Saturday, May 30, 2009
Dublin Pic
Day 5: Dublin
We kept it simple today. We started by checking out the Four Courts (the high court in Ireland), then back to the busy pedestrian Grafton Street for some coffee and relaxing, on to the Oscar Wilde memorial (which is a weird statue), and through Trinity College again (where we saw a cricket game).
We found the FA Cup championship on TV by accident, so we grabbed a couple pints and watched Chelsea beat Everton 2-1. Then on to the 'real deal,' we went to see an Ireland Football game. After a 45 minute train ride we arrived at a small 4000 person stadium. Although we we had some idea this was going to happen (based on the hotel staff reaction to our request for directions), turns out we were at the soccer equivalent of a minor league baseball game. It was still fun to see. We didn't show up until halftime, and and some nice stadium worker sold us tickets at a discount and brought us up to a club room for free tea and cookies. Overall, it was worth the trip.
Except for the flight out, this ends our Ireland experience.
We found the FA Cup championship on TV by accident, so we grabbed a couple pints and watched Chelsea beat Everton 2-1. Then on to the 'real deal,' we went to see an Ireland Football game. After a 45 minute train ride we arrived at a small 4000 person stadium. Although we we had some idea this was going to happen (based on the hotel staff reaction to our request for directions), turns out we were at the soccer equivalent of a minor league baseball game. It was still fun to see. We didn't show up until halftime, and and some nice stadium worker sold us tickets at a discount and brought us up to a club room for free tea and cookies. Overall, it was worth the trip.
Except for the flight out, this ends our Ireland experience.
Friday, May 29, 2009
Day 4: Dublin
On paper, our second day in Dublin should be the best day ever. We were to start at Kilmainham Gaol (3 century old prison that sparked the Irish revolution after the execution of the leaders of the Easter Rising in 1916), a short stroll to Guiness Brewery, the the Jameson Distillery, and finally to an Irish soccer game.
The day started great, we smoothly switched hotels (can't afford to stay in a castle every night!) and toured the prison, which was very cool. Then we spent two hours trying to find the guiness brewery on an empty stomach, I'm sure some blame falls on us, but it helped us to blame dublin and their selective approach to usuing street signs.
We made it to Guiness, and it was a cool place. Unfortunately, they don't take you through the actual brewery, you walk through a sort of Guiness-Disney exhibit over 7 floors, which peaks with a sample Guiness pint on the 7th floor bar with a 360 degree view of Dublin (there aren't tall buildings in Dublin, so you can see the whole city from 7 floors up).
Next on to the Jameson Distillary, which was similar to the Guiness tour in that no distilling actually takes place there. We learned about whiskey and got to sample some, so it was still a cool tour.
After that, back to our hotel for a bite to eat and to get directions to the soccer game. We stopped in our room, exhausted from the day, and laid down to rest our eyes...we woke up an hour later, and the game was already a half hour in. We decided to call it a night at 8pm, and I slept straight through to the next morning.
Even though it wasn't perfect, it was still a great day.
The day started great, we smoothly switched hotels (can't afford to stay in a castle every night!) and toured the prison, which was very cool. Then we spent two hours trying to find the guiness brewery on an empty stomach, I'm sure some blame falls on us, but it helped us to blame dublin and their selective approach to usuing street signs.
We made it to Guiness, and it was a cool place. Unfortunately, they don't take you through the actual brewery, you walk through a sort of Guiness-Disney exhibit over 7 floors, which peaks with a sample Guiness pint on the 7th floor bar with a 360 degree view of Dublin (there aren't tall buildings in Dublin, so you can see the whole city from 7 floors up).
Next on to the Jameson Distillary, which was similar to the Guiness tour in that no distilling actually takes place there. We learned about whiskey and got to sample some, so it was still a cool tour.
