We took an overnight flight from Dulles to Dublin. I hate red-eye flights—always have—but we did it hoping to get a good day in Dublin under our belts. We didn’t pick a particularly Irish hotel for our first night. We figured we’d need a little pampering, so we chose the Anantara The Marker Hotel. I was sold on the pool and spa. It’s a great place to rejuvenate—swim, steam, and get ready to tour. It’s also an easy walk from most of the spots we wanted to hit in Dublin.
An Irish track star recommended that we have a pint in Kehoe's pub. Our first Guiness in Ireland and it didn't disappoint! Takes a minute to pour, but worth the wait.
We wandered around town a bit and cut through Trinity College, founded in 1592 by Queen Elizabeth I and known as Ireland’s oldest university. The college produced notable figures like Jonathan Swift, Oscar Wilde, and Samuel Beckett, and its library houses the world-famous Book of Kells. Unfortunately, we were pretty beat and the grounds were packed, so we didn’t make it to the Book of Kells.
After wandering around, we went back to the hotel for a steam and a swim, then headed into town for a visit to the Hairy Lemon — a very fun place with an interesting history. American bills of all denominations cover the walls; you could keep yourself in Guinness for a year if you're brave enough to pull a few down. The Irish stew and the fish-n-chips were very good.
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There were American bills, license plates, police patches, and bumper stickers hanging on the walls in nearly every pub we visited. Next time, I’ll bring something to leave behind to remember us by.
