Bruce Trip Report
 

Thanks to all you who helped when planning our trip to Ireland, which included Bruce Springsteen at RDS in Dublin. Just a short trip report- anyone who wants more details, let me know!

We stayed at Buswell's Hotel in Dublin. It's a great location, next to St. Stephen's Green, Trinity College, and Grafton Street. Service is great, but the hotel rooms seemed a little rundown. Also, bed linens were very rough and scratchy.

The Springsteen Concert was definitely a highlight. My daughters and their husband and boyfriend were in the standing area and my husband and I were in the seated area. The first half of the concert was a little quiet- compared to the Bruce concerts I've been to in the States, but things heated up about half way thru. I sat next to a 25 year old young man from a rural county north of Dublin. I had a little trouble understanding him, but he knew every word to every song and was really enthusiastic. In fact, he had also been to the concert the night before. (not unusual- ran into many people who were going to multiple nights- even met a girl who had flown in from Finland for 2 concerts!) Everyone sat rather quietly thru the first half of the concert. During the second half, people were standing up singing and dancing, and an usher ran over and told us all to sit down and be quiet (at a Springsteen concert? What was he thinking!) But we all sat and the usher was haranguing one young lady quite rudely. The young lad next to me sprung up, turned around and motioned to the crowd and everyone leaped to their feet, singing, and dancing. I think Bruce would have approved. My daughters had a great time on the floor, too- Bono was seated near them! Bruce brought down the house by closing the concert with American Land, a song about immigration- he had 40,000 screaming Irish on their feet when he sang about the Germans, the Irish, and the Jews. The concert was at the Royal Dublin Society, at the outdoor grandstand. Nice venue, but beer lines and toilet lines were horrendous (think there's a correlation?)

Slept in the next day, and took the train to Dalkey late in the morning. Went to the castle, which has a really amusing program featuring an archer, a cook, and a barber/surgeon. (No one was ready for lunch after listening to the the barber/surgeon. A hint, if you go there, don't show him your teeth). Dalkey is a seaside town, and we enjoyed walking around, and having lunch at the hotel/restaurant next to the castle. There was a wedding across the street, and everyone came in for a drink while the wedding party was taking pictures. We had a good time critiquing the wedding attire. Most of the women wore hats, ala the Queen Mum.

Had a great dinner at Lord Edward's, near Christchurch. They have a really excellent fixe price menu, and service was very good.

Drove from Dublin to Galway on Sunday, with a stop at Clonmacnoise. It's the remains of a monasterey and Brian Boru was schooled there. Pieces of a castle are perched atop a hill next to the site, looking a lot like Leggos. It's a beautiful site, and a great break in the drive from Dublin to Galway.

Stayed at Jury's Inn in Galway. Great location, and hotel was fine. Had dinner at McSwiggins', and it was the best salmon I've ever had. Went to the Crane for traditional music, which they have every Sunday night. The music was good, but the highlight was when an older gentleman seated at the bar sang a song acapella.

Monday was a shopping day for the girls, while the guys took off for a hike in Connemara. Everyone was happy. Let me know if you want to know where to buy a claddagh ring in Dublin; I was in every jewely store on Quay Street at least twice.

Drove to Westport and up to Croagh Patrick on Tuesday. This is the site from which St. Patrick cast out the snakes and devils from Ireland (how much trouble would it have been to include spiders?). It's a beautiful area, but a rather difficult hike. Some of us rented hiking sticks at the bottom, which was a big help. We got a late start, about 2:00, which was a mistake. The trail is quite rocky, as in loose rock, and it's difficult at times to keep your footing. Both the girls turned back (one bad back, one headache), but the guys and I forged on. We made it over 2/3 of the way up, past the saddle, and it was getting late and the sky looked threatening. My son-in-law (ran track in college) took off by himself to make the push to the top- the last bit is a very, very steep grade, while my husband and daughter's boyfriend and I started heading down. Down was difficult too- we saw several people fall. Lesson of the day was to get an early start. The views are beautiful and it's rigorous, but worth it. Anyway, we all got off the mountain, went to Westport, walked around and had dinner in a pub.

On Wednesday we went to the Cliffs of Mohr and we were lucky to have a spectacular, blue sky day. They have a new visitor's center and some new shops. A little more touristy, yes, but also more accessible. Next stop was Bunratty. We stayed at the Bunratty Castle Hotel, which was quite nice. Did a quick tour of the Folk Park and then went to the Medieval Banquet. I really debated whether or not to do this- was afraid it was too corny and touristy- but we all thought it was a lot of fun. The musicians and singers are quite good, and the MC/Jester was a hoot. He was quite campy, a bit Monty Python-esque, and struck just the right note. The mead was interesting, and the food was good.

Last day to tour- we went from Bunratty to the Rock of Cashel on Thursday. Coming around the corner and looking up and seeing the Rock was amazing. We parked in the village, had lunch, and walked up the hill to the castle. The tour guide was quite informative and the site was very interesting.

Left Bunratty, headed for Dublin and the Bewley's Hotel at the airport. All rooms are 99 euros, and they have a shuttle to the airport.

Whew. No wonder I'm tired!

Sounds like a great trip. The only concern I would have about a driving trip in Ireland is the actual driving. I've heard so many stories about how difficult it can be.

I don't drive, my husband does, and he does well. The first time we went, it scared the daylights out of me. This time it was much better. The only really scary part is parking the car in the darn parking garages! Jury's was awful.

PS- We also don't pick up the rental car til we're leaving Dublin.

My 23 year old daughter will be stopping in Dublin for 4 days on our way to Italy...free hotel for the stay in dublin all nights. Seeing that our lodging is free in Dublin, what should we venture to see over the 4 days. Should we rent a car? We have a limited budget.

I wouldn't rent a car. Driving is a pain in the neck and parking difficult and expensive. And part of the fun of Dublin is walking the city. I would do the Hop On/Hop Off bus tour- you can access all the major sites from there. We've been to Dublin a couple times with our twenty something daughters. Their favorites are Kilmainham Jail, Guinness Factory, St. Stephen's Green, shopping on Grafton St, moseying around Temple Bar, Trinity U and Book of Kells and the other HOHO stops. It helps to know a little about Irish history- especially the Easter Rising at the General Post Office (another stop) and the imprisonmnent and martyrdom (basically) at Kilmainham of the participants of the Easter Rising.

PS- with four days in Dublin,you might want to take the train to Dalkey one day. It's a neat little seaside village with a nicely restored castle. the castle has a program with an archer, a cook, and a barber/surgeon that is quite entertaining.