Ireland Day 2: our Dublin adventures continues
We were still a little slow moving the next morning from jet lag but we were excited to see a little more of Dublin. Once we got to moving, we walked to Brother Hubbard (South). While watching a show about Ireland, not sure which one it was now, they stopped at Brother Hubbard and highly recommended their food so we had to give it a try. We ordered a couple of cappuccinos and decided on their Egg and Bacon breakfast. It was a huge breakfast that was really tasty and had some grilled seasoned tomatoes with it.
We then wondered over to Dublin Castle to check it out. Unfortunately they didn’t have any tours going at the time so we walked around the courtyard and read some of the historical signs posted. The entire Dublin Castle doesn’t actually exist any more, it was replaced by a Great Courtyard which was established by King John of England in 1204 AD. They didn’t have tours of the castle at this time so we walked around the courtyard.
Our journey continued on towards the River Liffey and we crossed the famous Ha’Penny Bridge.
Shortly after we crossed the bridge, we stumbled upon the National Famine Way memorial. It was really interesting and somewhat spooky sculptures. There was a board that explained the history that in late May 1847, at the height of the Great Famine, 1,490 tenants from the Mahon Estate walked a grueling 100 miles to try and get to the Dublin Docks. It was part of an emigration scheme organized by their landlord. Approximately 1/3 of the tenants died before they reached their destination of Canada. I made a short video of the statues built along the River Liffey.
We followed the river to the EPIC Museum which in my opinion is a must see in Dublin. There is so much information about the Irish and Immigration. I was even able to add my Great Great Grandpa’s name to their immigration board as he migrated from Ireland to the United States sometime in the mid-to-late 1800s.
After a couple hours at the EPIC museum, we made our way towards Trinity College to find food. We had a snack for lunch at Gallaghers Boxty House to of course try some boxty. Then we were off to Trinity College for a tour of the Book of Kells museum and The Long Room. The Long Room is the famous Trinity College Library which houses thousands of books. It was also the inspiration of the library in Harry Potter and various other films.
We then walked through a few shops in the area before making our way to Saint Stephen’s Green. It was mostly overcast but we found some interesting sculptures containing some information. Along the way, we also saw beautiful scenery. Lots of flowers, green grass, trees, bushes, and lots pigeons and seagulls. It was a nice difference from the crammed together buildings.
We took at break at our hotel before walking to Tomahawk Steakhouse. It’s a little place along the run of buildings near Temple Bar and it’s in the basement. It’s not completely underground but it’s a cozy feeling place. We shared a 30oz Tomahawk with pan fried mashed potatoes (yum!). I tried Lamb’s Spice Rum which was the smoothest, best tasting rum I’ve ever had. I was able to drink it straight with a little bit of ice. Typically I drink Capitan Morgan which has enough spice that it’s really hard for me to drink without soda. Luke drank Powers Johns Lane which he said was really tasty and smooth. He was also able to drink that whiskey straight.
- From previous trip to Italy, Greece, and even the Netherlands, we’ve always gotten the impression that most people don’t drink liquor with any mixer so we were trying to find liquors that we could drink without mixers. As we continued to traveled, we learned differently that even locals like to have mixed drinks.
We slowly made our way back to our hotel, stopping here and there for a drink or two and listening to some of the live music.
Safe travels,
Luke & Jessica