This is the first night and day of our three-week journey through, Ireland, Northern Ireland, England and France. We begin and end in Dublin, Ireland, so check back for much, much more about Dublin! Please come along with us as we travel! Click on the links as you read for more information and fun! Play the videos as you read if you want a soundtrack! (Videos are at the end of the post).
We arrived late in Dublin, after midnight, for our first night on our three-week tour through Europe. Our flight had taken off in the US Stewart International airport in New York, a fantastic little airport that was so refreshing in its simplicity) at noon with a 6-hour flight, so we were not tired. Which was nice because it allowed us to check into our awesome hostel and experience Dublin late at night. Aircoach 700 from the airport took us right into downtown Dublin, on O'Connell Street, three blocks from our hostel
This was our first real glimpse of Dublin by the River Liffey. "Liffey" comes from the word "liphe" or "life". Appropriate name for a river with a long history. From the Vikings in their longboats to the Normans conquering from the Wicklow Mountains to the Irish and English political machinations, the river served as the backdrop to both squalor, poverty and prosperity.
The River Liffey!
The hostel we stayed at was "Abbey Court" and it was phenomenal. We decided that when we came back around to Dublin in three weeks that we would stay here again.
Here are some more pictures of this charming hostel.
2am in Dublin and we were famished! Our hostel recommended "Zaytoon" which served Persian Iranian food, even late at night, and it hit the spot. We got a good feel for what Dublin is like after 2am!
And then it was back to our humble abode for a few hours sleep...
6 hours later.....we missed the free breakfast, but we made up for it by having a typical Irish breakfast at O'Neil's, along with an Irish coffee!
O'Neils is right by the world famous Molly Malone statue.
Molly is the character of the famous Irish ballad. She is said to be a fishmonger, who sells her cockles and mussels through the streets of Dublin. (think of Arya in the series Game of Thrones as she is trying to become "no one"). It's uncertain whether Molly was a virtuous young woman or a woman who added to her savings by part-time prostituting. Ironically, the bronze statue is turning colors at her breast, as her statue is often fondled!
Molly was said to be a beautiful young woman who had many admirers, but especially a young violin player named Timothy Penndleton. When sweet Molly died at the age of 17, said to be June 13, 1699, no one was more distraught than young Tim. He fled to the streets of the New World and settled in Portsmouth, Massachusetts where he lived a lonely, yet prosperous live, never finding another love than his Molly, and never again playing his violin. Until one night, he picks it up and plays the now iconic song, "Molly Malone". His long lost love then appears to him, alleviating some of his loneliness.
I wonder how the lovelorn Tim Penndleton would feel about his beloved's breasts being fondled for pics on the internet!
Don't forget to check back for much more on Dublin!
Next, it was catching a bus, last minute, to Belfast! We took the 705X on Aircoach. Note: This bus does not have bathrooms, so this is a picture of me hopping on the bus last minute after running madly through a nearby restaurant to find a bathroom before the two-hour ride!
Little did we know at this point how utterly fascinating the city of Belfast was going to be! (post coming soon)
Sinead O'Connor, U2 and The Dubliners have sung her song.
The following products helped us to travel in comfort!