Chronicles of Éireann
This is a ridiculously long and detailed post of our time in Ireland. It's more for my benefit than anyone else's. I was starting to forget places and things to I tried to chronicle our trip to keep it straight in my brain.
Tuesday, 4/13 - Day 1: Arrived at airport to find there's no flight matching our itinerary and Jet Blue staff reportedly doesn't arrive until 2 hours after our flight boards. Cool. Called travel agent who was a pain in my ass and asked why I didn't call the airline. I told her I tried. After insisting that she do her job, I'm informed we're flying on United instead of Jet Blue and gives me the flight number (that wasn't on any information I had).
All that behind us, we left SD at 8am Monday, arrive in Dublin at 8am Tuesday. Aboard the rental car shuttle we met a family who purchased the same trip package as us. Although we ran into them repeatedly, we never learned their names so we'll just call them "the Joneses".
Picked up rental car, listened in on the detailed driving instructions the Joneses were getting then made our way through downtown Dublin during morning traffic. I think getting a few minutes of sleep on the plane would have been helpful prior to this. I think I managed quite well, even though I clipped a parked car with my mirror. No damage caused and I learned that some roads are too narrow for 2 vehicles so you wait for the other car to pass. Or they wait. It seems there's no rule for this. Just eye contact.
We checked into the OMFG super awesome amazing hotel. No, really. It was. Don't believe me? Click that link and see for yourself.
Ate lunch overlooking the gardens and heliport. Did I mention that the hotel was amazing? Even though it was all awesome, we could barely stay awake through lunch. All of us started falling asleep at the table so we let Zoe head up to the room while we waited for the bill. The first in many such waits. They don't rush you out of the restaurants there, that's for sure! They must think American waiters are very rude to bring the check so promptly. Once the bill was settled Chris and I went back to the room. Zoe was out like a light so we pulled the shades and PTFO. Several hours later we woke up hungry and ready to check out our new surroundings. Thanks to international data package on the iPhone and a quick Google search, we found a few restaurants and pubs nearby so we hit the road with our (not-so) trusty GPS to guide us.
GPS recalculated us through a forest. While the forest was gorgeous and I'm glad we experienced that, I'm amazed the roads we were on were even in the GPS. I guess cause they've been there forever? Eventually we made our way back to the paved roads of Glencullen and found our destination: Johnnie Fox's Pub, self-proclaimed oldest/highest pub in Ireland. Unfortunately for us, it was packed. So we went in search of a town called Stepaside. On the way, we found a brand-new market in a condo complex that hadn't opened yet. We stocked up on breakfast and snacks and asked for a nearby restaurant. Surprisingly they suggested the same place we were looking for and put back on the right path. Yay!
Finally found The Step Inn. We drove right by it minutes before we came to the market. At least it was much easier to see coming from the other direction. We ordered "steak on a stone" which was raw meat served with several types of seasoning. You cook it to your taste at the table on the uber heated stone. Pretty cool. Still a bit jetlagged so we were extra careful with the stone but feeling pretty good, we got home around 11pm and went to sleep.
Wednesday, 4/14 - Day 2: Trinity College and the Book of Kells. I made Zoe go see the Secret of Kells right before we left so she was super excited. That was pretty cool. If you haven't seen the movie, it's beautiful.
After visiting the college, we found a Lush store across the street from the college so we bought some bath bombs to take advantage of the super awesome tub at the Ritz. We had lunch/dinner at The Porterhouse, shopped a bit .. bought wedding bands! Hit a museum and then decided to head back to the hotel but we hit rush hour traffic. Note to self: just because we're on vacation, doesn't mean everyone else is. Pay attention to the time.
Thursday, 4/15 - Day 3: Ate lunch at a tiny neighborhood little pub around the corner from the Guinness Storehouse. Then visited the brewery itself. Imagine if Willy Wonka made beer. It was exactly like that! Even Zoe got a kick out of seeing the factory. And Chris and I got certified to pour a perfect pint. I tried to put a shamrock in the foam but it ended up looking like a heart instead. I'm sure I could do this with more practice ;)
Spent some time walking along the river Liffey. Chris bought a rainbow beanie from a street vendor in front of Pravda, a Russian bar that looked promising and the Ha'Penny Bridge. We made a note to return. When we reached the other side of the bridge, I forgot there were steps. And, while looking at the lovely scenery, I bit it. Hard! Spent the next hour or so recuperating in Temple Bar with a cheese plate and a pint.
