Dublin, is a small city and hence very doable in a day. To me, it was a nice simple city having a cold weather with plenty of very warm people to compensate for that. Never in my life, have so many people addressed me as ‘my love’ in a very distinct accent. I felt like staying there forever.
We were there on a day that locals kept saying such lovely weather at 13 degrees while we were freezing. They understood our predicament when they learned we came from Goa where the temperature was around 34 degrees at that time.
Dublin and beer seemed to be two sides of the same coin. Guinness was the main attraction for everyone. A totally teetotaler family however, can have their fill around the city with the century old Parnell Monument made to honour the Irish Nationalist Charles Steward Parnell in 1911, the uniqueness of St. Paul’s Church having a clock in its tower, the Wellington Monument which is actually the tallest obelisk in Europe, the 18th century neat architecture of Dr Steevens’ Hospital and the Rotunda Hospital.
Since the river Liffey runs right through the center of the city of Dublin, one can see a number of different bridges, right from the iconic Ha’penny bridge of Dublin city to the modern Samuel Beckett Bridge which are just two out of the 20 odd bridges one will constantly pass while cruising through the city sights.
There are just two routes on the HOHO route as the city is quite compact and we managed to complete both routes rather easily. Deboard and plan for restaurants and the loo breaks together as access to washrooms are open only to those who patronise the establishments. I did not see public washrooms around atleast on the routes we were on. One can claim tax refunds for purchases made easily at the airport through a drop in box after filling in all details on the provided envelopes. While we did not carry the famous Guinness beer we did take the Whisky biscuits back home for friends and family for a super Dublin taste.
