Travel

By the time my and Abby’s trip to Dublin was nearing its last two days, we had accomplished so much! From our engaging Paddywagon tours to the Cliffs of Moher and Belfast, to our exploration of the city of Dublin and all of the incredible spots it has to offer, we truly covered a lot of ground—and we were exhausted to show for it.

So, what were we planning for our last 48 hours? Long naps and takeout? Had you asked us at the time, we would have found that suggestion tempting, but don’t worry…we were determined to keep up the momentum despite our sore feet, and we had a few more spots in Dublin to check off our list.

Planning our penultimate day

To kick off our sixth day in Dublin, we decided to get out of the city and take the DART (Dublin Area Rapid Transit) train out to Howth, which is about thirty minutes east from the middle of the city and boasts a beautiful coastal atmosphere overlooking the Irish Sea. We were enticed by the promise of gorgeous cliff walks, which are broken up into different paths depending on what difficulty and length you’re up for. All of them, though, “make for a great hike, the paths weaving up and along the cliffs for epic views of the bay,” according to this guide by Visit Dublin.

Before we got on our train, though, we decided to stop for a quick coffee and bite to eat to energize us for the journey. We chose to pop into a Coffeeangel location, a chain we discovered and had been wanting to try. We were both super glad we did: between our yummy lattes, my pain au chocolat, and Abby’s overnight oat cup, we were super content with our choice and felt ready to make the trek.

We made it over to Tara Street Station, located a few blocks north of Trinity College, to buy our train tickets and make our way up the stairs to the platform. The train was not too busy, so it was easy to find a comfy spot to sit with plenty of space to put our bags down and large windows to relish the views as we emerged from the city. Although there were about 10 stops on the way to Howth, it still only took about half an hour to make it to our destination. There was also an adorable dog, who could have been a Scooby Doo doppelganger, laying on the ground sweetly with the people seated in front of us…which was a HUGE plus.

As noted by the Fingal County Council, the once-small fishing village of Howth has developed into quite the destination, complete with a fishing port, a rich historical and maritime background, and a depth and variety of environmental scenery to explore. The council notes how “Howth Head was immortalised in James Joyce’s ‘Ulysses’, and it’s not difficult to see why – prose, poetry and song are worthy tributes to the coastal beauty of the area.”

Walking our way through a very windy Howth

Once we arrived at the train station in Howth, it was a short walk into town alongside a bustling group of other passengers. We made our way to a large map at the center of the village that was engulfed by people, suspecting that it would help us get our bearings and figure out which path we should take. Our suspicions were correct, but as we set out toward the coast to check out the views, as well as the local shops and restaurants, we were distracted by quite frankly the strongest wind we’d encountered on the entire trip. We jokingly pretended that it was prohibiting us from moving forward, but it was so strong that it genuinely did feel like we were up against quite the force of nature.

As we walked, we passed the Howth Port and Howth Shipyard, walking along the West Pier toward a fishing spot and overlook that had breathtaking views of the sea and Howth Lighthouse. After taking a few pictures and holding our own against the wind a bit longer, we decided to work our way around to the East Pier, taking note of a few places to eat and marveling at the fresh sea air (and cute dogs out on their walks) as we did so.

The wind situation wasn’t much better on the East Pier, and to be honest, we did let that deter us from extending our adventure further. The views from this side were indeed gorgeous, with a rocky beach visible below and the coastline stretching out from the right. However, the second we saw a seagull aggressively flapping its wings, stuck floating in place because of the harsh gusts and making little progress, we figured it was nature’s way of telling us to get lunch.

We settled on Mercato in Howth Market—which was uncharacteristically quiet since it was a Thursday—and got ourselves some delectable sandwiches. I opted for chicken and pesto (a combo I favored during our trip), while Abby got prosciutto and pesto. Nicely toasted and full of flavor, the sandwiches gave us some nice sustenance after enduring the windburnt conditions of the already chilly day. We were both incredibly thankful to have brought our coats, and even more relieved when we were on the same page about heading out of Howth to regroup at the hotel.

After a short nap (an allocated time period both customary and necessary for this trip), we took advantage of the lull in our day to do some souvenir shopping on Grafton Street. From here, we walked along the River Liffey to the Brazen Head, the oldest pub in Dublin, which was established in 1198! The outdoor and indoor spaces were both quite busy, but we managed to grab a seat at the bar since it was still relatively early in the evening. Both ordering ginger ales and Caesar salads, and splitting an order of fries (of course), Abby and I enjoyed both the refreshing meal and the experience of sitting in such a pivotal piece of Dublin history. From here, it was time to head back to the hotel for recharging and an early night’s sleep!

