Ireland: Dublin

The next day (our first in Dublin) we spent all morning trying to get a hold of Authentic Ireland and find out about our driver/guide around Dublin. At 11 am we finally got them and after we told them that I had an e-mail from Kirsty stating: "You will have your driver for your time in Dublin City and then the tour will continue as scheduled two days later" they got us a driver who would come at noon and take us around the city until 4 pm that day and would be with us bright and early the next day. They also refunded us the one day - since half of it was already gone.

Our driver, Ezio, came at noon and took us around the city. We went to the Book of Kells and had to wait in a long line and then for a small, side elevator (or as I called it an "elevalift" since the Irish call them a lift.) We drove around the city and saw lots of the sights and learned lots of information. Ezio was a good driver/guide and we learned and saw a lot in just half a day.

That night we had tickets to go to the Merry Ploughboy Pub to have a Traditional Irish Music night of dancing and music. I e-mailed the place personally (not Authentic Ireland) and gave all my details - the credit card and told them about the wheelchair. We were supposed to meet our bus at 6:55 pm in front of our hotel. My parents and me waited and then we saw the bus drive right past us and not stop even though we flagged him down. There was another, elderly couple who were waiting for the same bus and when it didn't stop the woman called the Pub and told them what happened. They wanted us to take a taxi, but didn't want to pay for 5 people and so sent the bus back to get us. The bus stopped 2 streets away and we had to walk to it.

We were late getting to the Pub (they had already started dinner) and when I told the guy our name he said we were only down for a party of 2 and not for 3. I took out my e-mail where it states we are a party of 3 and he put us at the bag of a long table next to some Italians who were very loud and annoying. Then I had to ask people for drinks, menus, etc as no one seemed to want to serve us. While everyone else was finished with their meal before the show started we were still eating throughout the whole thing.

We couldn't really enjoy any of it because of the bus being late and the frustration that caused and the fact they were trying to rush our meal. Then we decided to leave about 10 minutes early so we could make sure to catch the bus back (the Pub was 35 minutes from our hotel.) When we were leaving a waiter came up with a bill. I thought it was just for the drinks and when I saw it was for the whole thing I asked for the manager as their website states the credit card you give at the time of booking will be charged before the show. I explained that to the guy (the same one who didn't know we were a party of 3) and all he kept saying was that he "appreciated all that we had gone through." That really got me mad. He was basically telling me he was glad we had so many problems. In the end he gave us a small discount and I told him I would make sure he wasn't charging the card twice and that I would be writing Tourism Ireland for their deceptive practices. The driver was so large he couldn't move the steering wheel around and so the trip back to the hotel was long and difficult. I would not recommend going to the Merry Ploughboy Pub as they aren't organized and don't care about your experience even though they say they have been in business for 20 + years.

The next day we met up with Ezio again and he took us to some small towns south of Dublin. Again, Ezio was really interesting and full of good facts and showed us a nice time.