Pre-planning for the Emerald Isle

We are heading to Dublin at the end of August with the primary reason to see our Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets play Boston College in the Aviva Arena.  We've decided to tack on a few side excursions and explore Dublin and the surrounding area as well.

Dublin is ranked #4 as the most popular city in Europe (behind London, Paris and Rome respectively - according to The Huffington Post.  And it is the second cheapest to fly to. There are tons and tons of pubs to grab a pint of that famous Guinness, but there are also many many historic landmarks making it a major tourist mecca.  It doesn't hurt that the Irish are lovely people and authentically friendly to people traveling to their cities.

telegraph.co.uk

Here's the basic itinerary:

SUNDAY - leave for Dublin in the early evening

MONDAY morning - arrive in Dublin and check into our hotel in the Temple Bar area

Explore Dublin and have a fabulous early dinner before crashing 

TUESDAY - take a private tour over to the Galway and the Cliffs of Moher

WEDNESDAY/THURSDAY - travel to Kinsale for 2 days of golf and shopping with friends

FRIDAY - return to Dublin for a full day of fun with GT friends

SATURDAY - tailgate party from 9-11

Football game begins at 12:30pm

SUNDAY - fly home

I got some great ideas from another blogger at Tripping Blonde - she wrote about things to do in a weekend, and since we're there a relatively brief visit, I took some of her advice.

Some "must-do" things in Dublin that we hope to accomplish are:

*Sample some Guinness in an Irish pub (it really DOES taste better in Ireland!)

*Go to the Old Jameson Distillery and have a real Irish coffee

*Learn about Irish Whisky at (where else?) the Irish Whiskey Museum

*Enjoy lots of traditional Irish food

*Stroll across the Hapenny Bridge and check out the Temple Bar area

*See the famous statues in Dublin and tour a castle in the heart of the city

*And...go to the Georgia Tech football game on Saturday 9/3/16 here:

Aviva Stadium:

e-architect

We are SOOOO ready for football season and tailgating:

catebogue

SLAINTE!!!

IRISH BLESSING:

"May you be poor in misfortune,

Rich in blessings,

Slow to make enemies,

quick to make friends,

But rich or poor, quick or slow,

May you know nothing but happiness

From this day forward."

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