Fun and Joyce

Just returned from an extended weekend break to Dublin. We’d not been before but weren’t completely surprised to find the heart and soul of the fair city alive and well in the numerous pubs and coffee shops.

Having missed our initial flight due to oversleeping (well, come on we were booked in to fly out of Luton at 7am on Friday morning!), we managed to get a flight at a more reasonable 10am for an extra eighty quid. We were slightly fearful that we’d be stung for hundreds of pounds for our poor planning but the highly reasonable and pleasant Ryanair ticket girl came through for us.

After a short 40 minute flight, we arrived at Dublin airport and quickly located a local bus into the city. At a mere 3.2 euros (not a lot) and after a twenty minute drive we disembarked the bus into the city. The short trip meant we only had a rucksack each which was a good thing as we weren’t able to check in to our hotel until 4pm that afternoon. Arriving in the City center at 11am left us with five hours to kills. We promptly made a b-line to the most famous of the city’s attractions – Trinity College and the ancient Book of Kells. This was to be the first and most formal of our excursions over the next couple of days. Most of the rest of the time was spent drinking Guinness and eating steak in Davey Byrne’s pub or the occasional cup of coffee at Bewleys. On Saturday we tried to hunt down the Guinness factory tour. We failed. When the guide book says ‘tucked away’ , read – ‘Area 51’.

The hotel was in Rathmines, just due South of the town. Nice decor, nice food but be prepared to be up until 4am every night as there’s a nightclub downstairs.

I’ll try to put a proper review together when I get the photos developed. Yes, I’ve gone back to 35mm. Why? The lens on my trusty Fujifilm A201 has spots on it. I have no idea why. It’s still in warranty and it’s going back.

Today I read with interest that ex-Eastender that Grant Mitchell is the soap star people would most like to see back on TV. Where did I read this? Why in the Sun of course. Who edits the Sun these days? Why it’s Grant Mitchell’s wife of course!

So we’re back, refreshed and ready to clock in for action (not).

Tags: Life