I arrived in Dublin on Saturday afternoon and took a taxi to the hotel. After a brief rest in my room, I headed for a walk along O’Connell Street, one of the main streets in Dublin and only one block from the hotel. I looked at the monuments and did a bit of shopping, but I had less than two hours before the kickoff meeting for my travel group so I didn’t go to any of the major attractions. I picked up some information in the tourist information office so that I can figure out what I want to do in Dublin when we return at the end of the tour.

After checking in with the tour manager, there was a short mingling session in the hotel bar before dinner. We went for a walk to the Temple Bar area after dinner. Our tour guide pointed out the noteworthy buildings and monuments along the way and gave us brief history lessons about each of these. Most people stayed out at one of the pubs in Temple Bar, a trendy area full of pubs, restaurants, and cafés, but I headed back to the hotel with a couple of Australians as I was extremely jet lagged and wanted to get some sleep.