Leaving the bar, we ran into the Joneses who were coming to listen to music and check out the famous "Temple Bar". What I didn't realize at the time is that Temple Bar is an area, not a place. Although the bar we stopped in did bear the same name. I imagine a lot of tourists do the same. The Joneses suggested checking out Glendalough for monastery ruins in County Wicklow.
Before heading home, we stopped at a SPAR (local 7/11 type market). After spending 70 euro on groceries, the guys in were rude when we asked for a second bag.They already ran our credit card and then demanded money for another bag when everything we bought wouldn't fit into one. Duh! It was a lot of stuff! And we didn't have any change at the time. If they had told us up front that they were only allowed to give out 1 bag per person, it would have been different. At least then we could have asked them to add it to our total. Jerks!
Friday, 4/16 - Day 4: You guessed it. Glendalough! So cool. And to think, we would have missed it completely if not for our friends with no name. Spent the afternoon tromping around. Met a really sweet vendor and I bought a cape similar to one that Nici has which I've coveted for like ever. And some copper bracelets for Zoe and myself. Then had lunch at a cute restaurant in Wicklow, The service wasn't fabulous but the weather was. It was nice just to sit and bask in the sun for a while. We really lucked out with the weather on the whole trip!
When we got back to the room, we watched a bit of the news. An ash cloud from the Eyjafjallajökull volcano in Iceland was grounding planes all over Europe. Luckily for us the cloud seemed to be going around Ireland, leaving us in the clear. We crossed our fingers that our luck would hold. Check out these super awesome pictures of the lightning storm that the volcanic ash caused. Very cool!
Saturday, 4/17 - Day 5: Happy birthday Chris! We woke up earlier than usual and headed north on the M-50 toward County Monaghan and Castle Leslie to visit my ancestors. Driving across country was pretty cool. Drove past Slane Castle in County Meath. Would have liked to spend more time here but we wanted to make sure to leave enough time for Belfast so we made a note to stop here on the way home if possible.
We arrived at Castle Leslie around lunch time however nothing in town was open. We did find a small tea house. Actually it was just someone's house and if you went into their parlor, they'd make you tea. Since there were already some folks occupying the parlor, we went out back to sit in the sun on the patio. Everything in the house had a sale tag on it. Odd way to live. They didn't take credit cards so luckily we had exactly enough cash to cover a piece of carrot cake for me, a blueberry muffin for Zoe a toasty for Chris (toasted ham & cheese sandwich) and pot of tea for all of us. Would have ordered scones but they were still in the oven. They did smell great when we were leaving though!
There was a wedding taking place at Castle Leslie so we couldn't go inside but at least we were able to walk the grounds a bit. It's so beautiful. The surrounding forest had a fairy-like quality. Spent more time than I originally intended but it was pretty cool. And the man at the tea house told me a story about a distant Leslie relative so that was cool too.
In Belfast we hit an ATM for British pounds. Walking around downtown we found a park full of scenesters. Zoe was very excited to find like-minded teens. She approached one boy and said "Hey, I like your hair." Then spent the next half hour distraught because they (the gazillion teens) didn't like her. Ah, teen angst.
We found a restaurant downtown for Chris' birthday dinner and Zoe begged us to go back to the park so she could attempt to communicate with the natives once more. I was inclined to say no due to the current level of drama but she swore that she could handle it so we complied. About 30 seconds after she dove into the pool of teens, she completely disappeared from sight. Then I caught a glimpse of her rainbow beanie on a skater boy. Oops. We lost her. As I waded into the crowd, looking for some sign of her, I started getting a really bad feeling and imagined what I was going to tell the local police when we explained how we let her disappear. After a few minutes of internal panic, I finally caught sight of her again. She had her beanie back on. Thank gods, or I doubt I would have found her. That's how well she fit in with this clique. This time she was on cloud nine. She loved Belfast and wanted to move here. A far cry from just an hour earlier.
We got home late and another viewing of the news revealed that Ireland was added to the list of countries impacted by the ash. They said there might be some delays in flights.
