How to do Dublin in 1 ½ Days {Day One}!
Street life as the tourists make their way towards hotels and The Temple Bar in Dublin, Ireland
Author: ArtsyChowRoamer
How to Do Dublin in 1 1/2 Days
DAY 1 TOURING IRELAND
Sometimes in planning a trip the calendar does not always work in your favor and you are left with way more things you want to do than days in your trip. My recent trip to Dublin, Ireland was just such an example. I want to share with you in this post what I thought was most worth my time to do.
Since my blogging is about art, food and travel, forgive me if the 1 ½ days referred to is heavier on the food and travel portion and less on the art. (After all a girl does have to eat and drink right?)
In planning a trip I always do a couple of things. Tell everybody I know so I can pick up tips and hints. Then google the destination to see what others have written about it. I then set up a file with all my procured bits and pieces of info.
A GREAT HOTEL WITH GOOD LOCATION
I usually look for a hotel that is close to the center of the city with good access to the places I want to see and be seen. This time I decided on The Ashling on Parkgate in Dublin; a great location on the river, beautiful contemporary design, fabulous buffet breakfasts included with your big spacious room and the Luas (pronounced Lewis) stopping right outside the door for a five minute ride into central city. Perfect!
The Luas is your ticket to fast and effective movement around Dublin
THE LUAS AND THE TEMPLE BAR
After check in, we hopped on and headed off to Abbey Street to start a walk about. We knew one of the first things we wanted to do was hit The Temple Bar and have a Guiness and listen to a little Irish music. It didn’t disappoint.
The red exterior was pretty with planted hanging baskets that we would see repeated over and over again around Dublin. Inside it was crowded, loud and rowdy. It is a tourist hang out as the locals find it to be just that and a little overpriced as well (but sometimes you just gotta be a tourist).
WHERE TO SHOP
We headed on down to Dawson Street to look for the Artists Gift Gallery only to discover it had moved so we walked over to Grafton Street which is the pedestrian only shopping mecca.
There were lots of street vendors with handmade items from local artists. I picked up a snazzy braided leather bracelet with silver beading for about five euros and was thrilled! We stopped into Gino’s for a fabulous gelato that we shared while ducking in and out of shops and stores.
Gino’s Italian gelato is the best. Try the hazelnut!
DON’T MISS ST. STEPHEN’S GREEN
We picked up a CD of Celtic music in a shop for around five euros and made our way down the street towards St. Stephen’s Green. This is a lovely park and we spent an hour walking and listening to the birds go crazy as a local threw them the last of his bread. There were tour buses dropping people off and everyone was taking selfies and enjoying the beautiful day and the weather which had just turned into jacket time.
Sculpture in entrance to St. Stephen’s Green park in Dublin; a wonderful place to walk and contemplate.
LUNCH AT MILANO’S
We continued ambling up and down the streets and saw a restaurant that looked inviting for lunch. I guess the gelato had set our mood as it turned out to be a cute restaurant called Milano’s where everyone around us spoke Italian.
We rightly figured that meant great food. We ordered bruschetta and a bottle of Rioja from Spain. The place was very pretty with deep blue water glasses that caught the light from the open windows. The food arrived and I snapped a quick pic-perfect snack for a perfect day.
Bruschetta at Milano’s in Dublin with fresh melt in your mouth tomatoes, pesto and basil.
You eat with your eyes first remember? This says all you need to know! We finished up and moved on to late afternoon endeavors that included a walk along the river for some pictures of the Ha’Penny Bridge; aptly names as it used to cost half a penny to cross. There were artists working and sketching, street entertainers singing and playing the guitar and tourists snapping selfies. We joined in and took the arty pic below!
Birds eye view on the Ha’Penny Bridge on a moody late afternoon in Dublin, Ireland
BRIDGE PICS AND WHERE TO EAT DINNER
We returned to our hotel for a rest, some unpacking and a change of clothes while I looked over my list of researched restaurants for dinner. I really wanted to go to the new and happening Chapter One that I had read so much about.
Upon calling for a reservation I was told the disappointing news that they were booked up that night already. Take my advice. You need to eat at this restaurant and you need to book early but that is a conversation for another blog. I decided I was feeling French so we headed off to Hugo’s.
The exterior of the French bistro Hugo’s at 6 Merrion Row in Dublin, Ireland
CONCLUSION
I can not say enough about this little bistro. So much so that I spent a good deal of time talking with the owner, taking pictures of the interiors and the food promising to do a solo blog about our visit which you might want to read.
We had a lovely meal with after dinner drinks and espresso and returned to our hotel happy, full and ready for a good nights rest and Day 2 in Dublin. Both posts cover some of the things I would recommend for anyone to try on a short term visit to this lovely city in Ireland.
Hey, don’t be a stranger! Let me know if you have any questions about Dublin. I am happy to chat with you about it and let me know what you might want to read about here OK? Until next time…
Cheers,
ArtsyChowRoamer
TO MY READERS: This post was updated with info, pics and video on 12/20/19
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