This phrase stems from the Irish greeting of “céad míle fáilte” and we would see these words in action more often than we would hear them in Gaelic or spoken with their lovely accent in English. There are only some 30,000 Gaelic speakers left in Ireland as the language was almost wiped out under British rule for over 700 years. The only place outside of Europe with an Irish name is Newfoundland, aka Talamh an Éisc (the Land of the Fish), and as the language makes a comeback, Tamworth, Ontario is the first Gaeltacht (Irish-speaking area) outside of Ireland.

One website would have me believe that the Irish are kind because of the Brehon Laws created in the 7th century, definitely before tourism, but not before the age of houseguests where hospitality was required. The laws seemed more concerned about the details of kinship status, marriage obligations, reparations for crimes based on wound size; and the king’s schedule of drinking ale, judging crimes, playing fidchell (two-person board game), watching hounds hunt and horses race, and creating an heir. It seems the laws weren’t always just a peasant’s concern.

Oddly enough, this isn’t what I was thinking about while being stretched out on the floor in front of our plane seats; we had an empty one between us, but as knees age they prefer to be less bent and pressed upon. Also of note, at 35,000 feet the air outside is at -65ºF which turns the inside floor of the plane to a cold 64ºF (no thermometer was used), so after I stick plane food in my bag (for dinner) I recline in my seat to return to a disturbed but warmer slumber with two blankets and three flimsy and foldable neck pillows between the window and unmovable armrest.

I’m groggy from sleep when the overcooked egg patty on a cheap burger bun almost passes me by. I don’t remember the first choice, but I held up two fingers to indicate I wanted the second option. Luckily, this interaction woke Caleb enough to translate his wife’s language into something the stewardess could understand. Minutes later we were on the ground in our 23rd country (of which nine we have done solo, so they vary). We are greeted with windowed buildings, grey clouds, and green surrounds. All the signs are in Gaelic and English and the glass has drops of recent rain.

We are shuttled to the rental car location and there are two desks – one for paperwork (which we did in the airport) and the other for picking up keys (after a short wait while they finish cleaning the car) and listening to Louis Armstrong singing “What a Wonderful World”. We are in a Toyota Yaris Hybrid automatic so I return inside to check on fuel preference (unleaded and diesel in most places, but I saw signs with more options) and the clerk updates the key tag with a QR code. For those wondering, I thought we were going in the off-season, but it’s the shoulder season between too hot and too cold, and there were enough people for us.

The seasons have an effect on cost, but we are very budget-friendly regardless of the weather or region and will sometimes make accommodations (uncomfortable to some) to keep us traveling; though to save money on this trip we could’ve flown in January and gotten our flights for half price. As it stands, we paid $8.04 per flight mile and traveled at 228mph, averaging in layover and ground time between Tampa and Dublin and back. The rental car was $37.50 per day and insurance can easily double or triple that price. We’ll spend $125 in unleaded fuel and could’ve saved a couple of bucks on the ferry by booking online or $12 by being on foot.

I get into the driver’s seat and we prepare to leave the airport – check mirrors, check phones, and realize mine still hasn’t found a signal (a first, and something I need to address with the cell company). Good thing Caleb’s phone is more agreeable and we’re off into downtown traffic on a Tuesday afternoon. On four hours of sleep, on the left side of the road, I managed to pass some of the attractions I had planned and realized I should know better by now. Don’t rent a car in a large city, ie., New York, London, Istanbul, etc., because the parking will be sparse and the fees and tolls constant.

We couldn’t check into our hostel until 3 pm where parking was guaranteed for the night for €12 so we managed to find a spot on Conyngham Rd. where we could walk around Phoenix Park not realizing how close we were to Kilmainham Gaol, Guinness Storehouse, and St. Patrick’s Cathedral (an hour and a half walking loop) amongst the many other attractions that weren’t on either of my lists. It felt good to be out of the car as Caleb had pointed out that I had been driving in the bus and bike lanes but they do overlap, especially for left turns, so it wasn’t because I couldn’t stay in my lane.

Once out of traffic, I could better observe the green everywhere and the blue and white of the sky that only islands can capture. I notice the knitwork decorations on the sidewalk bollards (originally used to moor boats and now used to slow cars from mowing down pedestrians on the pavement) and the cross-stitched cows walking in a fence. I welcome all pleasant art into public spaces, and if I could afford it, into my home as well. We move from the River Liffey to the Royal Canal to see the king’s disposal of his rubber ducky collection along with a few local drink options from the men who use the lock as an afternoon bar and the water to carry away the evidence.

