For our first night in Dublin, I booked us into the Riu Plaza The Gresham Dublin. One of the main reasons I chose this hotel was its location - right in front of one of the stops for the AirCoach bus service. The AirCoach bus service leaves from both Terminal 1 and Terminal 2 at the Dublin Airport and drops off all throughout Dublin city centre as well as servicing Derry, Belfast and other locations. It is an affordable and comfortable way to get to and from the airport if you haven't arranged transfers through your travel package.
This hotel itself was absolutely wonderful. Our room was modern, clean, and surprisingly quiet for being right in the city centre and the staff were incredibly helpful. After a quick shower and some much-needed sleep, we headed downstairs and enjoyed a full Irish breakfast that was included with our stay. We have all heard about Irish breakfasts and I can confirm...you truly eat like a king!
Once are bellies were full and plenty of caffeine in our systems, we wandered back down the street to Penney's for some essentials. My gosh do I love Penney's and am I grateful for this heavenly store! For those that haven't heard of Penney's, its a clothing department store, its affordable, and they have pretty much everything we needed! Penney's came in clutch and I so wish we had one in Canada! Since we were joining our CIE Tour group that afternoon and heading out of Dublin the next day, we needed a few days worth of clothes and, most importantly, rain gear. Storm Amy was on the horizon and we had no idea what it would bring. (Spoiler: Storm Amy was 2 hurricanes that converged over the Atlantic before making their way toward Ireland, Scotland and the England. More on that later...)
With our shopping done, we returned to the hotel and called the airline once more. Our bags were still in Calgary - yippee - but the good news was that they would be on a direct flight to Dublin the next day. It was such a relief to have some answers and we were hopeful we would see our luggage by the weekend!
Next, we checked out of the Riu Plaza and made our way across the River Liffey to our next home for the evening: the Radisson Blu Royal Dublin. This was the first hotel we would be staying in with our CIE Tour group and it most definitely didn't disappoint. CIE Tours really knows how to treat their guests as they only use 4-Star or higher hotels, so you're guaranteed a wonderful stay at these properties. Our room was spacious and beautiful, featuring a full shower, separate bath tub, a king size bed (a real perk in Europe!), and a sweet touch - cupcakes and welcome letter from the hotel managers welcoming us travel agents.Once settled in, we met our group in the lobby and boarded our coach for the start of our escorted tour. For the next hour, we toured Dublin with our city tour guide learning about historical landmarks, statues, heritage homes and countless other fascinating tidbits about the city's rich and complicated history. our tour guide could tell us. Our first major stop? The Guinness Storehouse.
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| Front gates of Guinness |
Another fabulous perk about touring with CIE Tour is that all the tickets to major attractions are already pre-purchased. No waiting in the long queues or unexpected expenses! We hopped off the bus, entered through a side door and were guided straight upstairs to start our Guinness experience!
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| 9000-year lease Arthur Guinness signed |
The Guinness Storehouse is seriously cool. Spanning 7 levels, it takes you from the 9000-year-long lease the Arthur Guinness signed, to the brewing process, their creative advertising over the years - all the way up to the rooftop bar, where you enjoy a complimentary pint with 360 degree views of Dublin. That first pint of Guinness was the perfect way to kick off of our tour!
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| Roof top views and that first pint! |
Afterward, we returned to our hotel for a welcome reception where we started to get to know each other a little bit better. Most of us enjoyed a drink before heading off to supper and an early night as jet lag and time change were catching up to everyone.
The next morning, we enjoyed another full Irish breakfast at the hotel before boarding our bus. Our adventure continued west across Ireland to Galway -- straight into the path of "Storm Amy"!
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