Saturday 05/23/2009 Day 1 of Tour

Scheduled:
Knowth, Newgrange, Reception Dinner

Since we booked our Pre-Day with ABD our breakfast was included in the room price.
A Breakfast Buffet was available in the Exchange Restaurant every morning. No vouchers were needed. You simply walked to the host/hostess desk in the restaurant and gave your name and room number. They have a list of ABD guests right there on the podium.
The buffet was a huge selection of items; hot and cold. Prepared fruits, whole fruits, cereals, breads, waffles (very sweet batter though), sausage, Irish bacon (think ham slices, not like our bacon strips), scrambled eggs, yogurt and a selection of small danish. I did try the black pudding the first morning … and that was enough for me.

Our transport to Newgrange picked us up at 9:00 in front of the Westin. It’s a type of van not a bus (coach). If you are interested in this trip I would suggest making reservations in advance. The van made another stop and had to turn people away because he had a full van. Those at the stop with reservations boarded though.
You arrive at the Visitors Center where you then buy your tickets to the sites. Our van would be collecting us at 1:30 to go back to Dublin so we had time to do both Knowth and Newgrange. At the visitor center you board buses that take you the short distance to the actual sites.
We enjoyed the short tours and the history involved with the sites. Very knowledgeable guides give the tours.
Knowth : You can walk around the mound, on top of the mound and take pictures. There is no entry into the mound at this time.




Newgrange: You can photos of the outside; walk-in with the guide up to a small chamber but no photos are permitted inside the chamber. It is very interesting inside the passage way chamber and they give a small demonstration of what a solstice light would look like. If you are claustrophobic it may be a bit much to handle.





* Trip Tip – Always have an umbrella and rain jacket with you on ‘iffy’ days.

When we left Dublin it looked a little overcast so we took our rain gear and were glad we did. Up on that hill the rain and winds came. Luckily the rain wasn’t heavy just enough to make you use your gear.

Back in Dublin by 3 pm and the van dropped us off at the tourism office which is behind the hotel. We stopped at a pub ordered a lunch of fries (chips) and Guinness. The breakfast was huge so we just needed a wee bit of something to nibble on. You will see the theme of this trip for me is pretty obvious … countryside, pubs and Guinness!

Cead Mile Failte ‘Wish you 100,000 welcomes’
We got cleaned up, met our guides and fellow travelers in the lobby at 5:30 and went on with our introductions followed by a wonderful meal in a private room in the Westin.

Our fabulous ABD guides were
Francesc and Jennae


It was actually a buffet for dinner. Very nice though with a selection of entrees, vegetables, fruits, cheeses and desserts.

Most of our fellow travelers had come in that day and were tired by 9 so the group broke up for the evening.

Of course we were wide awake so we ambled downstairs to the Mint Lounge at the Westin where Salsa music was the evenings selection. We enjoyed the music and talking to others. You will find the Irish are very friendly and fun people, at least those that we met in the pubs.

Sunday 05/24/2009 Day 2 of Tour

Life on the Liffey

Today was dedicated to a whirlwind tour of Dublin sites. In the Lobby at 9 to board our coach and meet our Dublin local guide, Georgina.

Dublinia Heritage Center, Christchurch Cathedral and Dublin Castle crammed into the morning.
The heritage center was a display of the progression of conquerers and inhabitants of Dublin, what each culture contributed and how they lived. A hands on place that children in the tour would really like I think.

Dublinia used to be the Synod Hall of the Church of Ireland so it has some imnpressive stained glass windows.

It was Sunday so we didn’t get into Christchurch because services were being held.

Dublin Castle was interesting hearing the nuances of Irish political history through the ages and the current Celtic Tiger era. Since it was Sunday it wasn’t open to the public because the Castle now plays host to European Union Presidencies, Heads of State, and leaders of business, industry and government. We felt very privileged to be able to tour this site. We were the only ones there.

With the morning tours over we headed to the revered Guinness Storehouse. Before we went there though we had a special trip through Phoenix Park which is similar to Central Park in NYC. It was an absolutely gorgeous day and the Irish were out in full force enjoying the sun. It was wonderful to see families enjoying the day together.

On to the Guinness Storehouse.

Lunch was in a private room. They took our order for entrée (selection from 4 options; Irish Stew, a chicken dish, a fish dish and a vegetarian entrée) with the sides available on a cafeteria-type serving line.

After lunch we were given a tour of the storehouse. Definitely not enough time to study the production of the stout. Really my only slightly negative comment about the trip. The guided tour was way to fast for me. I’m sure others found it adequate. Oh well, I have another reason to go back!

Bye Guinness it was indeed a pleasure!
Quite a few of us did the Optional Trinity Tour later that afternoon. Georgina, the local guide was still with us and discussed the College and Book of Kells at length. We could not take pictures of the Book or of the Long Room library. The Library was wonderful. I could have spent all day there.

Okay we have had a long day but it wasn’t over! Dinner was on our own and the guides had arranged a Literary Pub Crawl for those of us who wanted to venture forth into the world of Beckett, Swift, Wilde and Joyce. It was great fun and we really enjoyed it. Two men recited snippets from Irish authors and told us about those authors’ lives. It doesn’t get dark in Dublin until about 10 pm this time of year so there was no hurry to get back to the hotel.

The next day had a baggage pick-up at 7:15 so we were back in the room by 11 to pack and hit the heavenly beds. A very good day indeed!

Photos from Day 2