Sunday, 4/18 - Day 6: We went into town, had lunch at the Bull and Castle and then walked across the street to check out Dublinia, the viking museum attached to Christ's Church Cathedral, What we didn't take into account was that there was actually church in session so we couldn't go INSIDE the church on Sunday. That, and more than half the businesses were closed. It seemed the only thing open were the pubs. Luckily there are a LOT of them. It seems like there's at least one or two pubs on each street. At least the parking was free! We found a couple game stores for Chris to wander about in. And then we tried to get a glimpse of the Irish Sea (again fighting rush hour traffic) trying to drive northeast a bit. It was low tide and we were on one of the quays (pronounced keys) so we saw a whole lot of seaweed. lol
Couldn't find any restaurants in this area so we went back to Temple Bar and hit up Farrington's for dinner.
When we got back to the hotel, I called the travel agent and left a message to find out what would happen IF flights were canceled. I checked the Aerlingus website again before bed and it appeared all systems were still go even though the news was reporting cancellation of flights.
Monday, 4/19 - Day 7: Check out day. We woke up and checked the Aerlingus website again and now it showed all flights canceled. The hotel offered to let us stay at a reduced rate of 162 Euro per day. Too rich for our blood! And our hotel, while beautiful, was also way out in the boondocks. We wanted to be closer to the airport if we had the opportunity to catch another flight, it would have allowed us to act quickly. So we left the Ritz and moved into a Travelodge in Swords. What a culture shock! Depression set in quickly for all of us just walking into the room.
We decided to keep the rental car so we could still get about quickly if we needed to, and we wouldn't have to be stuck in the depressing cave.They only had 2 small towels and not even a bar of soap! The windows opened onto the parking lot with no security and we were right on top of a busy roundabout. We all wanted to go home and there were no answers from anyone. And still no word from the travel agent, even though I tried calling again and by now they were open in New York. We finally found a number for the local branch of the travel agency and she told us she had a special rate available in a four star hotel if we needed it. I told her that we were okay for a day but I might take her up on the offer if we got stuck any longer.
We decided to wander into Swords and get some dinner/lunch and stumbled across the Wright Bar & Cafe. Our waitress was really nice. It was the first time we were really engaged by locals and it was because we were stranded. lol. She suggested a drive out to Howth and a restaurant called The Bloody Stream. So glad we did. The town was very cool and we finally got to see the ocean!
We took a long walk out the jetty to a lighthouse and then walked back to the restaurant she suggested for dinner. Then, because none of us could face the hotel, we went to see Clash of the Titans which wasn't very good but it made us forget our troubles for a little while so it was just what we needed. And by the time the movie was out, it was midnight and we were ready to crash. Still no word from the NY travel agent even though I left messages. Grr.
Tuesday, 4/20 - Day 8: Woke up early. Tried calling the airport again. And the travel agent who suggested we just drive down to the airport because they WERE rescheduling people now. We asked her to book us a room at the the Burlington Hotel at their reduced rate of 70 euro per night because flights still weren't leaving. We returned the Ford Focus, which cost us 50 euro for the one day. Gack! And then took a shuttle to the airport. They told us the earliest flight available was the following Monday. Yikes. With no other choices available, we took it and then took a shuttle to the Burlington. While it wasn't necessarily a 4-star hotel as described, it was a helluva lot better than the Travelodge. Even though we got stuck with 3 twin beds. Our room was on the 5th floor which is very high for Dublin so we had a great view of the city.
We did a quick search of the area to find restaurants and markets nearby and looked for a laundry since all of our clean clothes were depleted. Since we didn't do much shopping up to this point, and Chris intentionally packed less clothes than he needed, his new goal was to find a new shirt per day, like at Captain America's on Grafton Street. We walked to a nearby pub, had dinner then wandered a bit and went back to the hotel fairly early. It was an emotionally exhausting day.
Wednesday, 4/21 - Day 9: Had lunch at George's. Our 2nd day here (first in the city) we tried to find this place because we saw a bunch of banners near Grafton Street. On this day we stumbled across it accidentally. It was a wine bar with a pretty fancy menu but the prices were decent. First non-Irish meal on the trip and I think we were all ready for it. After lunch Zoe wasn't feeling well so we put her in a cab and sent her back to the hotel while we went to the museum to check out the Chalice of Ardaugh. I love that all the national museums are free! Our new wedding bands were inspired by the chalice so I was glad we got to see it in person. Another good reason for being delayed.
