I went to Ireland once. It was October and I thought I would never again be warm. It was rainy and frigid. I swore I’d never ever go back in the winter. Chris really wanted to make a quick trip while we were in France, but I stood my ground. If it was frigid in October, I could only imagine what January looks like. But luckily for us, the East Coast was holding all of the frigid for the entire world in the Polar Vortex and temperatures in Ireland were about the same as in Paris, maybe even a bit warmer. My big plans for a South of France adventure were shattered, as I discovered that the small towns I’d wanted to visit were shuttered for the winter, so I gave in. And I’m so glad I did. Ireland is just marvelous.
It’s still cold. It’s still rainy. But it’s green, and the people are so incredibly friendly. One waitress, who’d just moved from Galway, told me that she was having a hard time in Dublin, as the people were more standoffish than back home. I can’t even imagine what people in Galway are like, because the Dubliners we met were some of the most friendly people I’ve ever encountered. If you go to Ireland and come home without making any friends, you’re doing it wrong.
We stayed in Ballsbridge, just a 15 minute walk into the Dublin city center at The Schoolhouse Hotel, a converted school house. It’s a small boutique hotel, but it’s attached to a bar and restaurant with live music every weekend. Rooms were quiet, but it was so nice to be so close to a bit of nightlife, especially on cold evenings.
The food is all about comfort… stews and hearty pies and fish & chips. It’s not groundbreaking, but it makes you feel good. We ate one night at The Chophouse (a Bourdain recommendation), an updated gastropub and the food was fantastic! And then there’s beer. It’s too cold and wet to be outside, so you pub jump, drink a lot of beer, and then roll yourself home. It’s not such a bad life.
The parks in the city are absolutely beautiful and totally accessible. We spent one day walking through Phoenix Park, a huge park in Dublin. We ended up at Farmleigh House, once owned by the Guinness family, but now the place where visiting dignitaries stay in Dublin. Tours are free, only 30 minutes and really lovely. A walk through Trinity College was lovely as well. Of course there’s the Guinness Factory which is a lot of fun and the pint at The Gravity Bar is absolutely worth the price of admission. The top of the building is a floor-to-ceiling windowed bar with beautiful views of the city. You can eat downstairs, but at least go see the view from up there.
We really wanted to take a longer day trip, perhaps Cork or out to the Cliffs of Moher, but spending six hours on a bus didn’t seem like a great way to spend one of the few days that we had. The woman that checked us in recommended Howth and it was absolutely perfect. It’s a small fishing town, just forty minutes north on the train. The seafood is great and the town is adorable. The hike up to the top of the mountain is absolutely incredible. It’s muddy, but the views are amazing and totally worth it. When you hit the top, take a right and walk down the road until you hit The Summit Inn. Reward yourself with a pint and some fish & chips! There’s a bus that will take you back in to town, or just stay on and go all the way back to Dublin. The day in Howth definitely gave us the countryside feel without spending half the day on an awful bus!
Cabs are super reasonable in Dublin and we’d take them for longer treks, or if it was raining and we were lazy. Almost any cabbie can give you an entire lesson on the history of Dublin (on the way to the airport, he didn’t stop talking for 25 minutes) and you can learn a lot that way! Tipping in Ireland was a bit different that the rest of Europe, but not like in the States. A bit of a tip is recommended, but our hotel clerk said on a 100euro tab, 5euro would be plenty.
There’s so much more to Ireland than Dublin, and we’ll definitely be making a trip back (hopefully in a summer month when it might be the tiniest bit warmer!)