Last weekend, Ian and I took a short trip to Dublin. We had intended to visit Dublin at some point in time and when we saw Ryanair deals being advertised, we thought why not? The flight was at 6:25am which meant we had to leave around 4am to get to Luton Airport.
Dublin was originally founded as a Viking settlement and the city has been Ireland’s capital city since the Medieval times. All of the street signs are written in both English and Irish Gaelic. It is built on either side of the River Liffey where most of the older buildings are on the south-side of the river. This city is the birthplace of many literary figures, there are many monuments to commemorate writers such as George Bernard Shaw, Oscar Wilde, William Butler Yeats, Samuel Beckett, and James Joyce. Dublin, nowadays, is a historic city supporting a modern and high-tech population.
Our arrival at Dublin airport was earlier than expected; in fact it was so early that nothing much was open. We waited for the ticket/information desk to open at 6am and bought two 3-day bus tickets (€13 each). The trip into the city took around 45 minutes. There was a bit of morning peak-hour traffic but we had plenty of time so we weren’t worried. Our plan for the day was simple, we were going to hop on a bus to visit Newgrange which was 1.5 hour away, north of Dublin. We decided to check into the hotel before heading back out towards the tour’s meeting point on O’Connell Street at 10:30am.
Well, at least that was the plan. At 10:15am, we were still on a bus stuck in traffic. It didn’t feel like we were moving at all so we got off and just ran. I never felt so exhausted but we ran along the whole of O’Connell Street and managed to make it on the tour bus…only just. Our tour guide Mary was fantastic and very knowledgeable on Irish history. It was a nice change to be able to gaze outside at the Irish countryside. Our first stop was the Hill of Tara. Those who have seen the film Gone with the Wind may know that Scarlett O’Hara’s family plantation was named after the Hill of Tara. It’s an archaeological site near the River Boyne which used to be an ancient royal site of the Irish High Kings. Unfortunately it’s now also a sheep grazing area so we had to navigate carefully around the many “hot spots”, quite tricky especially when seriously muddy as well, to get to the standing stone in the middle of the site called Stone of Destiny at which the High Kings were crowned.
We didn’t get to see the Hill of Tara from above but here’s a photo to show how it looks.
Then it was back on the bus for a short drive in the Boyne Valley to our next stop, the Brú na Bóinne Visitor Centre, home to one of the most famous Irish prehistoric sites Newgrange. It is a Neolithic passage tomb and ancient ritual place. Apparently it was built over 5000 years ago, which means it is 500 years older than the Great Pyramid of Giza in Egypt and 1000 years older than Stonehenge in the United Kingdom. The passage grave was pretty much hidden as a mound until it was uncovered in the 17th century and excavated/restored between 1962 and 1975.
We actually got to go inside the sacred chamber. The stone ceiling of the chamber was dome-shaped and watertight. It is strong enough to support over 250,000 tons of earth over the top. What’s so amazing is that it is still standing as it is after 5,000 years! We weren’t allowed to take photos inside, so we can’t post any up here unfortunately. There were some Neolithic stone engravings (including some spirals, diamonds and zigzags) and also some graffiti left behind from the 17th century.
During the winter solstice (between December 19 and 23), the rising sun shines through the roof box above the entrance and illuminates the whole chamber with golden light. Our tour guide showed us an re-enactment of this event with artificial light. From the intense pitch black, a faint orangy light slowly moved across the long passageway and onto the chamber floor as she gradually lit up the light to simulate the sunrise, the roof of the chamber remained dark. There’s actually a lottery where 100 people get chosen each year to experience this during the winter solstice. It’s really the luck of the draw – last year was the first time since 1967 where it was cloudy during the whole winter solstice period so the “lottery winners” didn’t get to see a thing!
The exact purpose of Newgrange, as well as the meaning of its artwork is still unknown but many theories have been put forward. Our tour guide suggested that it may have been built by an affluent farming community who were sun-worshippers. Some have suggested that the rays of light illuminating the sacred chamber once a year was a promise of renewal for their dead and perhaps the spiral engravings symbolised eternity. Others even say that the white wall could be fake and was incorrectly built during restoration.
