We had been in London about 2 weeks when Travis and Naomi came over for a weekend during their European conference tour. We decided to surprise them and do what all the kiwis and Aussies do over here – go away for a long weekend, this time with them to Dublin. We were lucky again to stay with Travis’ friend Mitchy and his wife in their apartment with views over the city. Apart from my cold and the five hour delay in the airport waiting for Ryan Air, then the two hour wait in the plane for it to take off, Dublin was great! We got there at midnight, and after meeting at the spike in the centre of town we had a quick beer before heading home.

The next day we got a guided tour of Dublin in the mist. Mitchy walked us up into the hills of the golf course and we had a great view of the mist rolling in off the sea into the hills. It didn’t deter the loclas who were out dog walking and jogging, and we enjoyed our picnic lunch with a view of the grey mist – no city view from the hills sadly!

Coming down off the green hills however the mist started to clear and we had a nice sunny walk around the coast – we had a great view of the blue blue sea and the little fishing villages, Ben was in love with Dublin being near the sea and the green hills again!

We ducked into an old dark pub for a guiness before catching the Dart to the other side of the Dublin harbour, Howth, where we ate hot fish and chips on the harbour. We had another trek up some more hills and through the heather to get a view from this side of the town, and it was much better with the mist gone!

Following our green day out, we had a day wandering around the city centre. It reminded me of Wellington with the harbour, the green hills, and it had a similar size and feel, especially after London.  Today we visited the Kilmainham Gaol, a former prison which is now a museum and has housed many important Irish political prisoners. It was a haunting experience walking around the empty cells, imagining the prisoners throughout the various ages (it was built in 1796 and used until 1924), with the rain and wind and snow coming in the small windows, many prisoners croweded in with only 1 candle for light (which had to last 1 month). Many were executed in the jail, the most recent many of the Irish Rebellion leaders, so there was a lot of history to learn.

Unfortunately for Ben we ran out of time and had to walk past the Guiness Factory, but we got  a recommendation for a locals’ pub where we had a big lunch and a guiness.  One of the best things about Dublin were the locals - it’s true that everyone will try and give you advice and directions on where you’re headed, they don’t want anyone getting lost – or at least they don’t want to look like they don’t know how to get you there. On the bus, on the train, on the street we were given strict instructions on how to find the gaol, some were contrary and one person even told us the instructions she’d heard us being given were not as good as the ones she had for us. So it was a great weekend where we got lost in the history and culture and landscapes of Dublin, but we always knew how to find our way back.