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Nicole's
Travelogues and Budget Travel Tips..
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DUBLIN, IRELAND
I flew from London Gatwick to Dublin on Ryanair for £21. Once at the airport, I asked which bus to take to get me to Avalon House (55 Aungier Street). I bought a bus ticket in the little snack shop next to baggage claim for €1.60 euros and walked out to bus stop #3. After about 25 minutes, I saw that we were on Dame street and knew that Aungier was coming up soon. About 5 minutes later I saw Avalon House so I got off and walked across the street to the hostel. Great cheat door to door service (taxi would have cost €25)!
I checked in and got a single room with shared bath for €30.00 (Yikes! These aren't cheap African hostels!). My room wasn't ready yet, so they took my backpack behind the desk and
I stayed around O'Connell Street for an hour, then hopped back on the next bus. We passed the Writer's Museum, then I hopped off at Trinity College. I shopped around Grafton Street and the Stephen's Street Mall. At about 6pm I returned to Avalon House. I met up with a couple from Canada and a guy from Wales and we went to Temple Bar area for dinner and, of course, BEER!
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I headed to the Dublin Tourism Center - just 10 minutes away. At the center, I bought some Guinness beanies and playing cards and then made a reservation for a tour to New Grange and Hill of Tara on Friday. I also bought a ticket on those double-decker city sightseeing busses (it was a ridiculous €14 but, heck, I was on vacation so I said what the hell). The next bus was coming in 20 minutes so I went upstairs and got a coffee to warm up before the COLD ride. The tourism center is very helpful! You get a number and then when it's your turn, a staff person can help you with making reservations, booking tours, finding pubs, etc. 
I hopped on the CityTour bus right outside of the Dublin Tourism Center. If you stay on the bus for the whole tour - it takes 1 hour 15 minutes. But most people hop on and off as your ticket is valid for 24 hours and there are 21 stops throughout the city. I was one of 3 people on the top, as it was freeeeezing but I stayed to get good pictures. We passed the Dublin Castle, Christ Church Cathedral, St. Patrick's Cathedral, Guinness Storehouse, Museum of Modern Art. Humm nope, don't want to get off yet. Then we passed the Dublin Zoo, the Irish 'Whitehouse', the National Museum, and the Old Jamison Distillery. I hopped off at the O'Connell Bridge so I could walk around O'Connell Street. There were great statues in the center divide of Daniel O'Connell, Parnell, and Jim Larkin. One of the widest streets in Europe, O'Connell is the shopping hub of Dublin (though I preferred the shops around Grafton Street). 