Clockwise from top left: Newgrange megalithic passage tomb; entrance to Newgrange; entrance stone; white quartz and granite stone wall.
Clockwise from top left: Stone circle; countryside surroundings; ancient observatory building; kerbstones at Newgrange.
The next day’s agenda began along the cobblestone streets of Temple Bar (that’s the actual name of the street). There were plenty of pubs, music venues, art galleries and because it was a Saturday there were also some markets in Cow’s Lane and Meeting Point Square.
Clockwise from top left: Looking down Temple Bar; colourful pub on Temple Bar; food market menu; window of a random pub; book fair on Temple Bar.
Clockwise from top left: Liffey River; art exhibition at Temple Bar; street painting; Bronze Ladies Statue.
A short stroll along the River Liffey and it was on to Trinity College next. Situated in the heart of Dublin city, Trinity College was founded by Queen Elizabeth I in 1592. It is also home to the Book of Kells, an illuminated gospel book which dates back to the 8th Century. Unfortunately, the original Book of Kells at the Old Library was under maintenance until the end of February so we didn’t get to see it this time (they were charging €8 to see the replica, which we thought was a bit unreasonable). We decided to wander to Oscar Wilde’s birthplace and his statue instead. Ian reckons the statue resembles the TV presenter Jonathan Ross (who he also “cyber-stalks” on Twitter and hence knows what ice cream Wossy ate yesterday).
Clockwise from top left: Courtyard inside Trinity College; the Old Library where the Book of Kells is kept; Georgian architecture inside Trinity College; the Berkeley Library.
Clockwise from top left: Plaque at Oscar Wilde's birthplace; Oscar Wilde statue; Molly Malone statue; St. Stephen's Green shopping centre; St. Ann Church; Purnell monument.
The afternoon was spent at the National Museum of Ireland. Some of the highlights include the Iron Age bog bodies which were just repulsively interesting (it’s amazing how well the skin and hair are preserved) and many artefacts from prehistoric and medieval Ireland. After a quick coffee and cake fix at the museum cafe, we visited St. Stephen’s Green then headed back to Temple Bar for dinner.
Clockwise from top left: National Gallery of Ireland; The Gate Theatre; Georgian architecture; National Museum of Ireland; entrance to National Museum of Ireland.
Clockwise from top left: Fried mushroom; boxty; bangers and mash; Irish stew with Guinness.
The following day we walked north and visited the Garden of Remembrance, Dublin Writers Museum and Dublin Castle. We spent a fair amount of time at the Chester Betty Library. I lost count of how many ‘wows’ I let fly with while going through the exhibits. The highlights for me were the Yongle Dadian (Great Encyclopaedia of the Yongle Era from 1406), papyrus manuscripts, some Egyptian Books of the Dead and beautiful Japanese painted scrolls. I was just blown away; the Chester Betty Library has an amazingly wonderful collection of illuminated manuscripts, paintings, sacred texts, prints, drawings, rare books and decorative arts from all over Asia, the Middle East, North Africa and Europe.
Clockwise from top left: Garden of Remembrance; Children of Lir sculpture; the Wall of Fame; Dublin Writers Museum.
We visited a few more landmarks in the afternoon, including the Literary Parade, St Patrick’s Cathedral (the largest church in Ireland, founded in 1191), Christchurch Cathedral, the Law Courts, Fishamble Street and were absolutely knackered by the time we reached the building where Handel’s Messiah was first performed. We discovered a quaint little bakery/cafe on Cow’s Lane called Queen of Tarts. Their chocolate fudge cake is fantastic! 
Clockwise from top left: Map of Dublin Castle; part of Dublin Castle; Belford Tower; St. Patrick's Cathedral; plaque commemorating Dublin writers; Literary Parade.
Clockwise from top left: Medieval overpass; Christchurch Cathedral; remains of the Chapter House; the Law Courts.
Clockwise from top left: Fishamble street; where "Handel's Messiah" was performed for the very first time; ceramics by the stairs inside Queen of Tarts I call them "conscience"; looking down from the top level inside Queen of Tarts.
