Dublin For Bloomsday

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This was our first trip to Dublin, friendliest of cities! Two of us went in June 1999, flying with Ryanair from Bristol, we were there in 40 minutes - great view of Dublin Bay as we came in! We treated ourselves to a superb old hotel called Buswells, very central, great full Irish breakfasts and old world charm. They have their own website, www.quinnhotels.com/buswells.html , but it's worth checking a few others for special offers.
Bewley's Coffee House in Grafton Street is an Irish institution and a must see. Check out the stained glass windows. The cakes are fantastic too! Take the open-top bus tour, worth every penny to see all the sights. Another thing all the tourists do is have their picture taken with Molly Malone's statue, what a buxom girl she was!
When we were there it was the annual Bloomsday Celebration. This takes place on June 16th and is a celebration of James Joyce and his book Ulysses. Everyone dresses in old fashioned costumes and reenacts the events of Leopold Bloom's day in the book, covering most of Dublin. (It's really just an excuse for a pub crawl, as if the Irish need one!) See the lunchtime stop at Davy Byrne's pub above. It was good fun and everyone was so good natured even when drunk. Check out this website for more information www.jamesjoyce.ie and click on the Bloomsday tag. I just love the Irish and the nightlife and the "craic" in Dublin is the best. I defy anyone to not love Dublin. We knew we would be coming back.

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