Ah Ireland! Such a beautiful country, so much history, so much to see and do but so little time. The countryside is verdant, it seems like you’re in another world. The seaside cliffs are a wonder to behold. The food is out of this world. We only had three days here, much too short. I’m already planning to go back and spend a week here to see what I missed. Let’s dive into it, shall we? We had arrived in London’s Heathrow airport early in the morning via my Virgin Atlantic Premium Economy Flight from JFK. Then we took an American Airlines flight from Heathrow using American Airlines miles and landed in Dublin at 10 am. Saying that we were tired from flying all night would be an understatement. So trudging through the customs line in Dublin was not what I was looking forward to, but hey it was a lot shorter and better than Heathrow's customs line, so I’ll take it any day.
Purchasing a SIM Card at the Airport
Once we got our passports stamped we were off to find and buy a local cellular network SIM card to get internet access for my girlfriend’s unlocked phone while in Europe. We only needed one since I could tether off her phone for my internet. We decided to grab one in the airport store. We would have saved a few euros looking elsewhere but that would have taken too much time, so we skipped that option and bought it at the airport.
Leap Visitor Cards to Get Around Town
Before leaving the airport we also grabbed two Leap Visitor Cards at €19.50 euros each. These cards get you unlimited travel over a three day period on Airlink, Dublin Bus, Luas, DART and Commuter Rail. You can even travel to and from the Airport at the start and end of your trip without any additional charge. This is a no brainer for anyone spending more than two days in Ireland. The train rides to Malahide and Howth alone covered the cost of this card. Oh, but I get ahead of myself. We were exhausted and our Airbnb apartment was just about ready, so we hopped on a cab instead of trying to figure out what double decker bus to take and where to get off. Our sleep deprived brains just might have called that the last straw. We stayed a bit outside of the center of Dublin to save a few dollars. No sooner had we gotten to our apartment were we both unconscious for 4.5 hours. Seeing as we had a traditional Irish pub crawl to do that night, napping was a good thing!
Starting Off Right with a Traditional Irish Pub Crawl
The Music Pub Crawl started at 7:30 pm and cost us € 16.00 each. I highly recommend it to everyone. It consisted of walking as a group to three different pubs. Along the way, city sights were pointed out and a brief history given as well. At each pub we were treated to live Irish Folk music by an extraordinary talented duo who gave us a brief history lesson about Ireland and the songs they were about to sing. These are the Pubs we visited.
Oliver St John Gogarty’s
Brannigans on the north side of Dublin, just off Dublin’s Main Street, O’Connell Street.
The Ha’penny Bridge Inn
It was an early night for us, as we were still jet lagged and tired. We hopped onto a double decker bus and headed back to our Airbnb so we could get an early start in the morning.
Breakfast at Bibi's Café
We got up early the next morning and had breakfast at Bibi's Café. The cafe was less than two blocks from our Airbnb. We had two Poached Eggs with Spinach and Ham and a flat white coffee. People had told me before I went to Ireland that I might find it difficult to get a good cup of coffee there. Well Bibi's Café proved that very wrong! Everything was beyond delicious.
We found Bibi's Cafe by using the Yelp app on our phone. This is why I highly recommend purchasing a SIM card on your trip.
Dublin Connolly Railway Station
With our bellies full and caffeine running through our veins, we were ready to start our adventure packed day. I knew I couldn’t leave Ireland without seeing at least one castle and it had to be relatively close by. With so many castles here and so little time there could be only one. We used our Leap passes to hop a double decker to the Dublin Connolly Railway Station to our next stop Malahide Castle!
Our train had a few stops but it didn’t take long to arrive in Malahide. A short walk from the train station down the road and we were there.
Road to Malahide Castle
According to the official website Malahide Castle and Gardens: "The history and ownership of the estate began in 1185, when Richard Talbot, a knight who accompanied Henry II to Ireland in 1174, was granted the 'lands and harbor of Malahide.' The oldest parts of the castle date back to the 12th century and it was home to the Talbot family for 791 years, from 1185 until about 1975, the only exception being the period from 1649–60, when Oliver Cromwell granted it to Miles Corbet after the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland; Corbet was hanged following the demise of Cromwell, and the castle was restored to the Talbots. The building was notably enlarged in the reign of Edward IV, and the towers added in 1765."
We bought our tickets online for €12.50 Euros each but the next tour wasn’t due to start for another 30 minutes so we wandered around the grounds and botanical gardens and let our eyes drink the pure awesomeness.
Everything was so green it seemed like I had just stepped inside a perfect picturesque landscape. My words can barely do this place justice. You just have to see this magnificent place in person.
Malahide Castle
With our tour time approaching we hurried to the castle entry, showed our tickets and waited with baited breath. The tour started off in the basement, where various family artifacts were displayed and timelines depicted historic events dating back to 1185. Then the tour progressed upstairs with the guide explained what the various rooms were used for, by who, and when.
When the tour guide took us to the great dining hall she told us that some of the caretakers said the room was haunted by a jester named Puck who used to perform in the house. I don’t know if I was sold on that but as the tour went on to the next room and I waited to get a few good pictures there seemed to be an eerie silence and then I heard a soft creaking noises like small footsteps from up where the jester preformed. I told myself it was probably just the wind.
We saw various bedrooms and sitting rooms by the fireplace. There were many elegant hand carved wood trimmed rooms that you just had to see to believe the craftsmanship. When the tour ended we went back and took a few photos of the basement area with exhibits of the family timeline and artifacts. Everything from the basement of the castle, the individual rooms, to the exterior and the grounds have been either kept up or restored.
When we were done with our Castle tour, we thought about going back to Dublin for dinner but it was still mid afternoon. We were both a bit hungry and were craving seafood. So instead of going back we wondered, where could we go instead? We both thought where better to have a mouthwatering seafood dinner than in the seaside town of Howth. Continue the adventure in Howth by checking out Part 2 of this article.
If you have the time while in Dublin, take a quick trip on the rail and check out Malahide Castle and its grounds. It’s like stepping back in history.
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