Dublin again.....

This is the third post about Dublin so this time I will just write about what we did during our weekend there, no facts, just what to do. We flu from Oslo to Copenhagen and on to Dublin on the friday, landed at 6 ish so that meant we would have the evening in Dublin. Started the trip with some free coffe and tea from SAS :)

 

At Dublin airport we decided that we were going to take a taxi, could take the  bus as that is cheap and easy, but we took a taxi because we are lazy. Took us about 20-25 minutes to get to Our hotel Camden Delux Hotel, right in middle of Camden street. Perfect location. The bus to and from the airport stops right outside the hotel, and I mean right outside.

This two star hotel turned quickly out to be a pleasant surprise, it was way better than the 2 stars they had gotten on the hotel booking site. The rooms were large, clean, had coffe and tea maker and lovely plants in the room. The bathroom was good size and very clean, couldn't believe that we got such a great price on this hotel.

It doesn't look like a 2 star hotel, I would easily reward it with 3. We also noticed straight away that Camden street is full of life, bars and some restaurants. It was absolutely perfect to just go out there on the Friday night. We went for something to eat at Solas.

Now this is suppose to be a cocktail bar with a little selection of food. It was not great.  We ordered some beers and food, and it was bad. Would not recommend thins to anyone to be honest. I got a Guinness, and trust me, you do not want to order a Guinness at a cocktail bar, do that in the pubs. The food, well, look at the picture it says everything!




After the meal and the disappointment of the quality, we had some cocktails, that must be good in a cocktail bar/loung. Ha ha ha, the picture above shows my Appletini! In my world an Appletini is green or at least a slight greenish color, and it is suppose to be a little bit sour, definitely not sweet. The one I got was all wrong, I sent it back! The Manhattan Sissel got was horrible as well, I think they forgot the mixers and only put the liqueur in it.  She drank the freeing thing;)  So conclusion, don't go to Solas. Sorry owners but it wasn't great. We should have tried the Tapas place instead,  Las Tapas de Lola, because that place was very full so that must mean the food is good.



The rest of Camden street gave us a really good impression, there were a lot of people, and they were kind of our age as well. Good mixture of people from their 20s to their 40s, I like that.

There is a bar on Camden Street called Against the Grain and without knowing anything about it or never have heard anything about it we decided to try it as it looked quite packed and popular. When we got inside we understood why it was so popular, they have loads of different beers from all around the world there. Bottled and draft.  And we were told by friends, and family later that the pub is known for all its beer brands. We ended up staying at this place for a while and the beers were great, the drinks too.

Camden street is very popular amongst local people in Dublin and for us who have been to Dublin so many times and seen Temple Bar we found it perfect for our needs. There is a lot of night clubs as well in the area and I must say that Dublin is very good on nightlife. Popular places is Dicey's and the Village that are located on Camden street and right begind it.

As you can see from the picture there was a long queue to get in to The Village so we went to a late bar that is rather good, Flannery's. Picture is taken during the day so it wasn't that dead on Friday night. 

At 12 o'clock we were so tired that we had to go back to our hotel which was just across the street from Flannery's. Saturday was going to be busy!

So Camden street is busy in the evening and night time (didn't hear any of the noise in the hotel room), and during the day it is very quiet. However there was a great little cafe on the street corner from our hotel where they had excellent breakfast for a really good price. I got 2 eggs, 3 sausages, 3 pieces of bacon, tea and toast for 5 euros. That is cheap and the food was good. Perfect breakfast before we went on Viking Splash Tours. 

Yeh you heard right Viking Splash Tour. I had tricked Sissel into going, bought her a ticket and said she had to go! She was very skeptical but she went. Had to give her this doh.

We had a great laugh, who wouldn't just love to sit on a bussboat (yes it goes in the water as well) in the middle of Dublin where everybody can see you! On display for everyone, with viking helmets on!

The tour takes about 1 hour and 15 minutes so that is not too long and you do get a great overview of Dublin. You don't stop anywhere but as the busboat is open you see everything anyway. The driver/guide we had was really good, he was so funny and knew his stuff. So driving around we got see some of the sights Dublin has to offer.....

