Hey Guys!
So, about 2 months ago I returned from a fabulous 10 day trip to Ireland with my 2 sisters and step mom! We had a wonderful time and I would definitely recommend you add Ireland to your bucket list!
Me and one of my sisters flew from Nashville to Boston where we met up with our youngest sister and step mom and from there we all flew to Dublin together.
After my sister and I arrived to Boston, we had a 7.5 hr layover because JetBlue decided to cancel our originally booked flight, which only gave us a 3 hr layover, and put us on an earlier flight that gave us a 7.5 hr layover! …and with no compensation I may add! 😡
So, we decided to take a taxi and head to downtown Boston and have lunch instead of sitting at the airport.
After landing, we headed outside and got a taxi and were quickly on our way. We told the taxi driver to take us to Faneuil Hall Marketplace.
We had been to Boston before so that’s how we knew about this place….the Marketplace is awesome! It’s a bustling complex of novelty carts, distinctive shops, national chain stores, performers, food stands and restaurants.
It was built in 1742 as a gift to the city by Peter Faneuil, Boston’s wealthiest merchant.
Read the history of the market here and read reviews here
After a short taxi ride (about 10-15 mins), we arrived to the Marketplace.
We got out and started walking around the area for a bit…
We spotted a violinist right outside the door of the marketplace…you will usually see lots of performers hanging out around this area.
We then entered the Marketplace building….inside there are tons of eateries & little shops….it is so cool…and crowded!!!
We walked from one end of the building to the other trying to decide what to eat….so many choices!!
When we got to the end, we decided to exit the building and walk through an adjacent building next to the marketplace..
As we were walking, we spotted the famous restaurant, Cheers! So, we decided we would eat there instead of the marketplace.
The restaurant has a replica of the the bar as it appeared on the set of Cheers. There is also a café, patio and a lower bar.
There are several items that are on view in the restaurant that came from the show. They have Sam’s Red Sox jacket, Cliffie’s mailman suit, Lilith’s Eco-podi uniform, and a variety of other items that fans will enjoy seeing.
After looking over the menu, we both decided on the lobster rolls!
SOOOO good!!! 
Can you spot the Cheers sign above my head? 🙂
After lunch, we headed back into the marketplace to purchase some cupcakes from Magnolia Bakery!
In 1996, the bakery opened its first location on a street corner in the heart of New York City’s West Village. From its inception, Magnolia Bakery has been cherished for its classic American baked goods, vintage decor and warm, inviting atmosphere. They now have 13 locations.
We ordered a double stuffed cupcake to share….it was pretty good…I’ve had better.
After purchasing our cupcake, we headed outside to walk around for a while.
We followed part of the Freedom Trail which is a 2.5-mile-long path through downtown Boston, that passes by 16 locations significant to the history of the United States. Marked largely with brick, it winds between Boston Common to the Bunker Hill Monument in Charlestown.
There is so much history in this area…I highly recommend a visit here!
I loved all the old buildings!!
After a short walk, we came up on the the Old North Church..
Founded in 1723, the Old North Church is the oldest standing church in the City of Boston, made famous by Paul Revere’s midnight ride and,“One if by land, two if by sea.”
For $8 you can tour the church ….purchase tickets here.
We didn’t have time to tour the church, so we just snapped a few pictures and continued our walk.
We then came to the Copps Hill Burial Ground...
The cemetery was founded on February 20, 1659, when the town bought land on Copp’s Hill from John Baker and Daniel Turell to start the “North Burying Ground”. It is the second oldest cemetery in Boston (second only to the King’s Chapel Burying Ground founded in 1630).
The cemetery contains more than 1200 marked graves, including the remains of various notable Bostonians from the colonial era into the 1850s.
The site was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1974.
After walking around for a couple of hours, we took an Uber back to the airport where we later met up with my sister and step mom.
Later that evening, we all boarded our flight on Aer Lingus, and headed to Dublin!
We were seated on opposites sides of the plane but we all had the first row seats behind first class so we had plenty of leg room…which was nice to have on a 6 hr flight!
They served us meals and snacks and offered a variety of movies we could watch on the way..
Arriving to Dublin!! So Green!
Known as the Emerald Isle, Ireland is so green because it receives a lot of precipitation. The average annual rainfall in Ireland runs to 30 inches and some areas see rain as many as 225 days a year!
After deboarding the plane and gathering our luggage, our first stop was coffee!!!
We found a small coffee shop in the airport….the coffee was really good!
Once we exited the airport, we found a taxi to take us to the Carlton hotel to pick up our rental car.
Click here for the closest hotels to the airport
I’ll end my first day here and pick up with my next blog post!
Read Day 2 here, Day 3 here and my full 10 day itinerary here
Thanks for reading!