Thursday, 4/22 - Day 10: Happy birthday Jamie. Sorry I missed it! We set out on foot and wandered all around the neighborhoods surrounding our hotel. We visited St. Stephen's Green. Tulips and daffodils were everywhere. In fact, daffodils were growing wild all over Ireland. Neat. We had an amazing pizza dinner at a restaurant near the hotel. Splurged a bit and had dessert and coffee.
Friday, 4/23 - Day 11: We researched bus tours and found a 3-day freedom pass which allowed us on/off privileges for both tour and city buses. Neat! Especially since we wanted to go back to Guinness Factory for a shirt Chris liked.
First stop on the tour was St. Patrick's Cathedral with gorgeous stained glass and vaulted ceilings. I love cathedral style windows and ceilings so I was in heaven. And I thought of Paige every time I saw a window on the trip. I took a whole slew of just stained glass pics: http://www.flickr.com/photos/josiefiend/tags/stainedglass/
Next stop was Guinness for Chris' shirt. Oddly they wouldn't let us into the shop without a major song and dance so only he was allowed in alone. It turned out he didn't care for the original shirt on a second viewing but he found another one he liked even better than the original. And he surprised me with a replacement bottle-opener pen that I lost on our last day at the Ritz. Aw. Isn't he thoughtful?
After Guinness, we were going to attempt the zoo but it was pretty late in the day. Instead, we stopped at the Kilmainham Gaol (pronounced kill-mainam jail).
Hopped back on the tour bus to the Ha'Penny Bridge and we finally hit up Pravda which was SO cool inside. I'd love to run a club there. It was huge and all the walls were covered with propaganda posters. We thought, because it was Russian theme, they'd have a good selection of vodka so I asked them to suggest something. The bartender told me they were all good except every one I asked about, he'd say "not that one" lol. Finally he suggested Żubrówka so we ordered a shot. Then he suggested mixing it with apple juice which was delicious but I asked for a martini and apparently they never make those because it was so full of vermouth, I could barely finish. We crossed the bridge (this time without falling) and caught a city bus back to the hotel after hitting a SPAR for more supplies. Oh, and this time we avoided the one with the jerks and we brought our own bag!
Saturday, 4/24 - Day 12: Day two of the tour, we planned to visit the Jameson factory and another National Museum with furniture, clothes and an exhibit on Michael Collins. However, once we got on the tour bus the conductor was so entertaining that we stayed for the entire route and ended up in the northern part of Dublin. An area where we hadn't spent much time so that was pretty cool. We finished up near Grafton Street so we went back to The Porterhouse, one of our earlier favorite pubs for dinner. And then took one of the buses the hotel porter told us would lead back to the hotel.
Sunday, 4/25 - Day 13: I've been terrified of buses since I got on the wrong bus leaving Parkway Plaza a teen so it was a big deal to navigate to and from locations. After exhausting the tour route we decided to take a chance and navigate ourselves to Bray, a small seaside town. We made it without incident. I even got to wade in the Irish Sea! Once we'd seen most of the town (it's very small), we decided to test my newly acquired bus navigation skills and hit a movie in Dun Laoghaire (pronounced done leery). We managed to make it to the theater and found seats just as the previews were beginning. How's that for timing? Okay, it was mostly luck. Especially since we got stuck waiting at the bus stop in Bray for about 30 minutes due to some shift change or other mix-up. But still, I was pretty proud. And this time the movie was much better! We saw Centurion which I don't even think has gotten a release in the U.S. so that was pretty cool. We experienced our first rain in Ireland. It sprinkled and we saw a rainbow, much to the elation of Zoe. We had dinner in Dun Laoghaire and then went home.
Monday, 4/26 - Day 14: Home! With a 5-hour layover in Chicago, originally I was thinking we'd try to leave the airport and get an authentic Chicago pizza somewhere but with all the rigmarole of going through customs and spending an extra week in Ireland (not to mention the funds) we decided we didn't want to deal with trying to transport ourselves to/from anywhere so we hung out in the airport playing Carcasonne.
On a closing note, I wish I had taken photos of all the pubs we stopped in. It would have looked something like this which I think it's pretty cool. http://timbarron.net/photographs/ireland-pubs_of_dublin.html
In hindsight, I wish we had booked B&Bs in random towns, allowing us to see more of the country and not have to turn for home every night. I would have liked to spend time in Galway Bay and visit the Giant's Causeway but those will have to wait for another time. At least I learned about about navigating in a foreign country with the added benefit of understanding the language. Can't wait for the next trip. As soon as we manage to pay off this one!