After that, back to our hotel for a bite to eat and to get directions to the soccer game. We stopped in our room, exhausted from the day, and laid down to rest our eyes...we woke up an hour later, and the game was already a half hour in. We decided to call it a night at 8pm, and I slept straight through to the next morning.
Even though it wasn't perfect, it was still a great day.
Dublin Pics
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Day 3: Dublin
We made it to Dublin after a pricey 2 hour train ride (although the Eurail pass works in the Republic of Ireland, it doesn't work in the UK/Northern Ireland so we had to buy tickets.) Traveling through really highlights the fact that the north and south are two separate countries, something I didn't really appreciate before visiting.
We're staying in Contarf Castle, built in 1857, but recently remodeled. It was an odd, mile-long walk through a neighborhood with our luggage to reach the castle, which appears out of nowhere. The nice rooms combined with the history and old tower walls inside the hotel made it worth the journey.
We checked out Dublin Castle, which wasn't as 'castle'-like as I expected. It looked more like a parlimentary/government building with a tower attached. After a collapse a couple decades back, an excavation showed the remains of the viking fort from a thousand years ago, and the original anglo-norman stairs leading out of the moat, which still had some water in it (and who doesn't like a good moat?).
The rest of the day was spent looking at St. Patrick's Cathedral, drinking coffee in St. Stephan's Green (a park), and enjoying some pints at pubs in the Temple Bar/Trinity University area.
We're staying in Contarf Castle, built in 1857, but recently remodeled. It was an odd, mile-long walk through a neighborhood with our luggage to reach the castle, which appears out of nowhere. The nice rooms combined with the history and old tower walls inside the hotel made it worth the journey.
We checked out Dublin Castle, which wasn't as 'castle'-like as I expected. It looked more like a parlimentary/government building with a tower attached. After a collapse a couple decades back, an excavation showed the remains of the viking fort from a thousand years ago, and the original anglo-norman stairs leading out of the moat, which still had some water in it (and who doesn't like a good moat?).
The rest of the day was spent looking at St. Patrick's Cathedral, drinking coffee in St. Stephan's Green (a park), and enjoying some pints at pubs in the Temple Bar/Trinity University area.
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Day 2: Belfast
Our internal clocks are still messed up, as we woke up at about 5 am local time. After coffee and a quick snack, we went on a black cab political/mural tour of Belfast. It was awesome. A native Belfast catholic in his 50s gave us a first hand account of the "Troubles" over the two and a half hour tour. He pulled over at significant memorials and murals, pointed out past/current IRA members walking down the street, and told his personal stories from living through it all. He also took us up to the Belfast Castle, where you could see Belfast in the foreground and Scotland about 15 miles away in the background.
After the tour it was all about bumming around town, stopping in for a pint here and there, and catching the Man. U vs. Barcelona UEFA Cup championship soccer game. Tomorrow it's on to Dublin.
After the tour it was all about bumming around town, stopping in for a pint here and there, and catching the Man. U vs. Barcelona UEFA Cup championship soccer game. Tomorrow it's on to Dublin.
Day 1: Belfast, Ireland
So tired, but a quick coffee stop and we were off to City Hall and St. Anne's Cathedral only an hour or so after landing. While walking around we found an 1870 pub (The Garrick) about a block from the Royal Courts of Justice and had our first Guiness and Harp in Ireland...delicious. The weather has been crazy, it went from sunny and warm to cold and rainy four different times in the day. We fought the jet lag hard, but gave up around ten pm. Tomorrow we'll be taking a black cab mural tour in the morning (showing us the catholic and protestant political murals about the "Troubles") and then heading over to the university area to walk around. A pretty easy agenda for day two.
Monday, May 25, 2009
Friday, May 22, 2009
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
5 Days and Counting....
Hello all,
We're leaving for our European vacation in five days and we thought today would be the day we figure out how to keep everyone updated. We'll post where we are, what we're up to and a few pictures. Hopefully we'll find internet cafes and be able to keep this blog somewhat up to date.
BK
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