After months of anticpation - and 100s of hours researching and planning - we were off to Vancouver Airport for our flight to Dublin and the beginning of our visits to Ireland and Italy.
But we couldn't leave until the countdown app said it was time to go!
Dawn - and the clouds - breaks...
as we get our first look at the Irish coastline..
and the famous green Irish countryside...
At Dublin Airport, we encountered our first minor problem. Car rental in Ireland - as it was in Costa Rica last year - is not as straighforward as it is in Canada or the USA. Here it is simple enough to use a credit card that includes collision damage insurance. In Ireland, that is possible too, but you must have a letter from the credit card company - dated within a couple of weeks of arrival - that states that the credit card insurance specifically applies in Ireland.
So a couple of weeks earlier, I had called RBC Visa and they emailed me the letter. So far so good. We had decided to book the car with Jenni as the primary driver. But, the RBC letter had been sent to me with my name on it, so Europcar (the car rental agency) refused to accept it. My mistake but the Europcar representative was anything but sympathetic.
So we decided to make me the primary driver, so our left-hand side driving adventure was about to begin!
The irony is that RBC had sent me that letter as a Word Document, so if I'd had access to a printer at the airport, I could have easily typed in Jenni's name, reprinted it, and all would have been fine. It does show how silly the entire process is. The letter requirement is really just an unnecessary complication that results in more collision damage insurance sales, it's just a money grab. Not a great way to be introduced to Ireland but it is what it is, and it was my mistake after all.
I had booked the car back in May 2019, for 95 euros for 6 days. (Euro=$1.50Cdn). I kept an eye on the Europcar website throughout the summer and the price continuously dropped. I was able to cancel my reservation, and rebook for 45 euros for 6 days. $11Cdn a day for a 4-door diesel Renault Megane.
Throw in the excitement of me driving on the left-hand side of the road - at no extra cost! - and we got a great deal!
By then, Jenni's sister Sheila and her husband John had arrived from Bristol so off we went together to enjoy our first day in Ireland. I hadn't seen them for over 20 years so it was a great way to start our European vacation.
Our plan was to spend a few hours walking around Dublin, then head to our B&B near Ballinascorney, close to the Wicklow Mountains. But in spite of some intense route planning prior to our arrival, a closed-down road due to construction resulted in our first - and certainly not our last - oops..."now where do we go?".
A bit later in our adventure we would come across this sign, it would define much of our travels:
But we did find our way to Dublin, and by then it was lunchtime, and we were thirsty. So why stop in at Ireland's oldest pub, the Brazen Head:
After all, it's not as if it will be quick and easy to make a return visit!
And of course a first-ever Guinness on Irish soil, in Ireland's oldest pub:
We then walked around the main sights in Dublin, not missing Saint Patrick's Cathedral...those blue skies would stay with us for most of our time in Ireland. We had brought sweaters and rain gear in anticipation of cooler, wetter weather but they were not needed until our last day, and fortunately we had them with us several days later in Venice.
and Dublin Castle:
Leaving the castle...
We walk by the Olympia Theatre, a venue that hosted Charlie Chaplin and Laurel & Hardy...
some interesting architecture...
a reminder of home...
the Dublin Spire, affectionately known to the locals as the Stiffy by the Liffey...
the Ha'Penny Bridge...
and the "seesters"....
Past Temple Bar on the way back to the car....it wasn't far....
and after a long day of travel, a quiet secluded spot to spend the night, The Lodge at Ballinascorney...
Though we didn't really give it a good chance, we were somewhat disappointed with Dublin. We were surprised how busy it was for mid-September. It was crowded and noisy, and not very clean. There were many small groups of young males apparently marauding the streets. It just wasn't entirely pleasant.
Fortunately, the Irish countryside and smaller cities would prove to be much more enjoyable.
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