It's probably easiest just to skip the commentary and go straight to the photos.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/josiefiend/sets/72157623957580820/
Tuesday, 4/13 - Day 1: Arrived at airport to find there's no flight matching our itinerary and Jet Blue staff reportedly doesn't arrive until 2 hours after our flight boards. Cool. Called travel agent who was a pain in my ass and asked why I didn't call the airline. I told her I tried. After insisting that she do her job, I'm informed we're flying on United instead of Jet Blue and gives me the flight number (that wasn't on any information I had).
All that behind us, we left SD at 8am Monday, arrive in Dublin at 8am Tuesday. Aboard the rental car shuttle we met a family who purchased the same trip package as us. Although we ran into them repeatedly, we never learned their names so we'll just call them "the Joneses".
Picked up rental car, listened in on the detailed driving instructions the Joneses were getting then made our way through downtown Dublin during morning traffic. I think getting a few minutes of sleep on the plane would have been helpful prior to this. I think I managed quite well, even though I clipped a parked car with my mirror. No damage caused and I learned that some roads are too narrow for 2 vehicles so you wait for the other car to pass. Or they wait. It seems there's no rule for this. Just eye contact.
We checked into the OMFG super awesome amazing hotel. No, really. It was. Don't believe me? Click that link and see for yourself.
Ate lunch overlooking the gardens and heliport. Did I mention that the hotel was amazing? Even though it was all awesome, we could barely stay awake through lunch. All of us started falling asleep at the table so we let Zoe head up to the room while we waited for the bill. The first in many such waits. They don't rush you out of the restaurants there, that's for sure! They must think American waiters are very rude to bring the check so promptly. Once the bill was settled Chris and I went back to the room. Zoe was out like a light so we pulled the shades and PTFO. Several hours later we woke up hungry and ready to check out our new surroundings. Thanks to international data package on the iPhone and a quick Google search, we found a few restaurants and pubs nearby so we hit the road with our (not-so) trusty GPS to guide us.
GPS recalculated us through a forest. While the forest was gorgeous and I'm glad we experienced that, I'm amazed the roads we were on were even in the GPS. I guess cause they've been there forever? Eventually we made our way back to the paved roads of Glencullen and found our destination: Johnnie Fox's Pub, self-proclaimed oldest/highest pub in Ireland. Unfortunately for us, it was packed. So we went in search of a town called Stepaside. On the way, we found a brand-new market in a condo complex that hadn't opened yet. We stocked up on breakfast and snacks and asked for a nearby restaurant. Surprisingly they suggested the same place we were looking for and put back on the right path. Yay!
Finally found The Step Inn. We drove right by it minutes before we came to the market. At least it was much easier to see coming from the other direction. We ordered "steak on a stone" which was raw meat served with several types of seasoning. You cook it to your taste at the table on the uber heated stone. Pretty cool. Still a bit jetlagged so we were extra careful with the stone but feeling pretty good, we got home around 11pm and went to sleep.
Wednesday, 4/14 - Day 2: Trinity College and the Book of Kells. I made Zoe go see the Secret of Kells right before we left so she was super excited. That was pretty cool. If you haven't seen the movie, it's beautiful.
After visiting the college, we found a Lush store across the street from the college so we bought some bath bombs to take advantage of the super awesome tub at the Ritz. We had lunch/dinner at The Porterhouse, shopped a bit .. bought wedding bands! Hit a museum and then decided to head back to the hotel but we hit rush hour traffic. Note to self: just because we're on vacation, doesn't mean everyone else is. Pay attention to the time.
Thursday, 4/15 - Day 3: Ate lunch at a tiny neighborhood little pub around the corner from the Guinness Storehouse. Then visited the brewery itself. Imagine if Willy Wonka made beer. It was exactly like that! Even Zoe got a kick out of seeing the factory. And Chris and I got certified to pour a perfect pint. I tried to put a shamrock in the foam but it ended up looking like a heart instead. I'm sure I could do this with more practice ;)
Spent some time walking along the river Liffey. Chris bought a rainbow beanie from a street vendor in front of Pravda, a Russian bar that looked promising and the Ha'Penny Bridge. We made a note to return. When we reached the other side of the bridge, I forgot there were steps. And, while looking at the lovely scenery, I bit it. Hard! Spent the next hour or so recuperating in Temple Bar with a cheese plate and a pint.