We park a block away after driving past our hostel and walk back. I’m given two pieces of paper – one with our room and bed numbers on it and the other with a parking spot and gate code on it for the car. We walk up to the Chapel Experience and I’m impressed, not with the metal military bunks, but with the repurposing of a church so that my first night in Ireland is under stained glass windows attached to a Georgian house built circa 1820s and with a history of residents involved in the Dublin lock-out of 1913 between 20,000 employees and their 300 employers. This dispute led to the acceptance of a right to unionize but left many blacklisted workers in the trenches of WWI and forced some commercial businesses into bankruptcy.

We grab the car and I park along the wall inside the gate with no numbered spot or markings to guide me. We leave our bags in the car and head north in search of a meal. We walk into Murray’s Bar and the hostess seats us next to another couple. I admire the soaps, lotions, and oils caged in the wall and the pictures and bottles displayed en route to the toilet. I appreciate the many levels of these buildings (the hostel and bar) as there is more privacy built into a large room than just having an open space for voices to carry. Having not known what we wanted immediately we are dismissed and seemingly forgotten about so we help ourselves to the bar where there are a few helpful men.

As we sat at the bar, Sam the bartender exchanged our lunch menus for the dinner menu that starts at 4 pm. On the back is a short history of this house, no. 35, which first acquired a license in 1797 as a Shellfish Tavern. In the 1840s, the license was transferred to the Findlater Group, a spirit merchant. In 1904, a fruiterer and florist was one of many merchants working from this address. Lambe would be the one mentioned in Ulysses, the greatest literary work of James Joyce, regarded as Ireland’s most prominent writer. Murray’s witnessed the upheaval of the 1916 Easter Rising, the 1919-21 Irish War of Independence, and the 1922-23 Irish Civil War.

Now, over 200 years later, this bar and grill still offers Guinness, first poured in 1759, and a variety of whiskeys, like Jameson available from 1780; and serves up roast chicken, beef pie, lamb stew, and fish and chips. We order a whiskey flight – Jameson Black Barrel (sweet and popular), Powers Three Swallow Release (tastes like tires), Green Spot (bitter, and the spots come in different colors), and Knappogue Castle 12-Year-Old (burns the nostrils). Caleb orders a Guinness, a stout that requires two pours to serve, and not to feel left out I order a snakebite – half Guinness and half Rockshore Cider. The younger guys aren’t used to this drink order but still give the older man a hard time while he gets my glass just right by letting the Guinness settle and then topping the cider with it.

Our first food order will be Murray’s chunky chips (thick-cut fries) which can soak up more vinegar and be covered with plenty of salt and a truffle pig pizza, from their outside kitchen, made with crushed Italian tomatoes (canned since 1913), Italian smoked pancetta (first cured in 500BC), wild mushrooms (first used in 2500BC), Italian Fior di Latte (meaning flower of milk) cheese (dating back to the 12th century), and Italian white truffle oil (introduced in the 1980s as a more affordable alternative to fresh truffles). The word pizza was first documented in 997 AD and eaten mostly in Italy until WWII. I order a side of brown (homemade Guinness and treacle) bread to complete the carbohydrate trio.

We go for a walk after dinner, something that’s easy and inviting to do on a wide European sidewalk, and happen upon the Spire of Dublin (aka the Monument of Light, An Túr Solais). This stainless steel, pin-like monument began its installation in 2002 to replace Nelson’s Pillar which was destroyed by a bomb in 1966. The Anna Livia monument was placed in 1988 for the Millenium celebrations until it was moved to Croppies’ Acre Memorial Park in 2001 to make room for the stiletto in the ghetto or the stiffy by the Liffey as some of the locals call it. The base is lit at night, and almost 12,000 LEDs shine through the top.

Back at the hostel, we are grabbing our things from the car, while a man out for a smoke kindly tells me that it would be better if I backed against the wall so others could park (even if the other three cars were closer to the stairs). We take up two beds in a twelve-bed room with two roommates – one of which seems to be one of the 33 guests with a personal kitchen bin downstairs, some marked long-term. Caleb stretches out on the bottom bunk and had the privacy wall been more sturdy we could’ve shared the twin mattress but I gladly climbed up the few steps for more headroom and space to spread out too.