Day 1

Left Boston aboard Aer Lingus at 9:00 pm arrived Dublin at 7:45 am on the 2nd of September. Flight was great with free movies, music and wifi. The food offered was either chicken curry or beef cottage pie. I don't eat on flights so I'll defer to Colleen on quality of food.

The only issue was the gentleman's seat in front of my wife was broken and he was just a tad obnoxious with it, ramming it back and forth trying to make a point with no apologies to my wife. The stewardess finally told him he had to stop it. Luckily they gave him a new seat for landing. 

Took about an hour to get our passports stamped then grabbed our checked bag and hiked over to terminal one to retrieve our freedom passes. Tried to get on the airline shuttle and my pass didn't work. Back into the terminal and was issued a new one that worked. Onto the bus we went. Dropped off at the o'connell bridge then onto the #4 bus to our hotel. Dropped off our bags then stopped for a fantastic cup of coffee at Food Game. Colleen enjoyed a scone with her coffee americana.

We then wandered aimlessly around Dublin. We both were pretty beat so we just walked with no purpose and ended up grabbing a bite to eat at Voila. Colleen had the smoked chicken & bacon while I had the chorizo & goat cheese w/ spinach, carmalized onions... Both were very tasty sandwiches. Then back to our hotel for a quick nap.

On our arrival the weather was overcast but not unpleasant. By the time we headed out for dinner it was absolutely beautiful. Sunny skies and very pleasant. We didn't want a long night out so we opted for dinner at the Chop House and we are both glad we did. The food was incredible. She had a glass of Pinot Grigio while I enjoyed a local beer. We split a caprese salad as our starter. They also brought out a plate of fresh bread and butter. For dinner we both chose the 35 day dry aged ribeye steak w/ chips. The steaks came with caramelized onions, grilled tomato, flat cap mushroom and garlic butter on the side. The star of the show was without a doubt the steak. Cooked to a perfect medium, melt in your mouth and quite flavorful. The staff were great. Without a doubt we would eat here again.

After dinner we stopped for a pint at Jack Ryan's. The weather was so beautiful we just had to sit outside to enjoy the beautiful evening but were the only ones. I enjoyed a nice pint and a half while Colleen enjoyed a half of a pint.

Came back to our hotel, checked in with the kids then lights out as we wanted to rest up for our big day in Dublin tomorrow.  

***we turned the tv on and hell's kitchen with Gordon Ramsey was on and all of the sudden I hear him dropping f-bombs all over the place... we're not in Kansas anymore toto. *** 

2 coffee and 1 scone = 7.50 euro

2 sandwiches at Voila = 18.50 euro

Dinner at Chop House = 79.10 euro

2 pints at Jack Ryan's = 8.50 euros

Freedom Pass (2) = 60 Euros

Roxford Lodge (2 nights) - 442.95 Euros

-- Edited by gsmith on Thursday 18th of September 2014 09:17:14 AM