There and Back Again (Ireland Edition)

The Liffey

"It's a dangerous thing, going out your door. You step onto the road, and if you don't keep your feet, there's no knowing where you might be swept off to." - J.R.R. Tolkien

Last June I stumbled across a Groupon ad for a flight, car rental, and 6 day 5-Star golf resort stay in Ireland for $800. We had 3 days to purchase the trip and in that time we assembled the mandatory 4 travelers, booked our tickets, and started planning the trip of a lifetime. In honor of St. Patrick's Day, I thought I would start sharing some tales from our adventure.

We landed in Dublin at about 4:30 a.m. after an uneventful 6 hour flight across the pond. We had decided prior to departure that we would be forgoing GPS and modern technology for a good old fashioned map. Upon arrival, there was some second guessing, but a democratic vote in line at Dan Dooley's rental determined we'd stick with our original plan, much to the skepticism of the red head behind the desk. Molly's words to me as we walked away were, "our fate is in your hands." Thanks.

The General Post Office, still a working P.O.
today, is the site of the 1916 Easter Rebellion
in Dublin when Irish Republicans aiming to
establish an independent (from Britain) Irish
Republic laid siege to the post office.
The British out powered them, but the Rising
lasted for 6 days and emboldened the
republicans. In 1919, they proclaimed an
Irish Republic and the Anglo-Irish Treaty
in 1921 gave them complete independence
from Britain.  

Christ's Church (and one of 
the many door pictures 
featured as center pieces
 at my sister's wedding 
reception in January :)

In my head, our early arrival meant I'd have a couple hours to grow accustomed to driving on the wrong side of the road in the wrong side of the car before there were people on the roads. My calculations left out the fact that it would be dark and Dublin isn't the quaint little town I pictured. After a few minutes acquainting ourselves with the car and a quick prayer, we were off, barreling down a dark highway on the look out for a gas station with a map. 30 minutes and a few stressful drifts into neighboring lanes later, we had followed some signs town toward "City Centre" on a guess and were going down dark streets with no gas stations (or visible street signs) in sight. We pulled into a dark parking lot and the girls pulled out every tour book we had with us as I breathed a sigh of relief in the front seat of the car that we'd made it this far. After discovering at least one map was from the 1800s we decided to keep moving. Hungry and lost, we soon came to an y-intersection facing a large brick wall. With no place to go and no Siri to turn to, we were feeling a bit glum, when we suddenly noticed on that brick wall a landmark that only Dublin could give us: Guinness St. James Gate Brewery, Dublin, Ireland. Voila! With that, we used a compass (that seemed fair game on an iPhone) and were able to get ourselves over to the River Liffey and the awakening streets of City Centre Dublin. Success!

Christ's Church, Built in 1028 

Christ's Church, for many years was
one of two Cathedrals in Dublin. This was
rare and it operated under an agreement
with St. Patrick's that they were to act as one.

We charged with some delicious coffee and hot chocolate and started wandering the streets of Dublin. We were there in the off season and surprised at the diversity of the city. We bought stamps at the General Post Office, admired the intricate details of Christ's Church, and next headed to the infamous St. Patrick's Cathedral, built at the site where St. Patrick first began baptizing people when he came back to Ireland as a missionary. Jonathan Swift was a dean there and Benjamin Guinness reconstructed it in the 1800s. I believe this is the first building ever to take my breath away. I'm one for mountains and rivers, sunsets, and natural beauty, but stepping inside and looking down that aisle built up a feeling inside me that demanded I turn my gaze to the heavens and God, to whom this man-made building physically and symbolically aspired. It was magnificent.

St. Patrick's Cathedral, built in 1191

Next we walked to Trinity College, which didn't appear much different than an American college, aside from the honored Book of Kells created in the year 800. The long room library was also quite impressive. It reminded me of Beauty and the Beast, but perhaps that's undermining it's grandeur.

Our first Guinness...it isn't nearly as
bitter over there!

After a quick meal we decided to head to Limerick, our home for the week and about 90 minutes from Dublin. We enjoyed seeing the city, but I think we were all ready to get out into the country and see the green hills for which Ireland is known. Leaving Dublin that afternoon was probably the most stressful drive of the trip. We hit a few curbs, but no pedestrians, and somehow Jenny successfully maneuvered out of there despite their one way streets, wrong way circles, and complete lack of geographic logic. The scenery did not disappoint as we drove to Adare and we were giddy as we drove into the gated Adare estate. It was simply beautiful and our villa was far bigger than we ever needed! We made dinner and had a quick pint down at the pub before collapsing into bed for the first time in 2 days!

Adare Manor