Ireland Day 0 & 1 - Washington to Dublin

June 3 started with us dropping Teddy off at the pet sitter and then stopping at Tysons on the way back for lunch, then REI to pick up a last-minute item.  Thankfully, we didn’t have to rush to get home or to the airport since our flight didn’t leave till 8:55PM.   We checked in for our flight around 5:30PM, we were flying first/business class on Aer Lingus, which gave access to the British Airways lounge. 

The British Airways lounge felt classy and upscale. Compared to the Delta lounges we have previously been in; this lounge has table service (i.e., order from the menu and they bring it to you) as well as a very nice buffet.  The buffet had a sampling of Indian food, mini chicken wellingtons, finger sandwiches, meats, cheeses, and deserts.  The other main difference is the beer and wine are free, as compared to other places that only have free soft drinks, coffee, tea, and water.  We hung out in the lounge till 7:00PM.  We probably would have stayed longer except our boarding passes said boarding closed at 8:10 PM which seemed odd to us, when the flight leaves at 8:55PM.  When we got to the gate, they said boarding wouldn’t start till 8:10 PM.  We could of spend longer in the quiet lounge in comfy seats, and not listen had to listen to the stories from the old people tour that was going to be on the plane too.  Though some of those were interesting, apparently Debbie is a delicate flower who doesn’t like the cold.

We were in first/business class which meant we got to board first, after the people who needed extra help down the jet way.  We had the lay flat seats that went completely flat, and a bunch of leg room. With the lay flat seats, you get something closer to a car seatbelt, if the car seat belt had a detachable shoulder strap.  You only had to wear the shoulder strap for taxi, take off, and landing.  Other from that you just needed to wear the normal lap belt.  The lay flat seats were nice, and you could adjust them in a myriad of ways from completely flat, to completely upright to whatever you wanted in between.  Just so you know, in the lay flat seats I could sleep on my back and have some room on either side or lay on my side, I didn’t try laying on my stomach.  They are supposed to be able to accommodate a 6-foot-tall person of narrow width.  Sadly, I still didn’t sleep much on the flight because it was bumpy for the first 60-90 minutes of the flight.  Then once I did lay down and start to doze, we would either hit a bump in the air, or the very heavy walking stewardess walk by and wake me up.   It was more restful than sitting up, and the bumps didn’t seem as bad laying down.   They also gave us a decent quilt weight comforter during the flight and a personal pouch with socks, sleep mask, lip balm, hand lotion, toothpaste, and a toothbrush.   Overall, I think the upgrade to first/business class was worth it, even though I really didn’t sleep.  It is going to be sad on the return trip when we must walk past first/business class to get to our seats in coach. 

We arrived in Dublin around 8:50AM on 4 June, and we were met at arrivals by a nice older man holding a sign with our name on it.  He was the driver the tour company hired to take us to the hotel.   Gave us some nice travel advice on the drive to the hotel.  We checked into our hotel around 9:30AM, and they had a room ready, which was great.  We took some time to take quick showers and brush our teeth.  Showers and teeth brushing makes a world of difference.  By that time, it was about quarter to 11 so we headed out to get lunch and walk around.  Because it is not a good idea to go straight to bed.

For lunch we went to the Irish’s version of Chipotle. We like tasting “Mexican” food in other countries and doing a comparison to American Mexican food.  I would say the Irish version of Chipotle was fairly close to the American version.  We then headed over to the Irish Whiskey Museum, which included a tasting. I would say it is less of a museum and more of a performance/show about the history of Irish Whiskey. Not bad, but not what I think of when the word museum is used.  Then we walked down to one of the famine statues along the Liffey River.  Then back the way we came to look at some wool clothing stores and stop for gelato.  From there it was time for a break at the hotel, to figure out what we were going to have for dinner.

Whiskey Museum (Cell Phone)

Famine Memorial (Cell Phone)

O'Connel Memorial (cell phone)

For dinner we started at Doyle’s Pub but found out their kitchen wasn’t open, so left before ordering anything.  Then headed down to two more pubs which we got into but left before ordering anything because at the first one we couldn’t tell what was actually available, and the second one because the menu outside didn’t match what they gave us inside.  So, we ended up eating at Supermac which is fast food place.  This is what happens when you are just too tired to make decisions. We will try eating at an authentic pub on Monday.  But we do have lots of time so no rush.

Tomorrow, we start the day with a viewing of the Book of Kells.