Checking off some final spots on our to-do list

While we had been in Dublin for almost a week, by our last day, we still managed to note a few things in the city that we hadn’t checked out yet. For starters, we had to get a morning pastry and coffee at Mister Magpie.

Located right by St. Stephen’s Green, this spot had actually been in the backdrop of our travels since our very first day; that fated Sunday when, too early in the morning, we thought we could emerge for a cup of local coffee and find somewhere to accommodate that urge, we had stared at Mister Magpie’s shuttered storefront with a bit of sadness. Now, that Friday, we could finally try it out!

Abby and I both went with iced lattes, mine vanilla and hers caramel. For pastries, I was tempted by the last remaining almond croissant, while Abby got a cinnamon morning bun. We took a seat outside and chatted over our light breakfast as we prepared our route for the day. At this point it started to lightly rain, and we remarked at how lucky we had been with the weather for the entire trip. It was a good day for it to be overcast, we thought, because of the day’s indoor-centric itinerary.

That being said, we ironically kicked off our sightseeing with the Iveagh Gardens, which are tucked into a stretch of land south of St. Stephen’s Green. According to their website, the Iveagh Gardens have been dubbed “Dublin’s ‘Secret Garden,’” a nod to the location’s unassuming presence in the center of the city. Their website also states that the garden was initially designed by Ninian Niven in 1865, being used as the host site for the 1865 Dublin Exhibition Palace, and the gardens’ features include a rosarium, yew maze, cascade, and fountains.

Unfortunately, when we walked through, the cascade (waterfall installation) wasn’t active, and they were doing some work in other sections of the garden, so we definitely didn’t get the full experience. However, it was still quite refreshing to stroll through a quiet slice of nature, and the walk gave us a nice sense of solace as we encountered the compelling details and statues sprinkled throughout the space.

Perusing through museums & wrapping up our final night

From here, we decided to work our way up past St. Stephen’s Green and head over to the National Gallery of Ireland. Here, we saw some truly breathtaking artwork, with my favorite being Claude Monet’s 1874 Argenteuil Basin with a Single Sailboat painting, while Abby loved Stanley Royle’s 1921 The Goose Girl painting. 

Once we had worked our way through all the exhibits and checked out the gift shop, we then crossed the street, entering Merrion Square Park. The main feature we were eager to see was the Oscar Wilde Statue, which is located directly across from the Oscar Wilde House (which appeared to be under some sort of renovation at the time). Unveiled in 1997 by Wilde’s grandson, the Oscar Wilde Monument was designed and made by Danny Osborne and depicts a life-sized Wilde lying on a large rock, alongside bronze figures of Constance and Dionysus.

Danny Osborne explains the intricate details of the monument on his website: 

He is depicted here, aged about forty, at the height of his career, dressed in his famous smoking jacket, which is carved in solid jade. There is a belief that jade can give a person the power to live forever, something which Oscar has certainly achieved so far through his work and life.

If you look at Oscar’s head you will see that the left side of the face is happy while the right side is sad. His nature was deeply divided, and it was his tragedy that he could always see both sides of the paradox – the truth behind the mask. His face here is both life-like and mask-like, both tragic and comedic.

After observing and reading about this impactful tribute to Wilde’s life and work, we briefly stopped into the National Museum of Ireland. Admittedly, we were quite tired at this point, made weary by the constant movement of the past week, so we quickly decided to pivot and return to our hotel for some rest.

Once we reemerged, we walked through the St. Stephen’s Green Shopping Centre, a large mall with some really cool architectural features and all the shops you’d expect. It was an awkward time—not early enough for lunch and not late enough for dinner—and neither of us were particularly hungry. So, in typical sweet treat-lover fashion we opted for donuts from The Rolling Donut and took a seat on a bench on the perimeter of St. Stephen’s Green.

After some people watching (and squirrel watching…), we wanted an easy but Irish dinner, so the Hairy Lemon it was. A vibrant yellow pub located in close proximity to our hotel, the atmosphere there was comfortable, and my ginger ale and fish and chips meal were a super tasty pair. Abby went with a yummy veggie burger and a cider. This final dinner in Dublin gave us the willpower to head back to our hotel, pack our suitcases, and turn in for a super early night as we anticipated our 3am wake-up time!