Curious soul and lone traveller Ela immensely enjoyed her time in Dublin just over a month ago, aside from one small issue: her rucksack was still there, passport inside! She somehow re-entered the UK without it, so she booked another Ryanair flight for the end of May. She then bumped into a friend of hers who works for Ryanair and asked him whether she’d be able to fly back to Ireland without her passport, to which he said, “Only with Aer Lingus can you fly with alternative forms of photo ID”. Oh sugar – it’s a good job she asked him.
So, that was my reality. I looked up Aer Lingus (rip-off), and decided to instead get my host to post my passport so I could go and retrieve the whole bag. Once I’d received it, I finally booked a flight. I chose to go just for the day so I wouldn’t too much back home. I even made a fun little “I <3 Irish men” T-shirt for a day of light flirt-based field research… but since I’m now happily spoken for, it didn’t make it out of the bag. (If anyone wants it, let me know).
Instead, I had a loose plan to see anything I missed the first time. I didn’t have lots of time, but still enjoyed myself – here’s how it went…
My mum hates dropping me off at the airport – she gets easily stressed when driving in unfamiliar places – so I instead paid £28 for a taxi, nearly the same price as my return flight! Once through security, I camped by my gate to avoid repeating my previous mistake of missing the flight. I read a decent chunk of the book I was in the middle of: The Courage to be Disliked. You’ve likely heard of it as it’s recently been doing the rounds online and in bookshops, for good reason; it helped shift my perspective on life and what it means to be happy. I’m planning a post soon where I review every book I’ve read this year, so stay tuned for my thoughts.
When I arrived in Dublin, the most important task of the trip awaited: retrieving my rucksack. My host kindly met me at the coach depot, saving me a trek to Clondalkin. He profusely apologised for the misunderstanding, but I reassured him it was fine because it gave me an excuse to come back. He recommended I take the LUAS into town, which I did – it’s fast and you can pay with card. I messaged the friend I’d met last time, but she was off on a road trip around Ireland, so I was back in my lone-traveller era.
Because I didn’t go inside last time, I thought that I ought to explore Christ Church Cathedral. The student ticket was around €10. It was smaller than St. Patrick’s (which I visited on my previous trip), but a feast for the eyes nonetheless. A self-guided audio tour fed me intriguing facts, like the fact that the Handel’s Messiah first performance was in Christ Church! The thing that stuck with me most, was a mummified cat and rat that were found in the organ pipes in the 1850s. Creepy.
Next, I was hungry and needed a coffee. I was looking for a non-chain café with food options, and I stumbled across a Tex-Mex kitchen a short walk away from the cathedral. I ordered an Americano and veggie quesadillas. I drink flat whites most of the time, but my method of gauging whether a coffee is good, is whether I can drink it black without sugar. This one was a bit bitter for my liking if I’m honest, but I still appreciated the jolt of energy. The food, however, was excellent and gave me the energy to keep going.
Across the road was a museum called Dublinia that had caught my eye both times I’d been. I’d never heard of it before, but it was right there, so I gave it a whirl. Slightly annoying: I could have bought a combined ticket for both the cathedral and the museum had I gone there first, but I wasn’t to know. The museum focused on Dublin’s Viking and Medieval past, and I unexpectedly found it fascinating – especially the final section on spirituality in Medieval Dublin. There were crystals, tarot cards, and reflections on metaphysical objects and their remaining influence today. Right up my alley.
With just a few hours left, I made the decision that I wanted a ring to remember Dublin by. I recently switched from silver to gold as it suits my complexion better, but it does strain the bank account more! After searching a few shops, I found a lovely gold-plated ring in a gift shop. It’s a bit too big and now slides up and down my thumb, but oh well – the memories transcend the fit.
It was now time for my coach back to the airport. I hadn’t walked that much as I’d mostly stayed in one area, but between waking up early and carrying my heavy rucksack, I was ready for home. I quickly made it through security which left me with plenty of time to browse the shops and read more of my book before boarding my flight back to Manchester.
I was home and in bed by about 11pm. Despite only having a few hours to explore one of my new favourite cities, I’m glad I was able to go back and see even more of what I didn’t experience on my previous visit. I also realised it’s totally doable as a day trip, so I’m hoping it won’t be the last time. I mentioned this to my mum and her friend, and they immediately said they wanted to go too, so perhaps I’ll be returning as the designated tour guide for a couple of 50-somethings!
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