Dublin Day 1: A Soggy Welcome to Temple Bar

The Vat House
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This was my third time in Ireland and also my third time visiting the city of Dublin. It was my friend Will's first time in Ireland.

Our flight arrived in Dublin about 7:45 a.m. Irish time. We got the aircoach into center city, but the bus driver didn't stop where he was supposed to so we had to get a taxi to the hotel. The taxi driver was a trip...... he cursed alot and talked about drinking and Guinness being the national religion and American football.

But at 10:30 a.m. hoards of people came running down the street and into the pub

Farrinton's Pub
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We were staying at Fitzsimon's in Temple Bar. So we got there and we were told our room was empty but not cleaned yet so we couldn't check-in. We left our bags at the hotel and took a walk around the Temple Bar District.

As is usual in Ireland it was raining and since it was 9:00 a.m. not alot was open. We walked around and looked at the pubs and the shops until we came to the Oliver St. John Goggarty's Pub, they told us to come back at 10:30 and they would be open then. So we walked around and walked and walked. By 10:30 we were both soaked and I was cold but the pub was open.

Oliver St. John Gogarty's
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The funny thing was that Temple Bar was sorta dead, I guess cuz it was raining....... but at 10:30 a.m. hoards of people came running down the street and into the pub.

So we went in and started drinking. Oliver St. John Gogarty's is an awesome pub. It has a beautiful wood decor and bar. They have great pub grub and nightly trad sessions which get pretty lively.

Will started taking coasters and post cards from the pub. We started by trying all the different beer. We both liked Carlsberg, a lager from Denmark. We tried Smithwick's, an Ale from County Kilkenny, Ireland which we both liked. Will tried Kilkenny Irish Ale which was alot thicker and creamier than Smithwick's. He didn't like it and I tried to drink it but it was just too heavy. That's the thing about the Irish. They don't do light beer, even their Lagers sit heavy in the stomach. Alot of their beer is a meal in itself.

The Auld Dubliner
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We were at Goggarty's drinking til about 1:30-2:00 p.m. when we decided to go see if the room was ready.

Thankfully the room was clean and we could check-in. Now the Fitzsimon's Hotel has a great location if you want to be close to Temple Bar. Its on Wellingotn Quay. The room wasn't insanely expensive given the area, about 130 Euro a night but I thought the room was a bit small and the bed too hard for the price we paid. I was soaked and freezing and just wanted to shower. We both showered and changed our soaked clothes and went out drinking again.

Fitzsimon's Hotel and Bar
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This is where things get a bit hazy ...... We went back to Goggarty's, it was packed inside, you could hardly move. There were men in all types of weird caveman costumes and pimp costumes.... a bachelor party maybe.....we stayed for a pint or two then headed onto the next pub for the night.......

Which was Farrington's Pub, it too was a cute pub with those little alcoves. It was also packed so we got a pint or two in there and then set out for something to eat.

We walked around looking for somewhere to eat when we came across Eddie Rocket's. I had eaten here before with the girls. The place has good burgers so that's what we decided to get. The food was good and cheap and didn't take too long.

After eating we went to the the Auld Dubliner, I like this place. Its alot like the Temple Bar but alot less crowded. The prices are the same, they had a dj playing while we were there. Will was still stealing coasters and pint glasses so I got a pint glass for him in my purse. We were people watching and drinking pints for a while before we went exploring for another pub.

We walked until we came across the The Vat House Pub. This place was great. A pub/restaurant. It had a good mix of tourists and locals, young and older people. And best of all it wasn't too crowded. We even got a seat at the bar. The bar tenders we had that night were pretty cute too! We stayed here for quite a while.

After leaving the Vat House we wondered into the Forum, this seemed to be a hangout more for locals than tourists. It was a cute pub with a mixed crowd. It was getting read to shut down though so we only had one drink. I guess it didn't have a late bar.

Next we went to Rogue Pub, it was a modern pub.They had MGD so Will had to try that. We had a few drinks here before heading on. I think afterward we went back to the Auld Dubliner but I can't really remember :) ........ we drank til closing time at 2:30 a.m.

By the end of the night Will had quite a collection of coasters and postcards and two pint glasses I lifted.