Best trip!

Flew Cedar Rapids to Chicago. Transferred to Aer Lingus. First thing I noticed were different clothes, accents, and smells. Long flight, but food was so much better than USA airlines.

So many places to see and so much to do. Bought RT tickets at the airport to Dublin and back. We also picked up sightseeing tickets with our Shannon Heritage discount pass app. Moving together en masse, ladies wheeled their luggage to the waiting bus. Some had 1 bag, others 3.

Found Durban House, our first B&B. Our rooms were on the 4rth and 5th floors with stair access only. So women huffed and puffed as we dragged our bags to our rooms. Last staircase was so narrow, that barely one person could fit on it, sometimes sideways only.

First lesson- room lights turned on by putting the room key in the slot by the electric switches. Hot water switch had to be flipped on to get a warm shower.

After "refreshing" ourselves, we went to O'Shea's Pub for lunch (fish and chips, club sandwiches, and one desert please.) Then caught the double decker tour bus and did the overview of the sights in Dublin. Day 2 would be the day to tackle them.

Next dinner and music. Pub food is cheaper, drinking only is the cheapest, but not always the best. After a certain time, no more food is served in the pub, not even peanuts or pretzels.

We walked to the Temple Bar area and then circled back a little to the Arlington Hotel, where we grabbed bar stools and watched the traditional Gaelic dancing as we sipped our pints of Guinness.