After spending 10 days in the UK, it was time to say bye and continue our journey.
But not before we spent a little bit of time in Truro and Newquay.
We wandered around our accommodations, the Mannings Hotel, and took a bit more of the architecture and, of course, a pasty. After eating a Cornish pasty, a local delicacy, we walked the streets until we found the Truro Cathedral. We had hoped to go inside, but it was closed. Still, it is a beautiful building.
After being “cross-blocked” by the church, we headed toward the airport. I was told it was a tiny place, so there wouldn’t be any issues going through security. We ended up getting to the airport way too early. So, we drove to the town of Newquay and decided to find a post office where we could mail home some gifts we bought on our trip thus far.
It was either that, or buy another suitcase…and we were not going to do that.
After finagling the gifts into two boxes and taping them down, we realized how much space we had in our bags. Maybe space is not the right word. We reduced the weight of our suitcases by unloading the gifts. Thus, we made our bags near the weight limit. Or so we thought…I was over by a smidge. The employee checking bags was very kind and saw that I had at least made an effort to reduce the weight in my bag, and eventually let the bag go through.
But back to Newquay!
From the post office, we walked down to the beach. It was a gorgeous day, with quite a few people out and about. We saw numerous families and dogs taking full advantage of the weather. Neither of us had any desire to get sand anywhere in our shoes or on our person, so we opted to stay above and admire the view.
Somewhere across the water was our next destination, Ireland.
After killing enough time watching the waves and (mostly) dogs play in the water, it was time to head to the airport. We dropped off our rental, said “ta ta” to driving in Europe, and made our way to our plane. As I mentioned earlier, Newquay is a quaint airport. Yet, it ran like a well-oiled machine.
I did not study abroad in Europe like many of my classmates, so I was only privy to stories about Ryanair. It’s the budget airline for Europe. There are nickels and dimes to be made with every aspect of flying, and Ryanair has that down pat. Snacks? That’ll cost you. Drinks? You’re shelling out some more cash. Checking bags? Crack open that wallet. Toilets? Welp, that was a rumour, along with the idea of standing seats. But you get the idea.
It was an “arduous” 53-minute flight from Newquay Airport to Dublin. But we made it.
We said “ta ta” to driving in Europe back in Newquay because we knew that we would be taking the bus, Uber, bikes, scooters, rail, etc, once we landed in Dublin. We could not have been more pleased with our decision as we made our way to our accommodation. Coming from the generally quiet and serene corner of Cornwall, Dublin was an assault to the senses.
There was a lot of honking, erratic driving, and swathes of people driving to and from the city centre. We both looked at each other and confessed that we were equally glad not to be driving in all of this mess. We also didn’t have any plans to venture out beyond the city, so a car was pointless.
After arriving at our hotel, we wanted to venture out and see some of the Dublin nightlife. We had no plans to do anything, so my partner found a pub and off we went. Walking the streets, we saw the sheer volume of people commuting or just walking the city. We snaked around Trinity College, ambled through town, and carefully minded our wet steps on some of the cobblestone streets. This brought us to The Landmark.
Located in the pleasant Wexford Street community, The Landmark serves as a local and international destination. We were looking for a quintessential Irish spot to have a pint of Guinness. I know, I know, that is such a banal way of thinking and very cliché, but we had to do it. We had been avoiding Guinness the entire time in the UK because we wanted to have one from the source. We were not disappointed.
Yes, I am wearing a Welsh shirt in an Irish pub. Deal. With. It.
The food was exactly what we were looking for, hearty and flavourful. Pair that with a Guinness and a Kilkenny, and you have the makings of a great night. And it was! Walking the streets on our way back to our hotel showed us another side of the city. One that was a bit quieter and less busy, but you could see the remnants of the earlier chaos.
All this to say, it was an ideal way to spend our first night in the capital city. We walked, ate, drank, and walked some more. Up next, more walking! And rain, a lot of rain.
John Kidde Writes 