Leaving the bar, we ran into the Joneses who were coming to listen to music and check out the famous "Temple Bar". What I didn't realize at the time is that Temple Bar is an area, not a place. Although the bar we stopped in did bear the same name. I imagine a lot of tourists do the same. The Joneses suggested checking out Glendalough for monastery ruins in County Wicklow.
Before heading home, we stopped at a SPAR (local 7/11 type market). After spending 70 euro on groceries, the guys in were rude when we asked for a second bag.They already ran our credit card and then demanded money for another bag when everything we bought wouldn't fit into one. Duh! It was a lot of stuff! And we didn't have any change at the time. If they had told us up front that they were only allowed to give out 1 bag per person, it would have been different. At least then we could have asked them to add it to our total. Jerks!
Friday, 4/16 - Day 4: You guessed it. Glendalough! So cool. And to think, we would have missed it completely if not for our friends with no name. Spent the afternoon tromping around. Met a really sweet vendor and I bought a cape similar to one that Nici has which I've coveted for like ever. And some copper bracelets for Zoe and myself. Then had lunch at a cute restaurant in Wicklow, The service wasn't fabulous but the weather was. It was nice just to sit and bask in the sun for a while. We really lucked out with the weather on the whole trip!
When we got back to the room, we watched a bit of the news. An ash cloud from the Eyjafjallajökull volcano in Iceland was grounding planes all over Europe. Luckily for us the cloud seemed to be going around Ireland, leaving us in the clear. We crossed our fingers that our luck would hold. Check out these super awesome pictures of the lightning storm that the volcanic ash caused. Very cool!
Saturday, 4/17 - Day 5: Happy birthday Chris! We woke up earlier than usual and headed north on the M-50 toward County Monaghan and Castle Leslie to visit my ancestors. Driving across country was pretty cool. Drove past Slane Castle in County Meath. Would have liked to spend more time here but we wanted to make sure to leave enough time for Belfast so we made a note to stop here on the way home if possible.
We arrived at Castle Leslie around lunch time however nothing in town was open. We did find a small tea house. Actually it was just someone's house and if you went into their parlor, they'd make you tea. Since there were already some folks occupying the parlor, we went out back to sit in the sun on the patio. Everything in the house had a sale tag on it. Odd way to live. They didn't take credit cards so luckily we had exactly enough cash to cover a piece of carrot cake for me, a blueberry muffin for Zoe a toasty for Chris (toasted ham & cheese sandwich) and pot of tea for all of us. Would have ordered scones but they were still in the oven. They did smell great when we were leaving though!
There was a wedding taking place at Castle Leslie so we couldn't go inside but at least we were able to walk the grounds a bit. It's so beautiful. The surrounding forest had a fairy-like quality. Spent more time than I originally intended but it was pretty cool. And the man at the tea house told me a story about a distant Leslie relative so that was cool too.
In Belfast we hit an ATM for British pounds. Walking around downtown we found a park full of scenesters. Zoe was very excited to find like-minded teens. She approached one boy and said "Hey, I like your hair." Then spent the next half hour distraught because they (the gazillion teens) didn't like her. Ah, teen angst.
We found a restaurant downtown for Chris' birthday dinner and Zoe begged us to go back to the park so she could attempt to communicate with the natives once more. I was inclined to say no due to the current level of drama but she swore that she could handle it so we complied. About 30 seconds after she dove into the pool of teens, she completely disappeared from sight. Then I caught a glimpse of her rainbow beanie on a skater boy. Oops. We lost her. As I waded into the crowd, looking for some sign of her, I started getting a really bad feeling and imagined what I was going to tell the local police when we explained how we let her disappear. After a few minutes of internal panic, I finally caught sight of her again. She had her beanie back on. Thank gods, or I doubt I would have found her. That's how well she fit in with this clique. This time she was on cloud nine. She loved Belfast and wanted to move here. A far cry from just an hour earlier.
We got home late and another viewing of the news revealed that Ireland was added to the list of countries impacted by the ash. They said there might be some delays in flights.
