coffee, and boy, was it good. The chilly weather and lack of appropriate clothing may have had something to do with that, but I seriously enjoyed that coffee. Judging by the accents it actually seemed like locals hung out here, or at least people from somewhere in Ireland, which was a nice change from the Temple Bar area. If you have tickets for the Hop On, Hop Off bus, or if you just need an Irish coffee, step into O'Sullivan's for a warm pub experience.

3 // For authentic pub fare and craic // We had been repeatedly warned to stay away from the Temple Bar area when it came to eating. A quick TripAdvisor search led us to Doheny & Nesbitt. The deciding factor was that they had shepherd's pie - something I had been wanting since we set foot in Ireland. It was a good call. The food was delicious, and the atmosphere even better. Chock-full of locals, two guys began playing guitar and mandolin shortly after we sat down, and they stirred up the crowd with their songs. Some were Irish, but they even played "Country Roads" by John Denver - not what we were expecting to hear in a bar in Dublin but even more delightful because of that. This was our last stop in Dublin before the airport the next morning, and what a perfect sendoff it was - we couldn't have asked for a better end to our Eurotour. Cheers and slainte!

4 // For good wine // The sign pretty much says it all. You wouldn't expect to find an upscale wine bar in Dublin, home of pubs and beer, but we found it at Hugo's, and we bought some happiness on our last night in Dublin. The prices were about in line with what you'd expect at a wine bar, and the selection was massive - almost too much so. We're used to just a handful of local AOC appellation wines in France, so this much variety was a bit overwhelming. I finally chose a nice Cab Sav and B got my typical go-to wine, a Malbec. They were extremely nice about giving us a table and bringing us a carafe of water even though we weren't eating. The menu looked interesting, though, and I would like to come back and perhaps have dinner there - and, of course, to purchase some more happiness.

5 // For the extremely slow food movement // If you'd like your brunch to take four hours, The Blarney Inn is the place to be. We had a 1:00 p.m. tour reserved at Jameson, but we definitely wanted something on our stomachs beforehand. We stopped at this pub because their breakfast menu outside looked good. And once we received it, it was good...it was the wait that was the problem. B ordered the standard Irish breakfast and I ordered scrambled eggs on toast. His came with coffee, mine with tea. It took 30 minutes to simply get the beverages. It took another 20 to get the food. In the end, B paid while I scarfed down food, and we wound up taking our toast to go. The food wasn't bad - a decent Irish breakfast - but stay far away unless you have quite a while to spare.

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Tips and Tricks

1. Pack warm clothing. This seems like rather stupid advice, but I did not really take this into consideration when I was packing for Italy and Greece. I wore the same pair of white jeans and my raincoat every day in Dublin (and London). If you're doing a multi-country Eurotour, make sure you pack appropriate clothing for all the countries, not just the first two...

2. Eat before the alcohol museums. This should speak for itself. Don't go to Guinness or Jameson on an empty stomach.

3. Do the big stuff in the mornings. If you want to go to either Kilmainham Gaol or to Trinity College Library to see the Book of Kells, get there early in the morning. Both places wind up with some seriously long lines later in the day - long enough that it could prevent you from getting in.

That's it for our Eurotrip EuroTips - we hope you've enjoyed hearing about our adventures and maybe learned a thing or two. We had a wonderful trip, and I've enjoyed being able to share it with you.

xoxo,
E & B