Dublin: Day One

I really lucked out in the flight over. I had booked an aisle seat in the middle, four seat, section of the plane. But there were no passengers occupying the middle seats, allowing me two seats for the price of one. The extra room didnt help me sleep though. I haven't yet been able to sleep on a plane. The best I could do was close and rest my eyes.


When I got to Dublin airport I hopped online and messaged my airbnb host and asked about meeting to get the keys for the apartment I had booked. His mother, Betty, was available and already at the apartment getting it ready for my arrival.  I hopped in a taxi and made my way to the city center. Finding the apartment was quite easy, even with a novice taxi driver. She had just started driving and didn't know the city that well. But since I had already been to Dublin I knew the area around Christ Church Cathedral, where the apartment is located, and was able to give her directions pretty easily. The apartment listing didn't provide the unit number so when I arrived I was a) locked out of the building and b) unsure about where to go once I got here. Thankfully I must have a very trustworthy appearance and was able to follow someone else into the building. He allowed me entry into the area where the elevator was located. I heard someone cleaning an apartment upstairs so I went upstairs to see if that was Betty, my host's mother. It  was not, but when I mentioned my host's name a woman popped her head over the railing upstairs and asked "are you Kimberly"? I said "yes" and asked "are you Betty"? She said "no, but I am helping Betty with the apartment." So I took the elevator up one more floor and was greeted and showed the way to the apartment. Betty arrived shortly thereafter. Evidently I had just missed her going down the stairs where she had intended to look for my arrival. It was a rather comedy of errors. Betty then gave me a tour of the apartment. It is small, so not much of tour was required. But it is a bright, clean and lovely unit and it is serving it's purpose.  Betty said Micheal (my host's name) said I had red hair and she said that she and her sisters had red hair but she had died it blonde. I told her that I was a blonde but died my hair red because it suited me better. She agreed, saying "it matches your light skin." After showing me the Wi-Fi name and password, she left me to get settled in. The first thing I did was take a long, hot shower. I was very tired after getting no sleep the night before. The shower helped to give me new life.

My goal for the first day was to stay awake and just enjoy being in Dublin.  I was also hungry because I had only eaten breakfast before getting on the plane and only ate half of my dinner, leaving the bread and dessert alone. They also gave us a scone, jam and raisins with a thimble-full cup of coffee for breakfast an hour before the flight landed.

When I was last in Dublin I had spotted a cafe I had wanted to try but never found the time - The Queen of Tarts. It has two locations and the closest was right around the corner from where I was staying. So after showering and lightly dozing for a few hours I went down to get some food. It was quite busy, which isn't surprising since I am in the heart of the touristy area - Temple Bar. I plan on going back today for breakfast and will take pictures. It is a very cute and charming place. European cafes exude charm that is so very rarely found in Houston. The wait staff are also exceptionally friendly and I felt welcomed, even as a solo diner in a very busy time. I decided to get the Pot Pie, which was a chicken and mushroom pie, with a side salad and a large cappuccino. It was quite delicious. The lack of GMO products in Europe makes a distinct difference in the taste and the quality of food.

After getting some food in me. I did a little exploring and took some pictures. I will post these later today on Instagram. After managing to make it though much of the day on no sleep, I hit a wall at 5PM (or 17:00) and decided it was time to give in and get some sleep. I was hungry again and chose a quick and easy classic - fish and chips from Leo Burdock and came back to the apartment. I ate half of the order (it was huge), turned on the television and lay down on the couch and drifted off to sleep. I awoke some time during the night and got up and went to bed.

And that is the end of day one in Dublin. I feel much more rested and ready to do some exploring. I am going to have another cup of coffee and then get dressed and go out to do day two in Dublin. More to come on Twitter and Instagram after breakfast.