This is part 2 of my post on Dublin (covering the second half of my trip) – first part here: https://forumhopping.wordpress.com/2023/04/13/dublin-part-1/
Day 3 (Dublin Zoo; Christ Church Cathedral; Book of Kells)
The iconic Old Library in Trinity College Dublin (home to the Book of Kells). It was supremely picturesque but also a bit crowded, so was not as serene an experience as I would hope a library visit to be.
I have a tendency to end up visiting the zoo of cities that I holiday in (like in Copenhagen and in Edinburgh) – so, I ended up in Dublin Zoo. It was a bit further away from the city centre. There are some train / tram options and bus options, each taking around half an hour to reach the zoo from central Dublin. We opted for an Uber to get there, which was a drama / traffic-free trip. The zoo was nice – well laid out and spacious such that it didn’t feel crowded, although I imagine it would get busier during school holidays, and we had some good weather.
Not quite as good as Edinburgh’s giant pandas (and stunning hill top views) but Dublin Zoo was not bad at all – for a family-friendly or slightly alternative trip-to-edge-of-central-Dublin (versus a trip to the Guinness Storehouse, which I did not make it to), I would recommend!
We then headed back into central Dublin, and stopped by Chez Max for some French food. It was a cosy spot for a late brasserie lunch. Although I did wish I got something bigger than my goat cheese salad, it was still tasty and suitably quick without feeling hurried. We also did a short audio-guided trip of the Christ Church Cathedral – it was a rather good tour, which had a focus on different themed vignettes. The themes were: “Power and Politics”, “Christ Church and the City” and “Music and Spirituality” – and you could pick some or all of those themes for each of the tour locations.
We walked around the grounds of Trinity College Dublin. I think to better appreciate the history and to get more of a grounded sense of what it’s like to be on campus, I would opt for a guided tour if I visited again.
Now, on to the main event, probably Dublin’s most famous tourist attraction – the Book of Kells (hosted in the Old Library). The Book of Kells is a beautifully illustrated and illuminated version of four of the gospels of the New Testament, and was created somewhere in a monastery in Great Britain and/or Ireland. The illustrations are intricate and grand, all within the confines of a relatively small page surface area.
I have to admit I was a bit underwhelmed by the experience. I think it was because it was so crowded (book tickets in advance, especially in summer when it is hard to get a slot by just turning up), you don’t get to be up close to any of the explanatory displays – which you see in an antechamber before getting into the main part of the Old Library or the Book itself. The Old Library, with the wooden shelves and arched wooden ceiling, was stunning – but again (although less crowded than the beginning part of the Book of Kells experience) I felt somewhat harried and rushed. We got in and out in 15-20 minutes, which perhaps didn’t allow us to fully experience the wonder of the Book of Kells and the Old Library. But equally, hard to stay that long where there are people all rushing around you to take photos (I myself did rush around to take a few photos too).
I went to the Three Twenty Ice Cream Lab (which was a minute away from our hotel) for a scoop of caramel brownie ice cream. My absolute favourite ice cream of the trip, and there were a bunch of flavours I wanted to try out but didn’t. After a late afternoon break / nap, we went to Trocadero Restaurant for dinner – my lamb shank was tasty, and we had a decadent selection of sides (spinach, and broccoli with feta). With some nice couches, photographs (although of people I didn’t quite recognise?) and some art nouveau decor, it was a great location for a lazy, long dinner.
Day 4 (Bray)
Bird, Bray and some slices of blue sky beneath the clouds.
On our penultimate day in Dublin, we took the ‘Dart’ train out to one of Dublin’s coastal towns, Bray. It was a short, convenient journey – only around 45 minutes one way out of one of Dublin’s central stations (there are a few you can choose from). Once we got to Bray, we were deposited out the station pretty much right by the seaside.
We stopped first for fuel (metaphorical) at Platform Pizza. It was a nice, buzzy place (although a bit dark inside) and I enjoyed the pulled pork and pineapple pizza (there was a spicy, zingy kick to the pineapple that I enjoyed as well).
We then did a brief walk around parts of the Bray Head Walk and the Bray Head to Greystones Cliff Walk – do look up the advice for the walking paths before embarking on any adventure though, as sometimes the weather or erosion caused by recent weather can affect these paths. We could also glimpse (but did not reach) the Bray Head Cross. I rewarded myself with an ice cream (a lemon sorbet – not the best, but equally felt very seaside-y to get a slightly mediocre ice cream from a stall) after the walk, and we took the Dart back.
I took the opportunity during the afternoon to walk around Dublin, which was astonishingly beautiful, with dramatic blue sky (see the below). I was out a few hours and walked across a lot of ground I’d already covered (including Temple Bar) and some more areas on the banks of the River Liffey – I honestly can’t remember where, but I immensely enjoyed rambling in the rare sunshine.
Dinner was at a cosy Italian spot called Di Luca. I enjoyed my steak, but was sad that I was too full to try out the tiramisu, and then had an early night.
Pigeons and people enjoy the mid-summer warmth outside the St Patrick’s Cathedral.
Day 5
Not much to say – breakfast, one doughnut (from The Rolling Donut) – and then London-bound on an early afternoon flight from Dublin Airport!
FORUM HOPPING 