Sunday, 4/18 - Day 6: We went into town, had lunch at the Bull and Castle and then walked across the street to check out Dublinia, the viking museum attached to Christ's Church Cathedral, What we didn't take into account was that there was actually church in session so we couldn't go INSIDE the church on Sunday. That, and more than half the businesses were closed. It seemed the only thing open were the pubs. Luckily there are a LOT of them. It seems like there's at least one or two pubs on each street. At least the parking was free! We found a couple game stores for Chris to wander about in. And then we tried to get a glimpse of the Irish Sea (again fighting rush hour traffic) trying to drive northeast a bit. It was low tide and we were on one of the quays (pronounced keys) so we saw a whole lot of seaweed. lol
Couldn't find any restaurants in this area so we went back to Temple Bar and hit up Farrington's for dinner.
When we got back to the hotel, I called the travel agent and left a message to find out what would happen IF flights were canceled. I checked the Aerlingus website again before bed and it appeared all systems were still go even though the news was reporting cancellation of flights.
Monday, 4/19 - Day 7: Check out day. We woke up and checked the Aerlingus website again and now it showed all flights canceled. The hotel offered to let us stay at a reduced rate of 162 Euro per day. Too rich for our blood! And our hotel, while beautiful, was also way out in the boondocks. We wanted to be closer to the airport if we had the opportunity to catch another flight, it would have allowed us to act quickly. So we left the Ritz and moved into a Travelodge in Swords. What a culture shock! Depression set in quickly for all of us just walking into the room.
We decided to keep the rental car so we could still get about quickly if we needed to, and we wouldn't have to be stuck in the depressing cave.They only had 2 small towels and not even a bar of soap! The windows opened onto the parking lot with no security and we were right on top of a busy roundabout. We all wanted to go home and there were no answers from anyone. And still no word from the travel agent, even though I tried calling again and by now they were open in New York. We finally found a number for the local branch of the travel agency and she told us she had a special rate available in a four star hotel if we needed it. I told her that we were okay for a day but I might take her up on the offer if we got stuck any longer.
We decided to wander into Swords and get some dinner/lunch and stumbled across the Wright Bar & Cafe. Our waitress was really nice. It was the first time we were really engaged by locals and it was because we were stranded. lol. She suggested a drive out to Howth and a restaurant called The Bloody Stream. So glad we did. The town was very cool and we finally got to see the ocean!
We took a long walk out the jetty to a lighthouse and then walked back to the restaurant she suggested for dinner. Then, because none of us could face the hotel, we went to see Clash of the Titans which wasn't very good but it made us forget our troubles for a little while so it was just what we needed. And by the time the movie was out, it was midnight and we were ready to crash. Still no word from the NY travel agent even though I left messages. Grr.
Tuesday, 4/20 - Day 8: Woke up early. Tried calling the airport again. And the travel agent who suggested we just drive down to the airport because they WERE rescheduling people now. We asked her to book us a room at the the Burlington Hotel at their reduced rate of 70 euro per night because flights still weren't leaving. We returned the Ford Focus, which cost us 50 euro for the one day. Gack! And then took a shuttle to the airport. They told us the earliest flight available was the following Monday. Yikes. With no other choices available, we took it and then took a shuttle to the Burlington. While it wasn't necessarily a 4-star hotel as described, it was a helluva lot better than the Travelodge. Even though we got stuck with 3 twin beds. Our room was on the 5th floor which is very high for Dublin so we had a great view of the city.
We did a quick search of the area to find restaurants and markets nearby and looked for a laundry since all of our clean clothes were depleted. Since we didn't do much shopping up to this point, and Chris intentionally packed less clothes than he needed, his new goal was to find a new shirt per day, like at Captain America's on Grafton Street. We walked to a nearby pub, had dinner then wandered a bit and went back to the hotel fairly early. It was an emotionally exhausting day.
Wednesday, 4/21 - Day 9: Had lunch at George's. Our 2nd day here (first in the city) we tried to find this place because we saw a bunch of banners near Grafton Street. On this day we stumbled across it accidentally. It was a wine bar with a pretty fancy menu but the prices were decent. First non-Irish meal on the trip and I think we were all ready for it. After lunch Zoe wasn't feeling well so we put her in a cab and sent her back to the hotel while we went to the museum to check out the Chalice of Ardaugh. I love that all the national museums are free! Our new wedding bands were inspired by the chalice so I was glad we got to see it in person. Another good reason for being delayed.
Thursday, 4/22 - Day 10: Happy birthday Jamie. Sorry I missed it! We set out on foot and wandered all around the neighborhoods surrounding our hotel. We visited St. Stephen's Green. Tulips and daffodils were everywhere. In fact, daffodils were growing wild all over Ireland. Neat. We had an amazing pizza dinner at a restaurant near the hotel. Splurged a bit and had dessert and coffee.
