Ireland Adventures: Day 2

We arrived at our hotel, the Riu Gresham in Dublin, and since our room was not ready, chilled for a little bit with family in their room before venturing out further. Right out of our hotel, we walked past the Spire. We saw lots of statutes. We visited Stephen's Green Shopping Centre and started our souvenir buying. Then we walked through the Temple Bar district. We also visited Trinity College.

We got into our hotel room mid-afternoon, but did not sleep. Our plan was to stay awake until we could head for an early bed. We hoped that would help us adjust to the time change and maximize our time in Ireland.

I was impressed with our hotel room when we entered it. It was airy, spacious, and clean. Unlike in the US, rooms have tea service instead of coffee pots. (They provide instant coffee for use with the electric kettle, if desired. The floors were bare, but not really tile or carpet, some type of spongier in between. The bed had only two sleeping pillows and two decorative pillows. They only gave us one washcloth.

I did appreciate the sustainability efforts made by the hotel. Room service came only if requested. A sheets change required putting a note on the bed. There were no single size toiletries, rather refillable bottles on the wall. Each floor had a water filling machine, for both bottles and the carafes provided for the room. All in all the hotel setting was very nice!

We ventured back out, and first up on my bucket list, we walked to Ha'Penny Bridge. We ventured out to the Garden of Remembrance (commemorating those who died for Irish freedom) and saw Abbey Presbyterian Church before heading for dinner. 

My father in law chose Murphy's Bar and Grill for dinner. It had a darker, kind of moody vibe, but the food was delicious! I ordered seafood chowder with brown bread. My husband got a truffle Parmesan burger. As my mother-in-law pointed out, most food comes with potatoes.

I noticed right away that Ireland gives small glasses for water. There is really no waiting on the tables, either. We had to ask for more water, and when we did, they just brought us a flask to refill on our own (which I was fine with). My father-in-law wanted gelato for dessert. I was not feeling the cold, and asked if I could get a doughnut for later. The family agreed, but first, we had to go to Dunne's Food Store. There were perused the local goods and picked up a few more items. Then it was off to The Rolling Doughnut and back to the hotel to eat and sleep! 

I got the Kinder deluxe doughnut. It was not amazing, but not bad, either. I did notice that desserts in Ireland are less sweet than in the US. Hallelujah for that, as I like my treats that way. And that was the end of Day 2.