The buildings that shows Gulivers Travel story. It's the golden plate behind the tree....

St. Patrick's Cathedral....

Ha'pennys Bridge.......

The Wrath of Angles at O'Connoly street. They say that if a true virgin walks by they will flap their wings....... No one is doing any flapping on the pictures!

The wonderful Spier, 121,2 meters high. Purpos.....?  Nobody knows!..

Trinity College, where you also can find the Book of Kells, biblical writing created by munks around year 800 or earlier. 

Dublin City Public Libraries.......

And now, let's get into the water......

Fist thing we saw here was some really old boats. Turned out that the main one had been in a "famous" rescue at some point years and years ago. What made it famous was that the boat, not the crew, was rewarded with a bravery medal for its rescue. This turned into some disputes and eventually the crew got their medals as well, even one of the crew members dog got one (he never left his home without the dog, the dog was always with him even at sea). 

Then we got to see some strange art work that took three years to build....

No, not the building, the red poles sticking up......

We also saw the buildings that was the European Headquarters for Google and Facebook, but the most interesting was this.......

This is U2s recording studio, and they have recorded all their albums here with exemptions  of a few. 

Then there was the ordinary stuff like this......

Forgot to mention that during the whole Viking Splash Tour, whenever our guide told us, we had to roar at other people and tour busses. This is well know for the locals in Dublin so many times they roared at us before we got to do anything. Very funny, we laughed our heads off. 

After our little sightseeing adventure we deserved a Guinness, so we walked towards Grafton street (the Viking Splash Tour goes from St. Stephens Green right by Grafton street). We went to Harry's and sat with celebrities. Okay ww didn't sit with him but he was on the table next to us, Brian Macfadden from Westlife. He is a very stylish man I must say, handsome as well. No pictures taken, didn't dare to ask :(

Dublin is not a very big city so you can easily walk around and see most of it. We did that and I would recommend people to do the same because you come across so many nice little allies and streets. And this is also where you find all the bars and pubs where the locals go. Like from the picture above, The Stags Head. One of the locals in Dublin where you get great pints and great Irish pub grub. Time for lunch, I'm hungry! Getting all that fresh air from the Viking Splash Tour made me hungry.

Pint of Gunnies, Irish Stew, Guinness and beef pie. It does not get any better...

There was one thing I had to do before we could go back to the hotel to change for the evening and dinner with the family. Lets walk through Dublin and Temple Bar to get there......

We are here.........

Shopping in Pennys. That is the same as Primark in England, cheap clothes. Use the clothes a few times and then their done. However, I always get some great stuff from there and the quality isn't that bad to be honest. It all depends on what you are getting. I got a lovely green jacket with a little bling on this time, simply love that jacket, perfect for Norwegian and Irish summers. 

For dinner my sister in-law had made reservations at 101 Talbot, this is a very popular restaurant in Dublin and known for having good food. The price is very good as well.  If you ever wonder where to go I would recommend this place, very good menu and great staff. Easy to find the place as well, it is just off Connoly street. The name is the address;)

See, they have loads of rewards, it really is good....

After som tasty starters some of us got the beef, as in the picture above.........

Me and Sissel had the todays special, Duck......

And this is the lamb that my mother in-law had....

Stuffed......................!!!!

It is getting later in the evening and we went to a bar in South William street for a bday party that my sister in-law was invited too. I'm glad we went with her because there would be no way we would get into that bar otherwise. Fancy place, Lost Society 

That place got very crowed around 11.30 pm, so we went to meet another friend and colleague of mine and Sissel in Temple bar. Had a few at Oliver St. John Gogarty as it was available seats outside and by that time the weather had gotten rather warm and almost summery for being Dublin. 

ahh, my new green jacket!!!!!

The party went on in Temple Bar and as there had been a gay parade that day, nightlife was absolutely crazy ( in a good, funny way) and the pubs were packed and everyone had a great time.