Friday, 4/23 - Day 11: We researched bus tours and found a 3-day freedom pass which allowed us on/off privileges for both tour and city buses. Neat! Especially since we wanted to go back to Guinness Factory for a shirt Chris liked.
First stop on the tour was St. Patrick's Cathedral with gorgeous stained glass and vaulted ceilings. I love cathedral style windows and ceilings so I was in heaven. And I thought of Paige every time I saw a window on the trip. I took a whole slew of just stained glass pics: http://www.flickr.com/photos/josiefiend/tags/stainedglass/
Next stop was Guinness for Chris' shirt. Oddly they wouldn't let us into the shop without a major song and dance so only he was allowed in alone. It turned out he didn't care for the original shirt on a second viewing but he found another one he liked even better than the original. And he surprised me with a replacement bottle-opener pen that I lost on our last day at the Ritz. Aw. Isn't he thoughtful?
After Guinness, we were going to attempt the zoo but it was pretty late in the day. Instead, we stopped at the Kilmainham Gaol (pronounced kill-mainam jail).
Hopped back on the tour bus to the Ha'Penny Bridge and we finally hit up Pravda which was SO cool inside. I'd love to run a club there. It was huge and all the walls were covered with propaganda posters. We thought, because it was Russian theme, they'd have a good selection of vodka so I asked them to suggest something. The bartender told me they were all good except every one I asked about, he'd say "not that one" lol. Finally he suggested Żubrówka so we ordered a shot. Then he suggested mixing it with apple juice which was delicious but I asked for a martini and apparently they never make those because it was so full of vermouth, I could barely finish. We crossed the bridge (this time without falling) and caught a city bus back to the hotel after hitting a SPAR for more supplies. Oh, and this time we avoided the one with the jerks and we brought our own bag!
Saturday, 4/24 - Day 12: Day two of the tour, we planned to visit the Jameson factory and another National Museum with furniture, clothes and an exhibit on Michael Collins. However, once we got on the tour bus the conductor was so entertaining that we stayed for the entire route and ended up in the northern part of Dublin. An area where we hadn't spent much time so that was pretty cool. We finished up near Grafton Street so we went back to The Porterhouse, one of our earlier favorite pubs for dinner. And then took one of the buses the hotel porter told us would lead back to the hotel.
Sunday, 4/25 - Day 13: I've been terrified of buses since I got on the wrong bus leaving Parkway Plaza a teen so it was a big deal to navigate to and from locations. After exhausting the tour route we decided to take a chance and navigate ourselves to Bray, a small seaside town. We made it without incident. I even got to wade in the Irish Sea! Once we'd seen most of the town (it's very small), we decided to test my newly acquired bus navigation skills and hit a movie in Dun Laoghaire (pronounced done leery). We managed to make it to the theater and found seats just as the previews were beginning. How's that for timing? Okay, it was mostly luck. Especially since we got stuck waiting at the bus stop in Bray for about 30 minutes due to some shift change or other mix-up. But still, I was pretty proud. And this time the movie was much better! We saw Centurion which I don't even think has gotten a release in the U.S. so that was pretty cool. We experienced our first rain in Ireland. It sprinkled and we saw a rainbow, much to the elation of Zoe. We had dinner in Dun Laoghaire and then went home.
Monday, 4/26 - Day 14: Home! With a 5-hour layover in Chicago, originally I was thinking we'd try to leave the airport and get an authentic Chicago pizza somewhere but with all the rigmarole of going through customs and spending an extra week in Ireland (not to mention the funds) we decided we didn't want to deal with trying to transport ourselves to/from anywhere so we hung out in the airport playing Carcasonne.
On a closing note, I wish I had taken photos of all the pubs we stopped in. It would have looked something like this which I think it's pretty cool. http://timbarron.net/photographs/ireland-pubs_of_dublin.html
In hindsight, I wish we had booked B&Bs in random towns, allowing us to see more of the country and not have to turn for home every night. I would have liked to spend time in Galway Bay and visit the Giant's Causeway but those will have to wait for another time. At least I learned about about navigating in a foreign country with the added benefit of understanding the language. Can't wait for the next trip. As soon as we manage to pay off this one!
It's probably easiest just to skip the commentary and go straight to the photos.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/josiefiend/sets/72157623957580820/