Dublin

Ok wow still can’t believe that this our last stop, it just crazy, but I’ll save all of that for later, actually I guess Chicago is our last stop, but since we are staying with Jeannie’s family it just seems different.

Alright, on to Dublin, well as odd as it seemed to be flying instead of riding a train, everything went smoothly. Other than having to wake up at a ridiculous time in London and grab a long Tube ride to the airport, of course. We grabbed a taxi in from the airport, he was a really nice man. He had about as much of clue where our street was, as we did, but he whipped out his map, broke a few traffic laws, and delivered us safely to our hostel in the famous Temple Bar area. In actuality our room was not finished yet so we plopped down in a near-by pub and had some lunch. Afterwards we went up to the room to unpack and by then the getting up so early had done us in… so of course we had a lovely nap. Afterwards we went out for dinner and what else… oh yes, we had some beer of course, I mean are in Dublin aren’t we.

So since Jeanne-Marie had had so much fun on the bus in London, one of the first things we did was jump on a bus (the first was actually going to see the Bok of Kells and Trinity College… but who really cares about that old boring stuff). The Irish bus drivers are hilarious and just lots of fun… but then can that could be said about most of the Irishmen we have met here. The drivers keep up running banter filled with Irish wit and of course drinking songs, no bus ride would be complete without one… ok fine two.

The ride took us by most of Dublin’s Georgian Squares, which I will talk about in a bit, and then journeys on to several churches, the Guiness Storehouse, the Modern Museum of Art, the historic jail, the zoo, the Jameson Distillery, O’Connell street, and several other places of note. Of course, our first stop was at the Jameson Distillery ( “you take a left at the pub, then again at the church, and you’re right there…” seriously). After that we jumped on the bus again and completed our loop.

The next day we walked up to Grafton Street which is a huge shopping and pedestrian street. We went on to Mellion’s Square and St. George’s Square which are really nice Georgian Parks. The first of which is more of a garden loop, which is famous for its statue of Oscar Wilde. The second was a historic private park which was eventually gifted back to the people by the Guiness family. St. Steven’s was packed when went there because of the unseasonably awesome weather. After the park we wandered through the Grafton Street shopping areas and malls.

The next day, which just so happened to be my birthday, we went out for breakfest, and yes again jumped on bus. It was our idea that we would try to go to the Guiness Sturehouse, but the line was… long. So instead we went to the Irish Modern Art Museum, and then just walked the city center. That night went out for food and then hung out in the Temple Bar area drinking Guiness and listening to some live music… it was a good birthday.

So on our final day we just walked around the river and O’Connell Street (there was a huge celebration in memory of the Easter Rebellion, since it was Easter), and then back through Trinity and the Grafton and Temple Bar areas.

Now we are somewhere over the Atlantic or maybe Canada by now… I’m not sure, but we are defiantly on our way back to America. I am not sure if I am sad or what exactly, but we are really close to the end of this trip and it has just been amazing. I plan on writing a follow-up summary, but after that who knows.

London

Cheerio! Well now that we have made it to London, the trip seems to be coming quickly to its end. We stayed on the Southbank and our hostel was within easy walking distance to a ton of the usual touristy stuff (Big Ben, London Eye, Parliament, Westminster Abbey, Buckingham Palace, etc). On the afternoon of our arrival we walked along the Thames and explored the riverside. Later that evening we went Leicester Square, which is where all the movie houses and restaurants are, and watched our first movie in a theater in what, like 6 months.

Our first day we walked around the rest of Southbank while it was nice outside, but, eventually it started to rain again, so we ducked into the Tate Modern. That night we went to a pub, the Three Stags, which was just across the street from our hostel. The next day the weather was… well exactly what you would expect from London in Spring… it was rainy. So we did some badly needed laundry and got all of the things we had been putting off done.

So one Saturday everything cleared up and it was a beautiful day. So according we went to go see the parks. First up was Green Park, which runs into Buckingham Palace (no, we did not go see the changing of the guards, I mean seriously who cares about guys in big fur hats marching around and getting their pictures taken). After that we walked up the Princess Dianna Memorial Walkway, which I mistakenly thought was unfinished (the dirt path was actually intentional, since it was in reality a horse path). This led up to the famous Hyde Park, where we walking around the lake and past the Kensington Gardens. From there we walked back toward Piccadilly and down to Trafalgar Square.

On Sunday we decided to break down and ride one of those dam tourist buses. The bus took us from Westminster Bridge, past the Southbank Cultural District, over to London Bridge and Tower Bridge, then we went up through Old London and the Financial District. From there we doubled back along the otherside of the river past Big Ben and Westminster Abbey, back up to Buckingam Palace, over to Trafalgar Square, up to Piccadilly, up Oxford Street, over to the edge of Green Park and Hyde Park, and there we got off. Man, I was wrong about those, we had a blast, got a decent overview of the city, and still managed to have enough of a day left that we to the British Museum and send the rest of the afternoon hanging out around Piccadilly, Oxford, and Leicester Square. The Again we closed the night hanging out at our favorite pub, the Three Stags, since it was homier than our hostel and much more fun… although watching Italian girls trying to learn how to play pool is a very amusing thing indeed.

Finally on our last day we just ran around on the Tube, which is awesome and clean, but really expensive if you don’t do it right. Make sure you buy either a tourist pass, an oyster card, or at least a day pass, otherwise it could cst you up to 8L a piece for a downa and back. We ran up to Baker Street for the obvious tourist trap and then went to a tea place that Jeannie desperately wanted to find (Twinings). After that we went over to the Tate Britain and had a nice stroll home.

London was a great time, really expensive (that ole 2:1 exchange rate gets you poor quick), and on the whole the weather was surprising good. Let’s just hope this holds up while we are in Dublin. So off we go to see if these Irish folk really are as fun as people say they are.