Saving the best for last (if you like stout – Ian doesn’t), we visited the Guinness Storehouse on our last day and went on a tour that takes you on a historical journey about the “black stuff”. As we zig-zagged through all six floors of the storehouse, we learnt about the making of the Irish stout and the history of the brand. Every drop of Guinness in the world has been brewed in Dublin for 250 years and it is the roasted barley that gives the stout its distinctive dark colour. Given that it was my first Guinness, I was so excited when I found out there was a demonstration area to show people how to pour the perfect pint (or “point” as the Irish says it). Ian insisted that he wanted to have his pint at the Gravity Bar on the top level so he watched as I “double-poured” myself a pint. The head was certainly very creamy and it tasted better than I expected but still, it’s quite a heavy drink. The Gravity Bar has a nice panoramic view over Dublin but we didn’t spend much time there as we had to get to the airport for our flight.
Clockwise from top left: Irish street performers at Temple Bar; Guinness Storehouse; 9000 year lease agreement; ticket machine; €1 donkey (the photo cost us €1, not the donkey).
Clockwise from top left: All Guinness in the world is produced here; Guinness barrels; first Guinness label printing block; Guinness roasted barley; harp in Guinness logo; Guinness bottles.
It was sprinkling snowflakes when we turned up at the airport so I wasn’t too surprised when our flight was delayed by 30 minutes. I kept a close eye on the departure board because some earlier flights to London were being cancelled. We got our boarding passes and waited at the gate. From where I was sitting I saw what started as tiny snow specks had become a full-blown snowfall. Inevitably, our flight was cancelled. Being a budget airline, Ryanair’s one-and-only information desk was at the departure hall outside so we had to walk back out through the winding halls and custom counters. And much to our disappointment, we found a very long queue waiting for us outside.
Just over an hour later, we managed to get a replacement flight to Bristol from the Ryanair counter. Admittedly I was slightly surprised when the lady at the Ryanair counter gave us a piece of A4 paper on which she has scribbled something but only the word “Bristol” was legible and put a smudgy red stamp on it, then she told us to use that piece of paper to get boarding passes from the check-in counters. As expected when we handed over our passports and that piece of paper to the lady at the check-in counter, she gave us a perplexed look and asked “What do you expect me to do with this piece of paper?”. We told her that the ticketing counter had sent us over to get new boarding passes. We were then palmed off to the adjacent counter where we had to queue again. When we got to the front of the line, the lady there tried to send us back to the previous line. We kept calm and told her as nicely as we could that it was that counter she was now trying to get us to go to that sent us to her. After some debate, she eventually gave us the boarding passes.
Another 50 minutes later, our flight was delayed for another hour-and-a-half. While Ian went to get some food and coffee, announcements were made to advise that our flight was cancelled…I could not believe it…Again! Apparently, no flights were getting into London and most southern parts of the UK due to the weather. Of course, this meant that planes bound for London could not take off. So once again, we power walked through the winding halls and custom counters (the gates were actually quite far away, it was about a 20 minute walk). Only this time the queue was so ridiculous you couldn’t even see the end of the queue! It formed a weave through the entire departure hall like an extended version of the queues for Disneyland rides on weekends during school holidays. And I’m really not exaggerating. It was definitely going to take all night to queue. Just as I was going to tell Ian that our best option was probably to find a nearby hotel to stay for the night, Ian decided to call his bank. “What an unusual time to call a bank”, I thought?! As it turned out, Ian just remembered his bank has this concierge service which helps him make travel arrangements anytime anywhere. What an awesome service! I mean, there were some terminals around the airport where we could have gone online to find ourselves a hotel but there were ridiculously long queues for them as well. So thanks to Ian’s bank, we didn’t have to queue. When we got to the hotel, we managed to rebook and change our flight to Gatwick Airport on the Ryanair website without any extra charge.
We got back to London without problems the next day. On the Gatwick Express to Victoria Station, what we saw outside was a different London. Not the usual brown, the city was covered in thick heavy snow – quite a pretty and magical sight. We later found out the whole of London was at a standstill on Monday. No buses, trains nor tubes, schools and airports were closed, apparently one in five people did not make it to work. The weather forecast says there is a chance of more snow later on in the week, hopefully it doesn’t cause as much chaos.
