Day 3 of MasterTrip Driving Tour

On Day 3, the driving part of this driving tour started. It wasn't as easy as it sounds. First, the Hertz car rental is a cab ride away from downtown Dublin, and the line to rent a car is ridiculously long. But its the driving on the left side of the street that's the really scary part. Fortunately, my husband is a genius not only at driving on the wrong side of the street/highway/superhighway (I dare not say freeway), but he is also a genius at finding our way around the country using a Michelin map. While a GPS compass was offered to us at Hertz (for a price), which I for one would have readily accepted, he preferred the puzzle-solving challenge of following a map. And the Michelin map of Ireland was a pretty good one to follow.

We decided to take in the northern Boyne Valley sites of Trim, Tara, and Newgrange on Day 3, and since they aren't too far from Dublin, we were able to stay again at the Shelbourne. Trim is a large old castle that was the site of Mel Gibson's Braveheart, and made for some good photography. Onto the nearby Hill of Tara, an ancient Celtic site of man-made rounded hills which was the royal seat till the 11th century. Then on to the main event of the day, the prehistoric tombs of Newgrange. Arriving there at around 5pm, we were informed that if you don't get there by 9am, you may not get in, so we returned to Dublin, planning to get an early start and arrive by 9am the next day.

Day 2 of MasterTrip Ireland Driving Tour

On the second day, we decided to see what we could of the Dublin sights by foot. Turns out almost everything. We started out on Grafton Street, a brick-lined pedestrian walkway described by Fodor's to be the most humming street in Ireland. We stopped for breakfast at Bewley's Cafe, a stunning two story edifice with stained glass windows and a little theater upstairs with lunchtime shows. We continued down the promenade past trendy boutiques to the Bank of Ireland, which is situated in a beautiful 18th century building and which was formerly the home of the Irish Parliament. Then across the street to Trinity College, where the elite of Irish intelligensia receive a free education. The tour takes you through the Old Library, which houses the Book of Kells, one of the great masterpieces of the Anglo-Saxon world and one of the great masterpieces of early Christian art. The main library room, or the Long Room is described by Fodor's to be one of Dublin's most staggering sights. Housing 200,000 books, its barrel-vault ceiling makes it look like a scene from Harry Potter.

Next installment: Discovering ancient civilizations in Ireland

Master Trip Ireland Driving Tour - Day 1

We arrived at the Dublin Airport on an August morning on a Night Owl flight from Chicago. After standing in a few long lines at the airport, we had to decide how to get into the city. There are several options, including taxi (too expensive) and various bus/tour options that allow for Hop On/Hop Off tours of Dublin for either one or three days. We opted for a straight bus ride into the city as we were too tired to think much about anything but getting into a nice comfortable bed, besides we wanted to see how much of the city we could see by just walking around. This turned out to be a good move. We arrived at the Shelbourne Hotel, touted by Fodor's to be "the best address in Dublin," across the street from St. Stephen's Green. The Shelbourne is fantastically beautiful, the rooms are totally quiet, even during the day (!) and indeed the location was a perfect place to start our tour of Dublin. While waiting for our room, we took in St. Stephen's Green, which is an idyllic park across the street, and introduced us to the flowers, foliage, cleanliness, and ambiance of Dublin. Later that night we walked to the Temple Bar area for dinner. We fell in love with Dublin during that walk. The streets and promenades are full of sidewalk musicians and happy looking people out strolling and looking for some dining or nightlife. The Temple Bar area, even on a weeknight was a vibrant hub of activity, and its restaurants are beautiful and plentiful. Tomorrow - Trinity College and more of Dublin!