We Are The Dubliners

Thursday, December 07, 2006
4:44 PM

The foul weather finally drove us out of the countryside and into the city. After our final breakfast at Ross Castle we decided to cancel our two days at Ross House Equestrian Center and head to Dublin. It is just too wet to ride.

It was difficult to bid adieu to Ross Castle but we forced ourselves once we realized that even if we barricaded ourselves in the upper tower room, there would be nothing to eat and we would soon have to climb down anyway.

Oh, the weather's rough,

but not too tough

for me and my fair pretty.

We'll get in the car,

and we'll drive far...

We're off to Dublin City!

From Dublin Port (where all ferries were cancelled due to the choppy water being so unsafe), we called Ariel House and luckily booked two days. This is the old Victorian mansion in which we were going to stay on arrival from the U.S. last week.

The drive along the water was very telling with waves breaking over the seawalls into traffic. Umbrellas were being turned inside out and hats were being blown off heads.

Our room is more than adequate and the shared lobby and sitting room are quite beautiful. A nice hot shower and a cup of tea, wireless access from our room, and free parking, lucky us. We’ve already decided that we’re NOT moving the car for two days, we’ll walk or taxi. Everything we need is close by.

Kevin, here. The Ariel House is excellent. This is from their online pamphlet at ariel-house.net


One of Dublin's premier, boutique style hotels – Ariel House is an 19th century Victorian Residence, old world in style, with all the comforts associated with modern accommodation. Each bedroom is individually decorated, ensuite with bathroom.
Centrally located on Lansdowne Road, Ballsbridge, within minutes of Dublin's top cultural attractions and shopping areas including Trinity College, National Gallery, Georgian Dublin, St. Stephen's Green and Grafton Street. Ariel House is an ideal lodging base for travel within Ireland.
We look forward to welcoming you to our elegant surroundings and affordable accommodation.
Pretty good, huh? We’ve gone out just once since arriving, as we were hungry and tired from our journey. The deskman, Jimmy, said that we were a five minute walk from plenty of restaurants. It’s still windy, rainy and cold, but, again we were dressed for it so, no worries (“no worries” is my current favorite Irish expression). Our walk included a stroll over the Ballsbridge bridge. That’s not a typo, we are in the Ballsbridge section of Dublin. It crosses the River Liffey.

We did, indeed, find lots of restaurants, the vast majority of which fit nicely into the Gourmet category. We dined in one for my birthday and the food was excellent and pricey. It was a special occasion and worth it. But, every day is not $25.oo per entrée special, no. In addition to the high priced there was the LOW priced, pizza and burgers. Nothing in between. Though we did go into one pub that looked just right. Apparently, everyone in Dublin felt the same way, as we could just barely wedge our way through the crowd. Alas finding a seat, let alone a table, was impossible. So, it was the burger joint for us.

The Embassy Grill was our restaurant of choice. It is directly across from the American Embassy in Dublin. We both had burgers. Renee had a regular one with “chips” and there were at least two potatoes worth of chips. I had a quarter pound bacon cheese burger with chips. The burgers were delicious Irish beef. Irish bacon is looks like our ham, but tastes like bacon, yummy! So, basically, I had a hamburger with ham and cheese, excellent.

Tomorrow’s plans (which may or may not happen, NONE of our plans are what you’d call firm, as we are determined to go as we please) include a possible trip to the National Crafts Fair, which is running through December 10th and a trip to the Temple Bar section of Dublin for some live music and who knows what else.

And so begins our Dublin adventure . . .

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