Finally got all checked into my room and immediately bathed and changed whereupon I started to feel human again. By the way America, THIS is a bathtub. Get outta here with your tubs that don't fit anyone over the age of 2 1/2.
Here are a couple shots of my room. I'm staying at Ariel House which was built in the 1850s during Queen Victoria's heyday. The place is gorgeous and I'm loving all the authentic antiques and personal touches everywhere. To get to my room you have to go through a bit of a maze which was confusing at first but I'm getting the hang of things.
And from the outside it looks like this.
Not bad, eh? They also have an award winning breakfast, but we'll get to that in a bit.
After getting settled I resisted falling into bed (which was very, very tempting) and went out for a walk. I knew city centre was about a 20 minute hike and so I headed in the direction I thought it was and as it turns out my uncanny sense of direction didn't lead me astray. I managed to stumble upon Trinity College and Christchurch Cathedral with little effort and generally wandered around city centre for several hours.
One of the first things I did was buy a hat, which apparently is one of the things I forgot to pack. I suppose we'll find out what else I inadvertently omitted as time goes.
I look a little manic but hey, two days with little or no sleep does that to you.
I finished up my initial downtown tour with a stop at The Porterhouse (central) where I asked the lovely lady behind the bar to hook me up with a nice dark brew of her choice. Enter, Oyster Stout, which was creamy delicious with wonderful coffee notes. By the way, it's called Oyster Stout because they apparently shuck fresh oysters into the conditioning tank. No joke, google it.
As it started to get dark around 4:30 I headed back homeward, enjoying the Christmas lights and decorations along the way. This next pic is for you dad.
After a quick pit stop for beer, mineral water, and salt and vinegar potato chips at the local market (all the essentials, of course), I made it back to Ariel House without getting lost. Score! By about 5:30 I decided to head out for dinner and walked the two blocks to The Chophouse where I indulged in spicy prawns, fish and chips, and an O'Hara's Irish Red while trying desperately to not pass out from sheer exhaustion at the table. The fish and chips were among the best I've ever had which was the icing on the cake of the day. By 7:30 I was in bed where I slept roughly 13 hours. My only complaint so far is that the pillows absolutely suck but I'll take my lumps, or whatever that saying is.
Enter, award winning breakfast.
(I took this photo with the iPad so if it's a tad grainy I apologize). First of all, I've been in this country less than 24 hours and I'm already a big fan of the brown bread. Add to that hard poached eggs with smoked salmon and a buttery lemony sauce and I'm a happy camper. That smoked salmon was incredible. And the obligatory tea, which everyone here drinks with milk which is something I cannot approve of. To each their own.
Having finished breakfast I could easily curl up and sleep another 12 hours but instead I am stubbornly dragging myself out. I absolutely will not miss the Guinness Storehouse; I had also planned on visiting the National Museum but as luck would have it the bastards are closed on Mondays (which of course I discovered this morning, or I would have gone yesterday). Oh well.
Enough rambling for now. Dublin adventure day 2 begin!
~Swan
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